Ross Stewart continued his superb form to help Sunderland produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Championship. The hosts enjoyed most of the play in the first half with the visitors registering their first shot in the 20th minute. The hosts were made to pay in the 45th minute when Stewart scored the only goal of the game.
Managers Reaction
Stoke’s Michael O’Neill: “We were clearly the dominant team up until the goal. It’s a poor goal for us to concede and we should have been ahead in the game. We could have done more with the opportunities we had, but ultimately the timing and the nature of the goal changed the whole outlook of the game. It’s not a strike that should end up in the back of your net either. We put ourselves in a difficult position and in the second half, you could see the frustration in our game. It just was one of those days where we made it difficult for ourselves after a really good first-half performance.”
Sunderland’s Alex Neil: “For them to acclimatize themselves the way they have done, it comes with young players; they have no fear of what’s coming next. The good thing is that they listen to every word I say, and they try to carry it out the best they can. I think the only positive we took from the first half was that we scored. I thought we were really disappointing. We didn’t compete well or use the ball well enough, so that was frustrating. We were leggy in the first half and you could see how much they put in the other night, so the goal gave us something for the second half. But the lads know the standard that we expect from them individually and collectively and in the second half we competed better.”
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