The curse of the 1-1 draw: The truth behind Sunderland's bogey scoreline in League One

It's become something of a bogey scoreline for the Black Cats during their time in the third tier and, in the 2018/19 season, the persistent scoreline was identified as a key reason as to why then-manager Jack Ross’ side did not ultimately achieve promotion at the first attempt.

And after falling to another 1-1 draw at Doncaster on Saturday, we decided to crunch the numbers to find out just how much of an impact this scoreline has had on Sunderland…

The Headline Figures

Of their 97 games played in League One (including the play-off fixtures), Sunderland have played out 1-1 draws on 26 occasions.

That means that 26.8 per cent of all league games played by the Black Cats since their relegation to the third tier have ended with this scoreline.

The 2018/19 season brought by far the highest number of 1-1 draws, with 15 League One games ending with one goal apiece.

That dropped to eight games in the 2019/20 campaign, with just two league fixtures this term finishing 1-1 so far.

It must be noted that the number of these draws has dropped dramatically since Phil Parkinson’s arrival on Wearside.

Of the 25 1-1 draws registered, only seven have come under Parkinson’s stewardship.

And there is a telling difference in how they came about, too...

How They Happened

While the persistent scoreline tells part of the story, in that Sunderland simply haven’t won enough games during their time in League One, a deeper delve into the scoreline shows some interesting trends - which have changed over the last year.

Under Ross, where Sunderland played-out 19 1-1 draws, there was a real mixture in how the results come about.

Nine of the draws came after the Black Cats had taken the lead, while ten came when they had fallen behind.

A real mixture of circumstances, then. Some opportunities not taken, some character shown to come from behind and earn a point.

But under Parkinson, there is a clearer trend in how the results come about – for the 1-1 at Doncaster was the first time under the manager that the Black Cats had seen such a result having taken the lead.

In the previous five 1-1 draws under Parkinson – which came against Bristol Rovers, Fleetwood Town (twice), Coventry City and Blackpool – Sunderland came from behind to gain the point.

So while the draw at the Keepmoat Stadium represented points dropped for the Black Cats having been in control for large spells of the game, there is a debate to be had that – under Parkinson at least – 1-1 draws have tended to be points gained rather than dropped.

For we all remember that late drama from Benji Kimpioka against Coventry and Max Power against Fleetwood that delivered Sunderland points that, while vital, were perhaps not deserved after mixed performances.

But while we can reflect on those past results as points gained, the stalemate at Doncaster was certainly two points dropped.

And falling into the trap of seeing victories turn into draws is something Sunderland cannot afford to do.

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