Jon McLaughlin’s typically honest verdict on poor Sunderland performance, referee controversy and Barnsley challenge

The Black Cats looked set to fall to just their thrird league defeat of the season against Wycombe Wanderers before Duncan Watmore’s late equaliser.

It was a frenzied afternoon that ended in significant controversy as referee Lee Swabey showed three red cards in stoppage time.

McLaughlin said his team would have to be honest and accept that particularly in the first half, they did not hit the levels they needed to against a direct side determined to shine in front of a packed home crowd.

“It’s [always] a big game against us, full houses, adrenaline pumping, lots of energy,” McLaughlin said.

“We know that, it all comes down to our performance.

“If we’re not at it for 90 minutes then we come unstuck.

“It comes down to what we do, it wasn’t perfect here. Ultimately, when it comes to away games it needs to be.

“We have to just strip it back and look at our performance at the end of the day.

“You always know these games are going to be very difficult.

“They are very effective at what they do, their brand of football, how they go about games.

“They make sure they eke out every advantage that they can,” he added.

”If you’re not at it, and your performance isn’t exactly what it needs to be, then that’s what happens.

“You come unstuck and in the first half you saw that.

“The conditions, the intensity of their players, it was a big day of their club.

“It meant we were on the back foot and by not getting in at 0-0, which would have been a good platform for us, it made things very difficult.

“You could see that in the second half, the conditions were in our side and it was a little bit easier for us to play our football, but then you’ve got a side who can be resolute, sit back with something to hold on to.

“The way we conceded the goal, they were coming at is but we didn’t feel completely under the cosh, out of control.

“It was important to bed our way into the game and we know we always score.

“We were aiming for that clean sheet but making that kind of error and giving them a goal, it changes things.

“They can sit back, they don’t have to be overly exuberant.

“If it’s 0-0 they’d be coming at us in the second half and giving us a way in,” he added.

“It made it a frustrating afternoon and then of course, when those sorts of things unfold [off the pitch], it breaks up the momentum, it frustrates, it creates more and more problems.

“Fair play to the lads, they stuck at it and we’ve managed to do what we’ve done so well all season, score in every single game, never give up, and an injury time equaliser.

“Ultimately, we can’t really come away saying we deserved more than we got.”

Sunderland had been frustrated by perceived timewasting right throughout the game and the tension exploded in stoppage time as a melee broke out in the dugouts.

McLaughlin felt it was an inevitability given the way the match had been managed.

“It was a difficult day for the referee in fairness, but I think he gave himself some problems by getting too involved in what was going on around him,” he said.

“It just riles people up, the fourth official can sort those things.

“It creates an atmosphere that doesn’t need to be there.

“I think ultimately it was just waiting for something to spark and it was all going to go up, exactly as it did.

“That wasn’t to the benefit of us, we just needed to have the game going on.

Sometimes that’s what you get at this level.

“People will try to get at you and you just need the officials to be really strong with it and focus on what’s happening on the pitch.”

Part of Sunderland’s fury stemmed from an incident where Jack Baldwin ran onto the pitch to try and move the ball to where a free kick was due to be taken.

“Things like that,” McLaughlin said.

“The referee isn’t managing the opposition well, letting them waste time.

“Someone comes onto the pitch just to kick the ball back, no harm done.

“To make as much of it as he did creates tension, problems.

“Sometimes the fourth official needs to just to sort these things.”

Sunderland’s indifferent display was the primary frustration for McLaughlin but the Scot is pleased that his team can quickly put it to bed on Tuesday night.

A trip to Barnsley immediately offers the chance to make up ground lost on Saturday.

“You can’t always control the result, you control your own performance,” McLaughlin said.

“We’re never satisfied and that’s the main thing.

“We’ll be hard on ourselves and we’ll make sure that we try and rectify our performance on Tuesday.

“As the manager said inside, Tuesday was always going to be a massive game for us, regardless of today.

“Tuesday stands on its own as a huge fixture.

“We’re chasing hard and there’s still 11 games to go.

“If we go in with the right mindset, remember how we played against them at home,we can go and get a result,” he added.

“That turns this into a very good away point, with three wins before and one afterwards.

“So there’s plenty for us to be positive about and mentally Saturday won’t give us a hangover.”