Talking Points: 10-man Sunderland fall to defeat as Ashton Gate

With four games to go and up against play-off rivals, we expected a much improved performance. In some ways, we got it despite the result; in other ways, the lads were never really given the chance.

A strong seven minutes

After the home game at Swansea, we sat in the Hilton “beer garden” and speculated that the Bristol City match would be the perfect time to start to go up the gears. We had to endure dour, pedestrian football for four matches, and with each disappointing performance, we told ourselves that it was all part of the master plan, with a view of peaking just in time for the playoff run.

For six-and-a-half minutes, it looked like that was what we were going to get! Sunderland looked positive, pressed Bristol City high, and I don’t recall the use of the Mepham, O’Nien, Patterson triangle once! For that short time ,it looked like we were going to get the Sunderland we purred over at back at the end of 2024... until disaster struck and all our good intentions and plans went out the window!

For me, it might have only been seven minutes, but it was the best seven minutes I’ve seen in the last 360+, and was enough to show me that we are taking things seriously now, whilst still giving the relevant players the required rest.

Trai Hume red?

In short, no. Don’t get me wrong, if it is a foul, then I believe it should be a red card, as no matter which angle Wells was taking with the ball, it was close enough to the goal to be considered an opportunity to score. HOWEVER... I’ve watched so many replays already (admittedly only from the two camera angles SAFCtv offered) and I’m not convinced Trai even makes contact with him!

Hume stops his run and puts his arms up, knowing that Wells is going to throw himself to the ground, and no sooner has he done that than the inevitable dive happens.

Now, the most infuriating thing about the decision was Wells hadn't even finished rolling on the floor before the referee was reaching for his top pocket - he absolutely couldn’t wait to get his red card out and looked like he was enjoying the spotlight. To not give yourself 5 seconds to take a beat for reflection on what you’ve just seen is poor officiating at any level, and once again, we breathe a small sigh of relief that this wasn’t the first leg of a playoff semi-final soiled by bad refereeing.

The question now becomes “should we appeal it?”, and actually, I think the answer is no. Hume is one of the only outfield players left who could do with a break for a game or two, so that fact that it's been taken out of RLB’s hands might be a blessing.

Mayenda vs Isidor

This debate is a perfect example of how quickly opinions move on in football. We don't need to go back too far to a time when nobody was talking about Mayenda and we were all bowing down to the image of Wilson Isidor lifting his shirt with a Riverside corner flag.

Wilson was untouchable and was not about to be knocked off his perch as one of the most exciting strikers in the league, let alone the club. All of a sudden, the form of the team drops off, the goals dry up, penalties are missed, and the infallible Isidor’s crown is slipping.

March arrives and it's surely no coincidence that Mayenda is called up to the Spanish U21s, has a taste of an international training camp and international football, and comes back a slightly more confident and developed player.

You can’t help but take your hat off to the lad because, from a place where he must have started wondering where his opportunities were going to come from (such was the form and prestige of Isidor), to (in my opinion at least) our #1 striker.

Time with Spain seems to have buffed out some of the rawness about him, and things psychologically appear to be clicking for him - he’s sharper, more confident, and shows hugely improved decision-making.

At the moment, Isidor still has the charm, the charisma, and is still the favourite child with the fans, but on the pitch and where it matters, it’s the young Spaniard who I have more trust in to get us results currently.

Perversely decent result for us

Whilst I will never want us to lose any game of football, I don’t think I’ll ever be content at losing one as I was yesterday, as we may have inadvertently given ourselves a playoff advantage.

They might be sitting in 5th position, but they are nowhere near the 5th-best team in the division. Despite having an extra man for 83+ minutes, Bristol were really quite average. The stats book will suggest that the Robins dominated the game, but I felt we were really quite comfortable throughout, and it took a wonder-strike for them to get back into it, followed by a defensive error to help them win it.

At 16:00 and with Coventry leading West Brom, Bristol were sat in 6th having been leap-frogged by the sky blues, and by full time they went back to 5th by a point. I’m sure I’m not speaking just for myself when I say, “I know who I’d rather play in a semi-final of a playoff!”.

At full strength 11 v 11, I think we cruise past this Bristol City team over two legs. I can't say that with as much certainty about ‘Boro, and Coventry are one of only two teams I’d fear us playing against in a two-leg semi-final (the other being Leeds). If by some twist of fate their three points today help them finish 5th and ahead of Coventry, well then it will have been the best loss we’ve ever had!

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