We’re not down yet, insists Sunderland boss Coleman despite draw - 7M sport

We’re not down yet, insists Sunderland boss Coleman despite draw



Posted Sunday, April 15, 2018 by PA

We’re not down yet, insists Sunderland boss Coleman despite draw

Sunderland manager Chris Coleman has not yet given up on avoiding relegation from the Championship, despite having to settle for a 2-2 draw at fellow strugglers Reading.

Reading went ahead in the 20th minute when Liam Kelly hammered home a penalty after Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was fouled by goalkeeper Lee Camp.

Sunderland equalised through a fierce 30-yard effort from Paddy McNair soon after half-time, with stand-in skipper Lee Cattermole making it 2-1 from a stooping header.

But Reading equalised with 11 minutes remaining when substitute Yann Kermorgant nodded in a Chris Gunter cross.

Rock-bottom Sunderland now face a second successive relegation.

“We’ve got three games to go and that’s nine points to play for,” Coleman said.

“And there’s six points in it (from safety), so the ball is firmly in other teams’ courts.

“What we’ve got to do is what we’ve been doing for the last four or five games – and that’s just go for it.

“Whoever the opposition has been, our performances have been the same.

“That’s three games running now that we’ve done enough to take all three points, but we’ve eventually given it up.

“That’s critical for us at this stage of the season.

“The performance and mentality was spot on, brilliant, but it’s those fine details that we haven’t taken care of more. It’s been like that all season really.

“At 2-1 up, I didn’t think that we were in too much difficulty. If anything, we were probably going to score again.

“The players’ attitude is great, fabulous, not much more I can ask from them in terms of their input into the game.

“But it’s those fine details that have let us down again.”

Reading are five points clear of the relegation zone.

“I was an incredible finish, anything could have happened,” Reading manager Paul Clement said.

“When we got back to 2-2, we really pushed to get the winner. And we had two or three fantastic chances to go and win it.

“With the way the other results went, it was important not to lose the game.

“It ended up being a good point, but, obviously, we’re disappointed at not getting all three. It’s a missed opportunity.

“I don’t think we played very well today.

“The fighting spirit was there, but we looked a bit lethargic, even though we found a bit of energy towards the end.

“That was probably more due to the adrenaline of the occasion.

“At 2-1 down, we still went for it. We didn’t just lay down and die.

“Some things were positive today, some things were horrible. We’ve got to play smarter over our last three games.”

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