Alex Neil pleased his changes paid off with a come-from-behind Sunderland win

Posted Wednesday, March 09, 2022 by PA

Sunderland boss Alex Neil was relieved that his attempts to turn a defeat into victory against struggling Fleetwood worked out after the 3-1 win at the Stadium of Light.

After hitting half-time a goal down courtesy of Ellis Harrison’s 28th minute opener, Neil went into the dressing room at the break and decided to change things.

He introduced Jermain Defoe and Lynden Gooch for the second half and changed the system, while he also brought on Luke O’Nien later in the half.

His tinkering led to Sunderland levelling through Elliot Embleton 10 minutes into the second half.

O’Nien’s 82nd minute strike was followed by a stoppage-time third goal from Jack Clarke that lifted Sunderland up to fifth in Sky Bet League One.

O’Neil, who has lost just one of his six games in charge, said: “The result was excellent and the performance was really poor.

“The lads know that we fell short of the standards we want to set. Teams who win titles and get promoted don’t play well every week but find a way to win games. Fortunately, we did that tonight.”

The Scot continued: “Fleetwood, I know their manager (Stephen Crainey). I gave them respect for what they have done. We forced it when we didn’t need to force it. They hit us on transition.

“At half-time I didn’t even talk about the first half. I said ‘this is how we fix it’ and changed the shape.

“We needed to work the ball quicker, get more men forward, it was either going to work and win us the game or it wouldn’t and we would get beaten by more than one.

“I had to be calm and make decisions, I was tempted to change it before half-time. I knew I had to fix it and solve the issue we had.

“Ultimately we did because we won the game. We went for it because we understand the dynamics of this stage of the season. It won’t always work. Thankfully it did tonight.

“It feels a bit like back to the drawing board after tonight. I am not taking massive satisfaction after that.”

Fleetwood boss Crainey could not believe how things ended up, with the Cod Army now only a point outside the bottom four.

He said: “I am absolutely gutted for them because on the night we were outstanding. We lost 3-1 but that was not a reflection of the game.

“Even leading up to Sunderland’s first goal I felt we had a certain foul, a push on Callum Johnson and we didn’t get it. It is a bad one to take. That changed the complex of the game.

“If we keep delivering performances like that we will be fine. We have a top group of young players, senior players. We are not getting the rub of the green right now, we need to start winning matches. The dressing room will see us all right.

“The young players showcased their talent against a good side who will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

“As a collective it was a good performance but we are disappointed not to get anything.”