The scout in the stands and a strange stoppage: Behind the scenes at Fleetwood 1-1 Sunderland

We take a look at some of the moments you might have missed from the League One stalemate – from a scout in the stands to a strange stoppage…

The player in imperious form

There were numerous moments throughout the game that drew applause from the benches – not least Callum Camps’ stunning volley that rattled the bar early in the second half.

But before the game had even kicked-off, one Sunderland player drew applause from staff and his teammates thanks to an imperious performance during the warm-up.

The individual in question was Lee Burge who, during shooting practice, pulled off a string of fine saves.

One in particular drew heavy applause, as he sprung to his left to save a curling Will Grigg effort in some style.

Indeed, it took two fine strikes from Chris Maguire and Danny Graham to beat the stopper during the warm-up.

Burge has been dropped to the bench in recent weeks with Remi Matthews preferred between the sticks, and the former Bolton man – while rarely tested at Fleetwood – made one fine save to keep Ched Evans at bay.

But Burge will no doubt be keen to push for a return to the side, and will be looking to impress in training ahead of the visit of Burton Albion on Tuesday.

The scout in the stands

Among the limited crowd at Highbury was a scout from one of Sunderland’s League One rivals.

And he wasn’t exactly inconspicuous either, coming decked out in a full Accrington Stanley tracksuit.

The Black Cats, of course, face Stanley on December 29 – so the individual in question may have been watching Phil Parkinson’s side with one eye on that fixture.

Or perhaps he was just keen to take in a local game on a weekend in which Accrington were left without a fixture.

There was also another couple of interested observers in the stand in George Dobson and Aiden O’Brien.

Both players travelled with the Black Cats but did not make the final match day squad. O’Brien has only recently returned from an injury which saw him miss the trip to Doncaster, while Dobson hasn’t featured since the defeat at Fleetwood in the EFL Trophy.

The former Walsall midfielder was a standout performer that evening, but is having to wait for a chance to make his mark in League One.

A strange first-half stoppage

As Fleetwood looked to quickly take a first-half throw-in, referee Bobby Madley stopped them in their tracks.

Charlie Mulgrew was ready to launch the ball forward and start a period of pressure, only for Madley to blow-up and give Sunderland time to regroup.

So why did the referee half play?

A rogue shinpad.

Midfielder Camps had somehow managed to lose his shinpad while defending the ball just outside his own penalty area, and Madley wouldn’t allow play to continue until the shinpad was returned to its rightful owner.

It’s one of the stranger stoppages we’ve seen this term, that’s for sure...

A word in the ear of Bobby Madley

Referee Madley incurred the wrath of both dugouts during the game, having been forced into making some big calls.

His decision to deny Sunderland a first-half penalty after Josh Scowen went down in the box frustrated Parkinson, who spoke post-match of his belief that the Black Cats should have been awarded a spot kick.

Parkinson wasn’t shy in voicing that belief on the sidelines, and waited for Madley as he exited the pitch at half-time to discuss the incident.

And after the break, it was Joey Barton’s turn to fume at Madley (or ‘Bob’, as he called him repeatedly throughout the evening) after he felt his side were denied a penalty of their own.

The two dugouts weren’t shy in exchanging views either, and the fourth official was certainly kept busy as Parkinson and Barton wasted no time in sharing their takes on the key incidents in the game.

The unheeded warning

In games of this nature, against teams who are likely to be in promotion contention come the end of the season, there are always storms to weather.

Sunderland did well to keep those storms to light drizzles in the most part, with the Cod Army only having one real period of pressure in the second half.

Sadly, it’s a period through which the Black Cats did not come unscathed – and they can’t say they weren’t warned.

Moments before Callum Connolly thumped home an emphatic leveller, Josh Scowen and Denver Hume had slid in to make a heroic block to deny Wes Burns.

The next time Fleetwood threatened, Sunderland would have no such response.

An attacking threat

While Hume made that key interception at the back, he was also a real threat going forward – particularly in the first half.

For all Sunderland were arguably the better side in the opening 45 minutes, chances once again proved elusive for the most part.

But their best two openings of the half came through Hume. He first flashed a shot narrowly wide before later latching on to a Charlie Wyke through ball and forcing Jayson Leutwiler into a save.

It was the only real save Leutwiller had to make during the game besides the goal, and it’s pleasing to see Hume getting into areas where he can work the opposition goalkeeper.

But it’s a concern for Sunderland that they are still struggling to fashion clear-cut opportunities during periods where they are in the ascendancy.

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