An on-field Sunderland dispute, George Dobson's tackle plus Luke O'Nien's involvement: Moments you may have missed at Charlton Athletic

While Sunderland were facing a Charlton side who had lost five successive matches and slipped to 16th in the League One table, this was never expected to be an easy task.
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Following Saturday’s goalless draw at The Valley, a game which Alex Neil’s side dominated for large spells, the Black Cats have won just one of their last 13 fixtures against the Addicks - dating back to 2001.

That is the definition of a bogey side, and so the trend continued as Sunderland slipped out of the play-off places despite a commendable performance in South East London.

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Nathan Broadhead’s return to the starting XI, marking his first appearance for over two months due to a long-term hamstring issue, at least provided some encouragement, yet an ankle injury to Alex Pritchard could be a major concern.

Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright.Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright.
Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright.

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

Luke O’Nien’s involvement

Broadhead isn’t the only player who has been working his way back to fitness in recent months.

Luke O’Nien hasn’t played since undergoing shoulder surgery in November but was back among the squad at The Valley.

O’Nien wasn’t officially named in the matchday squad but took part in the pre-match warm-up and passing drills.

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The versatile midfielder then helped out with the defensive exercises, while other members of the squad began their shooting practice.

Clearly O’Nien isn’t too far away.

An on-field dispute

After Sunderland failed to make their dominance count in the first half, the game began to open up in the closing stages.

Charlton also had a couple of chances to win the match, which led to an on-field dispute between Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright.

The pair squared up to one another and exchanged words after a defensive mix-up.

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Winchester was asked about the incident after the match and suggested they had made up.

“We want to win and we’re winners at the end of the day,” he said.

"If he sees I’m not doing something right he’ll have a go at me and if he’s not doing something right I can have a go at him.

"It’s nothing personal, it’s just football.”

Charlton fans try to unnerve Alex Pritchard

Last week at Wigan Alex Pritchard was booed off by the home fans as he tried to run the clock down.

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It was also down to his impact on the game, and the skillful playmaker was once again one of Sunderland’s best players here.

In the first half Pritchard was barged off the ball by Charlton defender Samuel Lavelle, yet no foul was given.

Moments later, the Addicks centre-back collided with Pritchard again, which prompted referee Anthony Backhouse to dish out the game’s first yellow card.

The home fans weren’t impressed and subsequently booed the attacker when he was taking a corner.

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Pritchard appeared unperturbed and had a smile on his face as he walked in front of the Charlton supporters.

George Dobson’s tackle

Pritchard’s injury with 15 minutes remaining didn’t look good, though, and the 28-year-old left the ground on crutches.

The injury was caused by a tackle from former Black Cats midfielder George Dobson, though it appeared to be an innocuous challenge.

Dobson had committed a much worse tackle on substitute Jack Clarke just a minute before, which resulted in a yellow card.

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