Phil Parkinson delivers verdict on Ipswich Town win and the tactical reshuffle he felt was key

The Black Cats had again benefited from a red card and a penalty, with Grant Leadbitter sealing the three points from the penalty spot late on.

Sunderland had started superbly, with Charlie Wyke opening the scoring within ten minutes.

Ipswich Town battled back into the contest, with Jack Lankester levelling the game shortly before the half time whistle.

Parkinson shuffled his pack at the break, changing his system slightly to cope with Ipswich’s impressive midfield trio. Parkinson felt the change had the desired effect, and hailed three crucial points in the push for promotion.

“I think the first half we got caught in between a little bit with our pressing,” Parkinson said.

“I thought we allowed them to progress up the pitch too easily, even though we started well and got the goal.

“The second half we were much better, we put Goochy in behind the two strikers and got on top of them better.

“We forced them into more mistakes and it was a much better display.

“Sometimes when you're not at your best you've got to find a way to win. The lads stuck at it and it was an important win for us, to back up the win against Gillingham.

“Ipswich are technically very good in the midfield area, their midfield three are probably as good as anyone in the division and it did show at times.

“I thought we were rectified things at half time by getting that extra man higher up the pitch, to stop them building attacks.

“There was perhaps a little bit of edginess there but it was an important game against promotion rivals and we came through it.

Parkinson conceded that his Black Cats side had not necessarily been at their best through the contest, but the result leaves them in a strong position in the table.

Sunderland are tracking above the key two-points-per-game metric, and are now just one point behind Ipswich in the table.

They also have a game in hand on Lambert’s side ahead of a short break from league action.

“You go back to the Peterborough game, it was a very tight game and were we at our best in terms of playing? Probably not, but you've got to come out the points and discuss what you can do better later," Parkinson said.

“The lads stuck with it and I thought the resilience, the organisation, was great tonight.

“Sometimes you can't play as well as you'd like, the teams at the top are there for a reason and can make things difficult for you.

“The second half was a lot better for us.”

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