Sunderland earned an eighth Championship win of the season on Wednesday, winning 2-1 at Luton Town.
Sunderland keep their perch at the top of the Championship table after Wednesday’s win. But it wasn’t without its struggles.
Luton Town gave the Black Cats a test they’ve not had yet under Regis Le Bris, proving physical and bombarding the Sunderland box with crosses and set-pieces throughout.
But Sunderland held out, scoring two well-taken goals in the second half through Chris Rigg and Romaine Mundle, eventually winning 2-1.
The Black Cats’ star man on the night appears to have been Chris Mepham; Sunderland fans have hailed Mepham following his rock-solid performance.
Elsewhere, Sunderland defender Trai Hume was praised for his role in the build up to Mundle’s curling goal.
Here we look at three sensational comments emerging after Sunderland’s win at Luton Town…
Carlton Palmer still thinks Sunderland will miss out on top two
Speaking to Football League World, pundit Carlton Palmer has once again spoken out on his predictions for Sunderland this season.
Palmer is not the biggest advocate of the Black Cats this season, it seems, and he’s stated his belief that Sunderland won’t claim a top two finish this season.
He said: “I keep looking and saying ‘when is the bubble going to burst?’ I don’t know.
“I still expect, like I said, Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, they’re all strong teams, Middlesbrough, Norwich, look at Blackburn still hanging in there.”
Palmer added: “I think the start that they’ve got [Sunderland], I think they’ll be disappointed if they finish outside a play-off position this season.
“But if I’m looking at it, and the hierarchy, this is as good a time as any to go for promotion this season.
“When you get to the January window, go out there and get you a player to get you over the line.
“My gut feeling is that Sunderland will not finish in the top two, I still think the top two — I said it was going to be Luton — but I think Leeds and Burnley are very, very strong.”
Rob Edwards makes VAR claim after Luton Town disallowed goal
Luton Town had a goal disallowed in the first half of their game against Sunderland, with Carlton Morris scoring at the back post from a Luton corner.
Morris lead the protests. He was unhappy with the decision, as were many Hatters fans on social media.
Speaking after the game, Luton Town boss Rob Edwards also shared his anger at the goal, telling Luton Today: “If we had VAR then maybe it would have been ruled back in our favour.”
Hatters man Jordan Clark was stood in an offside position when the ball was flicked to Morris, and replays suggest that Morris was onside.
Edwards added: “I don’t think Clicker (Clark) is doing too much at all, but we didn’t get it and the first goal is really important at any level.
“I just think he starts in an offside position on the goalkeeper, but then he’s coming away from it and I don’t think he gets in the way of anybody, or affects anything. That’s my opinion.”
Rob Edwards full of praise for Sunderland duo
Speaking immediately after the game, Edwards hailed Sunderland scorers Rigg and Mundle, and their ‘outstanding individual efforts’ which ultimately gave Sunderland a huge win at Kenilworth Road.
Edwards said: “We know we can do better in those two moments for their goals. Mundle’s one was particularly frustrating as we’d done a lot of work on the wide players.
“He’s jinked inside too easily and it was a good finish from him.
“What we’ve got to go and do now is brush up on a few moments where we got punished. Rigg and Mundle, a couple of outstanding individual efforts.
“But we can do better to stop that and continue to do what we’re doing at the moment.”