Tony Mowbray believes home double could put Sunderland in play-off mix

Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2023 by PA

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray wants his players to target back-to-back home wins to boost their play-off push following a 1-0 win against Cardiff in the Welsh capital.

Dennis Cirkin’s 61st-minute goal earned three points for the Black Cats and moved them to within four points of sixth place.

“We lacked a bit of a cutting edge and ruthlessness in the box. Someone who makes their living from scoring goals is probably what is missing,” said Mowbray.

“We knew they had physicality in their team and they are fighting for their lives and I was happy with the way we saw things out. You could see Cardiff’s spirit and togetherness.

“I would think, with the backing of their support, they will find enough to get some wins between now and the end of the season.

“When you look at our fixtures on paper, if we are at our best at home against Birmingham City on Saturday we can win.

“At home against Huddersfield on Tuesday, despite the really good run Neil (Warnock) has got them on, we could win. If we can make it nine points from this game and the next two, we won’t be far off it.

“We might not be in the top six, but it will become really nervy then. Let’s just play the games and if we get beaten in the next two it doesn’t really matter in the bigger picture.”

At the other end of the table, Cardiff’s second successive home defeat leaves them outside the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Bluebirds boss Sabri Lamouchi showed how disappointed he was in his side’s performance, coming off the back of a big win in Blackpool on Good Friday, by making a double change after only 36 minutes. He then made a third at the break and brought on a fourth sub on the hour mark.

“When you are losing you are always disappointed, but I’m more disappointed about the first half. The second was a little bit better,” said Lamouchi.

“We can’t concede a goal in the second half like that. We cannot start the game in this way – there was a bad attitude in the first half and it was a bad performance.

“We made some changes and probably we could have made some more.”

Cirkin struck in the 61st minute as he tapped in a rebound off the post following an Alex Pritchard free-kick that pierced a flimsy defensive wall.

“We cannot concede a goal in this way, with the ball going through men in the wall after giving away a stupid foul,” said an angry Lamouchi.

“We were probably a little bit better in the second half, good enough to create two or three chances to score, but we didn’t score. We didn’t deserve more than we got.

“When I first arrived at the club I told the players we will need to fight until the last game, so we must be ready for that.

“If you aren’t consistent in the Championship, you deserve to be where you are and you will be there for a lot of reasons. It is time to be positive, honest and try to give your best, and we didn’t give our best in the first half today.”