Lee Johnson delivers verdict on Sunderland's latest win and the aspect that pleased him the most

Lee Johnson hailed a ‘very professional’ performance from his Sunderland side as they landed a third successive league win for the first time this season.
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It was also the first time the Black Cats have beaten Fleetwood Town since dropping into League One.

The Black Cats struggled to open up their opponents in the first half but looked solid out of possession and a lift in tempo in the second half secured three more valuable points.

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“First half I thought they started the better but I'm just looking at the statistics there and we're playing against a good side who haven't had a shot on goal," Johnson said.

Max Power celebrates his goal against Fleetwood TownMax Power celebrates his goal against Fleetwood Town
Max Power celebrates his goal against Fleetwood Town

“That shows the control we had in the game.

“There were times in the first half where I wanted us to play forward quicker, we didn't quite have the zip to our game that we had against Burton and that's understandable given the amount of games we've had.

“So you've got to win games in different ways.

“It was a bit flat to begin with and I think that's where you need your crowd, but at the same time the cohesive patterns of play, the control we had from good players, meant that we were always going to tire the opposition down and when you've got the ball, the opposition can't score.

“A lot of things pleased me.

“A set piece goal, a clean sheet. You need 19 or 20 of those to be in contention for promotion and we can't be far off that now.

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“The most pleasing part is that in the second half we were able to up it by that 5,10%.

“It wasn't glamorous but it was very professional and very solid.”

Johnson also praised Lynden Gooch for his ongoing versatility, as a switch to a 4-4-2 at half-time yielded instant results.

“We had to work on a plan A and a plan B today because we knew that our shape and their shape doesn't always match,” Johnson said.

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“I thought about changing it in the first 20 minutes to be honest but then we started getting quite a bit of control, McGeady was starting to get at people.

“But we wore them down and I think that the beauty of having Gooch and O'Nien is their flexibility is a real positive for us moving forward."

Johnson also admitted that he had been set to substitute Aiden O’Brien before his headed goal broke the deadlock, and hailed the Irishman for his desire in getting to Aiden McGeady’s cross.

Anothe clean sheet owed much to another excellent display at the heart of defence from Dion Sanderson, who Johnson said is showing the improvements he is adding to his game.

"That's what we expect,” Johnson said.

“We've worked hard, he's worked hard.

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“He's a good player and if he makes a mistake he can bounce back, he negotiated having a yellow card extremely well and was very calm and composed on the ball.

“I think aerially he was domiannt today and that's not something you would necessarily say is his strong point so those improvements in his performance are really nice to see.”

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