Luke O'Nien's amusing 8-word social media reaction to penalty miss during Sunderland vs Millwall

Sunderland club captain Luke O’Nien has issued a cheeky social media response to his penalty miss against Millwall.

Sunderland returned to Championship action on Saturday afternoon, facing Millwall at the Stadium of Light after a two-week international break. Le Bris’ side came into the match on the back of a 3-0 defeat away to Coventry, following a 1-1 draw with Preston at home.

The breakthrough came in the first half when Trai Hume found the net after a well-worked set piece between Patrick Roberts and Romaine Mundle. His goal proved to be the winner, securing a much-needed victory for the Wearsiders after two games without a win in the league.

Sunderland had a chance to extend their lead in the second half when Mundle was fouled in the box, earning a penalty. In a surprise move, club captain O’Nien stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his effort was saved. The 30-year-old had previously maintained a flawless penalty record for the club, though all his successful attempts had come in shoot-outs before Saturday’s miss against the Lions.

After the game, O’Nien took to Instagram, posting: “3 points, clean sheet & a shot on target,” accompined by some emojis. Fellow Sunderland defender Dennis Cirkin, who missed the game through injury responded with, “top guy,” in the comments section.

There seemed to be some debate among Sunderland’s players over the penalty, with Mundle visibly frustrated by the decision to let O’Nien take it. Mundle had been set to be substituted when the spot-kick was awarded and was replaced by Tommy Watson shortly after O’Nien’s miss.

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Sunderland’s struggles from the penalty spot continued, as they have now failed to convert their last four attempts. Wilson Isidor missed two in a single game against Burnley at Turf Moor, while Patrick Roberts was also unsuccessful from the spot against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane earlier this season.

When asked about Sunderland’s penalty issue, Le Bris said after the game: “I don't know, what can I answer? Yes, it's a problem because from an XG perspective, this is the best situation, the best chance we could have and at the minute we struggled a lot and it's an important topic for us, for the future and for now because with a second goal, the end of the game should have been easier and it wasn't the case.”

“I don't know, so far Luke was really good during the training sessions, I think he scored before Sunderland. So it's more a question of, I don't think a defender or an offensive player is more skilful for that specific exercise, we'll work on it, sure.”

Asked about Mundle’s reaction to O’Nien taking the penalty, Le Bris added: “It was decided before the game but yes, he was a bit emotional but it's not a problem, we'll talk about it a bit later.” When pressed on who would take the club’s next penalty, the Sunderland head coach said: “I don't know, we'll have a conversation with the players.”