Birmingham City match-winner Koji Miyoshi claims ‘fear’ played a part in Sunderland’s collapse at St. Andrew’s.
Sunderland fell to another defeat on Saturday as they lost 2-1 away to Birmingham. Jack Clarke put the visitors 1-0 up in the first half before the Black Cats collapsed in the second period to fall to another defeat.
It was the second time this week Sunderland was defeated to a side well below them in the table. However, this result proved to be more damning as former boss Tony Mowbray inflicted the loss.
After the game, Michael Beale was piled under more pressure for the recent set of results. The manager was handed a damning verdict after the 2-1 defeat while also issuing an apology to Trai Hume after controversy during the game.
The defeat has certainly damaged Sunderland’s playoff ambitions with the club now four points off the top six in 10th.
Sunderland ‘feared’ St. Andrew’s atmosphere
Despite leading at half-time, Sunderland was unable to replicate their first-half display as they conceded twice in the second period.
Birmingham City player Miyoshi believes that the atmosphere around St. Andrew’s struck fear into the Sunderland players which enabled their downfall.
“I am very happy to win in front of these amazing fans,” Miyoshi said. “They made us very confident in the second half. I feel we dominated the game until we conceded the goal, but it’s an easy mistake.
“We controlled the game and in the second half we didn’t lose confidence. These fans improved our confidence.
“That was amazing for us. When we played the game we were feeling like the fans were really behind us. When they shouted at the opponents I think they felt some fear from the fans.”
Sunderland need to correct their away form
It is no secret that Sunderland has a terrible track record away from home this season. The club has only won four of their 17 away games in the Championship.
The Black Cats have mainly had to rely on their form at the Stadium of Light to reach the playoffs. This has caused them to fall out of the playoffs in recent weeks as they struggled to take anything from either Huddersfield or Birmingham.
If Beale wants to get fans back on his side this is something that he needs to fix immediately. Sunderland has to put together a consistent run of form both home and away if they want to reach the playoffs by the end of the season.