New role for West Ham loanee, Lee Johnson's telling decision plus a frustrated reaction: Moments you may have missed against Mansfield

Black Cats boss Lee Johnson made six changes to his starting XI following the team’s 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, but still named a senior side which appeared strong enough against League Two opposition.

Yet the hosts struggled to create chances throughout the game as Rhys Oates’ sixth-minute opener decided the contest.

Here are some of the moments you may have missed:

A new role for Frederik Alves

There was some confusion when the teams were announced and Sunderland’s side included three centre-backs.

Following the side’s defensive struggles in recent weeks it seemed inevitable that Frederik Alves would be recalled, yet the West Ham loanee wasn’t deployed in his natural centre-back position.

While Tom Flanagan and Bailey Wright started in the heart of defence, it was Alves who moved to right-back as Carl Winchester was initially rested.

Alves will have surely preferred a chance to stake his claim for one of the centre-back spots given his lack of game time this season, yet Sunderland’s shortage of options at full-back made the move understandable.

With Niall Huggins set to be sidelined for the rest of the year, Alves may be needed to cover Winchester should anything happen to the latter.

Still, while the West Ham defender stuck to his task against Mansfield, he lacked much attacking intent after Sunderland fell behind.

With the team searching for a way back into the game Alves was replaced at half-time with Winchester taking his place.

Johnson’s telling decision

Alves’ withdrawal was part of a quadruple change at the half-time interval, as Tom Flanagan, Leon Dajaku and Aiden O’Brien were also withdrawn.

In the FA Cup, teams are allowed to make five substitutions, yet it was still an unexpected decision for Johnson to use four at once.

The Sunderland boss also brought on Callum Doyle, Lynden Gooch and Alex Pritchard, and admitted he could have made the changes even earlier.

That showed just how disappointing the Black Cats had been as they struggled to deal with Mansfield’s high press in the first half. Stags boss Nigel Clough had clearly learnt from Sunderland’s previous opponents.

Johnson tried to match the visitors up after the break with signs of a midfield diamond, yet, while there was a marginal improvement, the side still looked disjointed.

A growing feeling of anxiety

For most of this season the mood has generally stayed positive, even when Sunderland have suffered setbacks, yet recent performances have altered the narrative.

Heavy defeats at Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday were alarming and have understandably raised concerns on Wearside.

While the FA Cup defeat won’t directly impact Sunderland’s primary objective to win promotion from League One, the result and display only elevated fans’ frustration.

The team were booed off for the first time at home this season, a reaction which was born from previous defeats.

That’s not to say supporters have lost faith in this side, and it should be remembered that less than two weeks ago Sunderland reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Still, there’s certainly a growing feeling of anxiety after a bruising run of results, as well as previous failures in this division.

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