Michael Beale has taken the blame for one recurring weakness for Sunderland as it proved to be the downfall of the visitors against Huddersfield.
The Black Cats received a major blow to their playoff ambitions on Wednesday night as they were defeated 1-0 away to Huddersfield.
It was a poor performance by Sunderland who could not continue their momentum from the 3-1 victory over Plymouth into the game.
The result leaves Michael Beale’s side 10th, with the manager heavily disappointed with his side after the defeat.
However, despite the poor showing from his players, the manager has now taken the blame for one major weakness in his side which proved to be their downfall.
Michael Beale takes the blame for set piece horror show
In a game that lacked quality, Huddersfield won the tie in a preventable fashion. A free-kick in the first half was only parried away leading to Matty Pearson bundling home the ball.
From here, the shots continued to look dangerous from set plays. The Terriers hit the post in the second half from another free-kick before Jobe Bellingham was forced to clear the ball off the line from a corner.
This is not the first time Sunderland have looked weak at defending set plays this season. Now, after the game, Beale admitted that he and his staff must find a solution to this ongoing issue.
“It’s really disappointing”, he told Sunderland. “We conceded again from a set play away from home. It is an area we need to improve upon; in the time I have been here, it has been really costly to the team.
“In the first half, it was a midfield battle and they were up and at us. We need to stand up for ourselves a little bit at times. When we get opportunities, we need to be better in the final third with our last pass.
“In the second half, we opened up and it made it a bit of an end-to-end game but we were the team chasing it as the away team. They had a couple of chances and we did as well but they haven’t found it.
“I am just really disappointed because it is an away game and we have lost to a set play. That is on me and the staff, we have to find the answers to that. We know coming away from teams are going to go for you and when you can’t find a moment of quality you have to stay in the game.”
Sunderland must find a quick solution to set piece problem
If Sunderland wants to keep in touch in the playoff hunt, Beale must find a solution to this ongoing problem.
Huddersfield looked as if they might score every time they got a free-kick or a corner. Against teams with more quality in their side, this could prove to be a more deadly threat for Sunderland.
According to WhoScored, Sunderland has conceded 10 times from set pieces this season. Only QPR, Watford, Blackburn and Stoke have conceded more.
This issue is clearly costing the side valuable points in the race for the playoffs. With the situation being highly preventable, Beale needs to find a solution to this issue quickly.