Huddersfield Town 1-0 Sunderland: Frustrating habit continues and huge injury blow in dismal defeat

Sunderland fell to a 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night, with Matty Pearson's close-range strike in the first half proving to be the difference between the two teams.

Here's the story of the game and its talking points from a Sunderland perspective...

SLOW START - ALL OVER THE PITCH

To say this was a poor game in its opening exchanges would be something of an understatement. Huddersfield started on the front foot, going close when Sorba Thomas hit the byline within a minute and stood up a cross to the back post that Leo Hjelde was only just able to clear. After that? Not a great deal to report, from either side.

Huddersfield to their credit were playing with a tempo and looking to get on the front foot, but Luke O'Nien's strong performance against Josh Koroma meant they lacked the focal point to really play off and get a foothold in the final third. As for Sunderland, they had tweaked their approach but the dividends in attack were minimal. Jobe's return saw the Black Cats revert to a 4-3-3, but a very fluid front three were rotating in an attempt to allow Rusyn to try and dive into space from the right flank.

They were looking to limit Huddersfield's threat and play on the break, but with Jack Clarke marshalled well by Matty Pearson they weren't really making any inroads.

HUDDERSFIELD TAKE THEIR CHANCE

The first real opening of the game came for the visitors when Thomas capitalised on a rare Ballard error and burst to the byline. His cutback looked certain to be turned in by Wiles, but O'Nien did superbly to hook clear. Kasumu met the rebound of the edge of the area and struck his effort nicely, dipping just wide of the far post.

Around fifteen minutes later, they had the lead. O'Nien was furious with Hjelde for vacating space and forcing him into a foul, from which Huddersfield deployed a clever routine. It looked as if they were laying up Thomas to whip a cross in, but instead it was Rudoni who fired straight at goal on his left foot. Patterson and Sunderland's defence looked a little caught out, the goalkeeper saving but palming the ball into the path of Pearson who had a simple finish.

Sunderland ended the half on top but apart from one or two passes which were inches away from yielding a big chance, they'd created next to nothing. It's becoming an increasingly alarming habit that Sunderland so often just don't find any real level of intensity for so much of one half in so many games.

NEW HALF - FAMILIAR STORY

Sunderland were lucky not to fall further behind in a poor start to the second half, a couple of very poor giveaways inviting pressure. The Black Cats survived a big penalty claim when Matos went down under a challenge from Hjelde - while there wasn't much contract the defender certainly didn't get the ball.

Moments later, Hume was forced into a foul on the edge of the box and Koroma curled a low free kick onto the post with Patterson beaten had it been on target. That did spark Sunderland into life, the game breaking open as they lifted the intensity of their performance. The chances continued to fall to Huddersfield, though, Jobe clearing a Rudoni header off the line with the hosts calling for handball.

SUNDERLAND LABOUR IN RESPONSE - AND FINISH THE GAME WITH TEN

Though there had been slight uptick in the tempo of Sunderland's play in possession, Nicholls had nothing to do after making a routine save from Jobe early in the second half. Beale's changes did little to really open the hosts up, though Patrick Roberts did cause some problems with his dribbling and fired an excellent cross into the box with minutes to play. No one was there to meet it and to add insult to injury, Roberts then hobbled straight down the tunnel with what appears to be a fresh muscle issue. Having made three sets of substitutions, the Black Cats had to finish the game with ten. They'd been unlucky not to be reduced minutes earlier, a wild challenge from substitute Mundle deemed only to be a yellow card.

Sunderland then finally drew a save from Nicholls as a Jobe challenge launched a counter, the goalkeeper doing well to turn Hume's goalbound effort wide. The game swung open from end to end, Burgzorg and Rudoni missing big chances before O'Nien's cross was diverted just over the bar by a Huddersfield defender. Sunderland's rally, though, was too little and far too late.

BLACK CATS BEATEN - AND THEY CAN HAVE LITTLE COMPLAINT

While it may not have been a game in which Huddersfield created stacks of chances, it was a game that Sunderland did nowhere near enough to say that should have claimed something from. Nicholls was barely tested until that Hume effort and Sunderland again let a half pass them by almost entirely. In truth, the second wasn't a great deal better and their lack of attacking threat was a major concern.

Consistency both within games and from game to game remains elusive.

Huddersfield Town XI: Nicholls, Pearson, Rudoni, Koroma (Ward, 73), Thomas, Spencer (Jackson, 80), Kasumu, Matos (Hogg, 73), Wiles (Burgzorg, 80), Balker (Nakayama, 60), Lees

Subs: Maxwell, Radulovic, Diarra, Jones, Jackson

Sunderland AFC XI: Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O'Nien, Hjelde (Pembele, 60); Neil (Burstow, 80), Ekwah, Jobe; Ba (Roberts, 60), Clarke, Rusyn (Mundle, 72)

Subs: Bishop, Hemir, Aouchiche, Seelt, Rigg

Bookings: O'Nien, 35 Ba, 50 Matos, 67 Nicholls, 79 Mundle, 86