Sunderland dug deep to claim a really impressive 2-1 win away at Luton Town in the Championship on Wednesday night.
Sunderland faced a first half barrage in the game against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, with the Hatters having a goal disallowed.
But the Black Cats held on, got to half-time and started 45 the second brightly. Chris Rigg opened the scoring with a neat finish before Luton equalised through Elijah Adebayo and his first goal of the season.
Romaine Mundle then curled one from the edge of the box into the bottom corner of the Luton net to put the Black Cats back in front, with Sunderland holding on for another huge win.
Long ball football can hurt Sunderland
When Luton played Sunderland in the 2022/23 Championship play-off semi-finals, the Hatters played a lot of long balls.
Rob Edwards said after the game that Luton were simply ‘booting’ the ball and they did their fair share of booting the ball on Wednesday night.
Although they did play it about as well, Sunderland seemed to find it difficult facing so many balls into the box, as well as going up against a more physical team in general.
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Anthony Patterson distribution needs improvement
Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was on his toes through the 90 minutes at Luton Town.
He was kept busy all night but what was perhaps most noticeable was his distribution, and the poor quality of.
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Patterson has faced criticism at Sunderland this season, and distribution is often a topic that often comes up.
It’s certainly something for the Sunderland academy graduate to improve upon if he’s going to play at a top level one day.
Sunderland stood up to the Luton Town barrage
At half-time, there was a sense, or rather a hope, that Luton wouldn’t be as dominant in the second half, having really put themselves about in the first 45.
For Sunderland then, it was a case of weathering the storm and making it to the second half, where they would’ve had the chance to attack a Luton side who might have tired somewhat.
That’s exactly what happened at Kenilworth Road. In the end, Sunderland’s first 45 didn’t seem as poor as it did during the half, but it now seems as though they did well to keep Luton from scoring.
It was a side of Sunderland’s game that we’ve not seen much of this season, at least not for a full half of football.
Is Chris Rigg a winger?
Le Bris made one change for the game at Luton Town, dropping Patrick Roberts for Alan Browne and moving Real Madrid and Manchester United target Rigg out wide.
But the 17-year-old looked isolated at times. Being in what felt like too much space didn’t suit the qualities we’ve seen from him this season.
Although he got himself on the score-sheet tonight, he picked up the ball in a central position, perhaps suggesting that being more central in the pitch better suits the teen star.
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Romaine Mundle is the match-winner Sunderland need
Mundle was relatively quiet against Luton Town. But when he got a yard of space and a sight of goal, he didn’t disappoint.
The 21-year-old scored his fourth Championship goal of the season on Wednesday night, ending a run of five games without a goal in emphatic style.
Being able to pop up with those kind of moments in tough surroundings, and on the back of five games without a goal, is the sign of a match-winner.
It looks as though Sunderland’s fortunes this season will be heavily influenced by how well Mundle performs.