Sunderland’s winning start to the Championship season has been brought to a halt after a painful late defeat at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.
Regis Le Bris took the Black Cats down to Home Park in search of a fifth straight league win to continue his dream start to life on Wearside.
Taking on a winless Plymouth Argyle side looked like a great chance for Sunderland to grab another win and Patrick Roberts opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
The second half was a much tougher task though as Daniel Ballard’s own goal and a Ryan Hardie penalty flipped the game on its head.
Romaine Mundle dragged Sunderland level late on but there was late heartbreak as Joe Edwards fired Argyle to their first Championship win of the season.
Wayne Rooney on Sunderland
This just wasn’t Sunderland’s day.
The game was there to be won at 1-0 and fans would have happily settled for a point after Mundle’s late leveller.
To end up losing the game is a bitter disappointment and not exactly how Le Bris would have wanted to start after the international break.
Le Bris will feel that this game just got away from Sunderland, especially in the second half, and Argyle boss Wayne Rooney has now shared his verdict.
Speaking to Argyle TV, Rooney noted that Sunderland’s biggest threat comes from transition play.
Rooney noted that Sunderland are a ‘good team’ but really wanted his team to be wary of transitions to try and nullify the Black Cats.
Rooney admitted that he made some tactical changes at half time to try and change the game and felt they worked.
The England legend also highlighted that Sunderland are a ‘young team’ and called on his side to match or even better the energy on show.
Rooney pinpointed Sunderland’s energy before the game and felt that the Black Cats ‘struggled’ to cope at times in the second half.
“Of course, Sunderland are a good team, they’re very dangerous on transitions, so we had to be aware of that,” said Rooney.
“We slightly adjusted the press in the second half and I felt it worked, but it’s not just how you press and how you try and win the ball back, but I really felt we were in control of the game in the second half.
“We were getting balls in the box, little combinations in and around the penalty area, so I think it was a very good performance in the second half from the players and with a lot of energy, which we needed against a young Sunderland team who are full of confidence after their start to the season.
“We needed to match their energy or give more energy than they did today and I felt, in the second half, we did that and they struggled at times to cope with that,” he added.
Sunderland must hit back next weekend
After two weeks without a fixture, this was not how Sunderland wanted to return to Championship action.
The busy months are ahead but Sunderland do have the midweek off having already been knocked out of the EFL Cup by Preston North End.
That means the next fixture is a local derby against Middlesbrough next weekend.
Sunderland will be back in front of the Stadium of Light crowd and a big win against Boro would really help Le Bris and co get back on track.
Some fans may almost be relieved that the first league defeat of the season can’t be against Middlesbrough but supporters will want an instant response to Saturday’s defeat – and bragging right against Boro.