Alex Neil's pre-match messages, Jack Clarke's nervy moment plus Sunderland fan chants: What you may have missed at AFC Wimbledon

The narrative behind the Scot’s appointment was a frustrating one, as supporters had to wait two weeks during a lengthy recruitment process before the club confirmed Lee Johnson’s successor.

Confidence has clearly taken a significant hit during an uncertain fortnight, yet, finally, the new man is in place, with fans ready to get behind him.

Chants of ‘Alex Neil’s red and white army’ could be heard from the North Stand at Plough Lane, as Sunderland once again sold out their full away allocation, this time for a 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened AFC Wimbledon.

An away following of 838 supporters could be heard throughout the afternoon, with Jermain Defoe’s introduction in the 62nd minute prompting a loud response and chants of ‘na, na, na, na, na, Jermain Defoe.’

Here are some of the other moments you may have missed:

Neil’s pre-match involvement

Sunderland’s new head coach put himself straight into the thick of things as the teams warmed up at Plough Lane.

While the squad went through their pre-match passing drills, Neil patrolled the pitch watching every kick, occasionally passing on instructions and advice.

Neil spoke with Alex Pritchard, Carl Winchester, Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume individually halfway through the warm-up routine.

While Neil’s assistant Martin Canning, Mike Dodds, Phil Jevons and goalkeeping coach David Preece were also on the pitch leading parts of the session, it seems Neil will take something of a hands-on approach.

The full-time reaction

While Sunderland struggled to break Wimbledon down and didn’t do enough to win the game, neither side was helped by referee Simon Mather.

The man in charge dished out a staggering 13 yellow cards, including two to Wimbledon’s Luke McCormick as the hosts were reduced to 10 men in stoppage-time.

At the full-time whistle, the home fans let their feelings known as Mather was booed off when walking down the tunnel.

There was also a moment midway through the second half when Jay Matete brought down Dons full-back Paul Osew to prevent a Wimbledon counter attack right in front of the dugout.

The tackle sparked something of a melee which had to be broken up, before the Sunderland man was eventually booked.

Jack Clarke’s nervy moment

The decision to award Wimbledon a penalty for handball against Callum Doyle in the 19th minute appeared harsh, given the short distance the ball travelled from Jack Rudoni’s cross.

Wimbledon had a stronger appeal for a spot kick two minutes after Alex Pritchard’s equaliser, when winger Sunderland Jack Clarke tried to stop Rudoni seven minutes before half-time.

The ball appeared to hit Clarke - again unintentionally - on the arm after a cross from the right, before he collided with the Wimbledon man.

There were calls for Mather to award another spot kick, yet this time the man in the middle instead awarded a corner.

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