Tony Mowbray’s side endured a forgettable afternoon against Middlesbrough…
Sunderland faced Middlesbrough in the Championship, looking to make it three victories in a row and strengthen their early play-off chances. However, by the final whistle, the Black Cats had had an afternoon to regret, having suffered a 4-0 defeat before the international break.
Tony Mowbray will definitely be disappointed with his team’s surrender, with all four of the visitors’ goals coming in the second half. In reality, Sunderland were always going to lose all three points after Dan Neil’s dubious red card. Following the midfielder’s dismissal, journalist Josh Bunting delivered his opinion on Twitter.
Dan Neil was sent off against Middlesbrough for what reason?
It wasn’t a foul that led to Neil’s dismissal, which will irritate Mowbray. Instead, the midfielder just did not bite his tongue when chatting to one of the officials, and he was sent out after receiving a second yellow card for dissent shortly before halftime.
Sunderland battled with ten men, but goals from Sam Greenwood, Matt Crooks, Isiah Jones, and substitute Marcus Foss put Middlesbrough out of reach.
Bunting tweeted his decision on Neil’s red card: “What is Neil doing there? That’s just the immaturity we have at times; it’s a problem with young guys. When you’re on a yellow card, being sent off for dissent is criminal; [we] performed well after the first 15 minutes and then dropped to ten for a moment of lunacy.”
Sunderland will now reflect on what could have been during the international break before attempting to bounce back in style against Stoke City in their first game back. The defeat against Middlesbrough did not have a significant impact on the Black Cats’ promotion aspirations, with Mowbray’s team still as high as fourth following the weekend’s results.
How did Dan Neil fare this season?
Aside from his previous stint, Neil has had a fantastic season in the Championship, starting all 11 games for the Black Cats and scoring two goals and two assists.
During his tenure at the Stadium of Light, the midfielder received a lot of accolades, notably from former manager Lee Johnson, who told Chronicle Live: “We were really pleased.” Dan was delighted, which is excellent because we want players to be excited about what they are doing and what the team is doing.
“The pictures summed it up – the one where he is sitting in the crowd at 10 or 11 years old as a starry-eyed kid, and another one where he is actually living that dream.”When you teach him, you can see and feel his enthusiasm for Sunderland, and he’s a great kid and a really excellent football player with bags of potential, which we’ll try to hone as soon as possible.
“He’s technically a very good player, you can see the way he manipulates the ball, and I think he has added another dimension to his game in being able to drop and drive, as we call it, and receive the ball and commit players.”
Leave a Reply