Tony Mowbray watched on as his West Brom side slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Sunderland on Saturday. But he couldn’t help but praise his former side.
Sunderland fans will always have a special place for Tony Mowbray in their hearts. But the going is tough for his West Brom side who’ve now lost their last two in the Championship, looking poor in the game against Sunderland.
Trai Hume scored a free-kick as Sunderland beat West Brom 1-0 to make for back-to-back wins since the March international break, as the Baggies slip out of the top six and into 8th place of the Championship table, whilst the Black Cats remain in 4th.
Regis Le Bris’ side put in another commanding display and Sunderland fans were impressed with Dan Neil in the midfield. But it’s the defence who will take all the plaudits, with Mowbray himself full of praise for the Black Cats’ backline on Saturday.
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Tony Mowbray hails Sunderland defence after West Brom defeat
Luke O’Nien was outstanding against West Brom. Chris Mepham too in a centre-pairing that has at times this season looked like the best defensive partnership in the entire Championship. Hume was also in fine form as his scoring streak continues in the league.
Speaking after the game, Mowbray had to heap praise on the Sunderland defence, singling out O’Nien who he’s so often spoken fondly of, along with Hume and also Mepham who never actually played under Mowbray at the Stadium of Light.
Mowbray told the press after the game: “You have to give some credit to their defenders. I think Luke O’Nien’s is an amazing defender. Mepham did well for them today. Trai Hume’s a really top, top player.”
Chris Mepham and Luke O’Nien’s record when playing together at Sunderland
Sunderland have just played their 40th Championship game of the season. And of those 40, O’Nien and Mepham have played at centre-back together in 31 of those with Dan Ballard often stepping in, but having also had injury troubles this season.
O’Nien and Mepham have played a total of 2,562 minutes of football together in the Championship, averaging a 1.81 points-per-game as a duo compared to Sunderland’s average of 1.88 points-per-game as a team in the league this season.
| Statistic | O’Nien + Mepham in the Championship |
| Games | 31 |
| Wins | 15 |
| Draws | 11 |
| Losses | 5 |
| PPG | 1.81 |
| Minutes | 2562 |
Sunderland are looking into a permanent deal for Mepham, though of course, the Welshman and indeed Sunderland too will wait until this season is over before deciding on anything permanent.
Up next for the Black Cats is a trip to Norwich City on Tuesday night.