How Aiden McGeady and Sunderland's one-paced attack struggled to break down Charlton Athletic

The perception the Black Cats’ attacking play completely revolved around the Republic of Ireland winger was perhaps a little over the top, yet McGeady possessed the ability which no one could appear to match in England’s third tier.

This season has brought a different narrative, with the likes of Elliot Embleton, Dan Neil and Ross Stewart, in particular, providing goal threats from other areas.

McGeady, therefore, hasn't been singled out as the side’s talisman, while a knee injury over the summer left the 35-year-old playing catch up at the start of the campaign.

It is not the first time the winger has played through the pain barrier, while the full impact of his ankle issue, which left him sidelined for league games at Portsmouth and Gillingham, remains unclear.

McGeady’s return to the starting XI at Crewe was clearly a boost, especially when Lynden Gooch and Leon Dajaku were also returning from injury lay-offs, yet Sunderland’s attack during their 1-0 home defeat by Charlton looked disjointed and one-paced.

Obviously that wasn’t all down to McGeady, yet there was a lack of support and service for Black Cats striker Ross Stewart on a frustrating afternoon for Lee Johnson’s side.

With McGeady, Alex Pritchard and Aiden O’Brien playing behind Stewart, the Black Cats needed an injection of pace and dynamism to run at Charlton’s backline, while the Addicks, under caretaker boss Johnnie Jackson, did an admirable job of keeping the hosts at arm’s length.

As shown by McGeady’s heatmap, the winger struggled to get to the byline to deliver crosses from dangerous positions on the right. It was a similar story for O’Brien on the opposite flank, while Pritchard also found himself on the fringes of the game.

Sunderland’s full-backs were also unable to make their usual forays forward, with Dennis Cirkin often wary of Charlton dangerman Jonathan Leko on the visitors’ left, and Carl Winchester a little more reserved at times.

There was also a lack of precision from wide areas, with McGeady delivering just one accurate cross from seven attempts (according to Whoscored.com), while O’Brien failed to find a team-mate with three attempted crosses.

That’s not to say the wide players were solely to blame for every unsuccessful cross – there were also moments when there was a lack of bodies in the Charlton penalty area.

Still, you can’t get away from the fact that Sunderland, who recorded 59 per cent of possession, were wasteful when they found themselves in promising positions.

When Dajaku and Gooch were introduced with 20 minutes remaining, Johnson’s side had more of a direct threat.

McGeady then showed his quality by playing an excellent crossfield pass to Dajaku, who quickly cut in from the left before sending an effort just over the bar. It was too little too late.

The positive thing for Johnson is, when everyone is fit, he has options in the attacking areas of the pitch.

Against Charlton, though, whether it was down to playing three games in a week or simply the wrong combination for this particular contest, Sunderland lacked the right balance in the final third.

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