Patrick Roberts' game time, Tony Mowbray's substitutions and Amad’s Sunderland form: West Brom analysis

Tony Mowbray said after the match wants his Sunderland side to play on the front foot and attack teams, as they did in the first half against West Brom at the Stadium of Light.

Still, he also admitted it can be a natural reaction to drop back while trying to defend a slender advantage.

It’s a narrative we’ve seen before on Wearside this season: Sunderland come racing out of the blocks, look like the better side and take a first-half lead - only to surrender their ascendancy after the break.

That’s how it played out as they were beaten 2-1 by Carlos Corberan’s improving West Brom side, as goals from Baggies substitutes Tom Rogic and Daryl Dike nullified Amad’s early penalty.

Here are some of the main talking points from the match:

A worrying trend

A deeper dive into the stats show Sunderland have taken the lead in six of their 11 home games this season, with the Black Cats holding a half-time advantage in four of those fixtures.

Yet the Black Cats, under both Alex Neil and Mowbray, have not won a home game when they have been leading at the interval this term, squandering leads against Coventry, QPR, Burnley and now West Brom.

Two of Sunderland’s three home wins have come when they’ve opened the scoring in the second half, recording convincing 3-0 victories over Rotherham and Millwall. The other triumph on Wearside saw Mowbray’s side come from a goal down to beat Wigan in October.

That highlights a slightly worrying trend.

Interestingly that has not been the case away from home. Sunderland have led three times at the break on their travels and won all three, at Stoke, Reading and Birmingham.

In the first half against West Brom, Mowbray’s side closed their opponents down quickly, positioned themselves high up the pitch and were the better team, yet that changed after the break.

And while it may be unrealistic to think a team can dominate for 90 minutes at this level, the drop off was significant. Whether it’s a mentality issue or a case of running out of steam, it’s a concern which needs addressing.

Mowbray’s use of substitutions

When it was clear the tide was turning at the start of the second half, Mowbray tried to be proactive by replacing Elliot Embleton with Jack Clarke in the 58th minute.

At the time it seemed a logical move. Clarke has been one of Sunderland’s best players this season, while the winger offers pace and directness on the break.

In hindsight it’s a change which didn’t work, and Clarke was culpable for not stopping Jed Wallace’s cross from the right in the build-up to West Brom’s equaliser.

With teams now able to make five substitutions there is more licence for managers to make an impact during games, and Baggies boss Carlos Corberan certainly did that by making four alterations before the 65th minute.

Two of those substitutes, Rogic and Dike, scored the goals to complete West Brom’s comeback. Perhaps, with Sunderland still unable to call upon striker Ross Stewart, the visitors’ greater strength in depth showed.

Mowbray’s second substitution came in the 74th minute at 1-1 when Dennis Cirkin replaced Dan Neil and the hosts changed shape to play with wing-backs.

Yet again it didn’t have the desired effect as Sunderland often ended up in a 5-4-1 shape while defending in their own half.

Patrick Roberts’ late introduction

Sunderland’s final three changes came with just a minute of normal time remaining, as Patrick Roberts, Leon Dajaku and Abdoullah Ba were introduced.

It was the third match in succession where Roberts has started on the bench, which has largely been down to the excellent form of Amad.

The Manchester United loanee made it five goals in seven matches after converting from the spot here, and was once again the Black Cats’ main attacking threat.

Yet Roberts’ reduced game time has also been a little surprising after Mowbray described him as one of the best players in the Championship earlier in the campaign.

The Black Cats boss has been looking for a way to fit both Amad and Roberts into the same side but is yet to find a solution.

Both have been at their best playing on the right flank and, while Roberts has impressed since Mowbray’s arrival, Amad’s goal contributions have made it almost impossible to leave him out.

A mixed night at the other end of the pitch

Defensively Sunderland conceded few chances in the first half as they closed opponents down quickly and kept West Brom at arm's length.

One player who did that particularly well was Luke O’Nien, who repeatedly thwarted West Brom striker Brandon Thomas-Asante by beating the forward to the ball.

Thomas-Asante was replaced by Dike in the second half, with the latter proving more of a handful by claiming a goal and an assist on his return from injury.

After years of moving positions, O’Nien continues to perform well at centre-back, which could cause another dilemma when summer signing Daniel Ballard is available again.

Yet one area where Sunderland did look vulnerable was on their left flank, where Albion wideman Jed Wallace was a regular threat by sending crosses into the box.

While Aji Alese has performed well this season, the 21-year-old struggled to stop the supply at left-back, which was another reason why Cirkin was brought on with 16 minutes remaining.