Sunderland's last-gasp winner was 'a bitter pill to swallow', admits Oxford boss Karl Robinson as the Black Cats came out on top in the crucial play-off clash at the Kassam Stadium. Elliot Embleton came off the bench to score in the 89th minute to hand Alex Neil's side a 2-1 win which saw them climb back into the top six.
But it was a hard one to take for Robinson who saw his side slip to a third defeat in eight days, having previously been beaten at play-off rivals Plymouth last weekend and at relegation strugglers Morecambe in midweek. And to make matters worse, with the score poised at 1-1, it was Oxford who looked the more likely side to win in the second half until Embleton struck Sunderland's knockout blow.
"It's a bitter pill to swallow, my players are devastated in there," Robinson said of the mood in the dressing room. "In the last three games, even the harshest critics would say we deserved a lot more than what we sit here on.
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"If you’re being totally critical, if our decision-making in the final third had been a bit better with a bit more quality I don't think we'd be sat here so down. I don't think there were many times Sunderland, who have had a free week and been on a wonderful run, put us under complete pressure.
"I felt we had complete control of the game. The stupid thing is we switched off and got hurt in an area that we spoke about, and that’s the frustrating thing for me. It just seems to be the week that we’re having."
Corry Evans gave Sunderland the lead on the quarter-hour, before Elliott Moore levelled for the hosts ten minutes before the break. Robinson added: "I thought the energy levels of the players were excellent and we, again, deserved more than we got out of the game.
"People will have clever ideas about why we haven't won again, the reality is we haven't taken chances when they've come along and we've been punished at the the turnover again. Again, I don't think you can criticise the players, they gave everything."
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