Alex Neil says Sunderland showed themselves at their best and at their worst in their pre-season defeat at the hands of Accrington Stanley. The Black Cats dominated the game for an hour and should have had the match won well before Ross Stewart put them in front from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
But a combination of poor finishing and an inspired performance from Accrington's on-loan Burnley goalkeeper Lukas Jensen kept the hosts in the game, and when Sunderland gifted them a route back into the match in the second period they seized their chance. Sean McConville earned and converted a penalty, before sub Korede Adedoyin forced the ball home from close range 15 minutes from the end to complete the turnaround.
"If you don't take opportunities and chances that come your way, you may pay the consequences," said Neil. "We could have easily been four or five-nil up at half-time.
READ MORE: Sunderland player ratings from Accrington defeat
"Even at the start of the second half, we had two great chances. One, Jack [Clarke] was given offside and I haven't seen it back, but he doesn't score, and another one he is clean through, cuts inside and the keeper makes another good save. We had more than enough in the game, we played really, really well for three-quarters of the match, but what happened then was that they started jumping in more aggressively, we got caught on the ball and as soon as we conceded the penalty, the game changed for 15 minutes at that point.
"They did what they do which is to put the ball forward aggressively and we didn't win enough battles. I thought you saw the very best of us in the first half, if I'm honest, because some of our football was excellent, but then for that 15 minute spell in the second half I thought you saw the worst of us."
Despite the scoreline, Sunderland were by far the better side over the game as a whole, but their finishing let them down. Neil said: "Their goalkeeper had a really good game but I would still expect the quality of player we have at the top end of the pitch, when it was as many chances as it was, to put them away.
"There were some gilt-edged chances that we didn't take. What we will find this year, much more than in League One, is that goals change games.
"You can play as well as you like but if you concede, it allows the opposition to sit in and hit you on the counter. Equally, we might not perform well but if we get the first goal we can do likewise.
"If you look at the game, Patto [goalkeeper Anthony Patterson] had one save that came from a long throw. The goals came from a penalty that we gave away because our use of the ball was too slow, and the second one came from a throw-in. It wasn't as though we were outplayed at any point.
"The thing is, we didn't respond well to them scoring the equaliser which was really frustrating, because we hadn't done much wrong to that point. We made one mistake but then you need to brush it off and make sure you do the next action in the right manner, but we didn't do that.
"You can't have five or six chances and not put them away. If you go bang, bang, bang, and put the game to bed in the first half, it's a different game in the second half.
"It's a difficult issue for me to address, if I'm brutally honest - if they miss a chance, they miss a chance, and there's not much I can do about that. The structure in terms of what we do is getting us those opportunities, the quality of the players is why they are playing for Sunderland.
"The simple fact is that we didn't make the most of those chances with the quality we have. Then I don't know if it was a mental thing after we conceded the first goal because we should have stood up and been more aggressive, more dominant, picked up more second balls, and done the basics of the game, and for a spell we didn't."
Carl Winchester was absent from the squad through illness at Accrington, while Leon Dajaky missed out through injury. Neil said: "Winnie missed out through illness, so he should be fine for Monday [when Sunderland take on Hartlepool in their final pre-season outing].
"Leon just felt an issue with his thigh, so he missed out."
Neil said there was no further update on transfers and, asked if he was satisfied with the state of play with a week to go until the Championship season begins, he smiled: "I'm never happy with everything. Ever.
"I want more players, I want them to play better, I want to create more chances, I want to keep more clean sheets, and I want to improve every facet of what we are trying to do. You're never satisfied, are you, let's be honest.
"Neither are fans. If you win 1-0, they want to win 2-0; if you win 2-0, they want to win 3-0. It's just the nature of the game."
READ NEXT:
- Sunderland board must heed Alex Neil transfer warning with club unable to give rivals a head start
- Sunderland sign four talented youngsters for revamped development squad
- Sunderland exploring multiple options in search for attacking recruits as new season approaches
- Sunderland appoint ex-Newcastle man as new head of performance and medicine
- Sunderland new boy Aji Alese ready to seize his chance on Wearside and show what he can do
