Stephen Elliott: Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray got his subs wrong against West Bromwich Albion

To say it was cold at the Stadium of Light last night would be a bit of an understatement.
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I have to say though, watching the first half performance from Sunderland it took my mind off the fact that I couldn’t feel the tips of my fingers or toes.

Amad Diallo, a player who is becoming very important in this team, was a constant threat and I thought he did really well in buying the penalty that led to the opening goal.

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It was great to see him dust himself off to step up and strike the ball home from the spot too. This is a big sign that the Manchester United loanee is full of confidence and has big belief in himself at the minute.

Sunderland were beaten by West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light.Sunderland were beaten by West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland were beaten by West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light.

Although Sunderland were in total charge in the first half, I felt the save West Brom keeper Alex Palmer made from Alex Pritchard’s point-blank effort would prove costly and come back to haunt Sunderland.

West Brom had been in fine form before the World Cup break and I have to admit I was very surprised at how dull they looked in the first half. They looked unorganised and certainly not like a team that had won three on the bounce.

Considering how disinterested and off the pace the away side looked in the first half, Sunderland – for whatever reason – looked even worse once the teams re-emerged for the second half.

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It was like they had forgotten what they had done to take the lead and West Brom seemed to have it all their own way in the second period. It looked like certain Sunderland players had thought it was job done at half-time and were second to every ball in the second half.

For some reason the team seemed to sit in very deep and they made it very easy for West Brom to get back into the game.

I know it’s important to have a forward in the team but It was obvious to see that the ball was not sticking up top with Ellis Simms, who I felt had a bit of an off-evening. Sometimes in that position when things aren’t going well, a change needs to be made.

Tony Mowbray has been impressive but I feel this was a game that I genuinely questioned his game management.

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Putting an extra defender on with 15 to go backfired. I also feel the triple substitution in the eighty ninth minute needed to be made at least half an hour earlier. These boys needed a chance to get into the game.

Carlos Corberan on the other hand made changes at exactly the right time and in important areas.

Tom Rogic came on in midfield and started to dictate the game and it was no surprise to see him convert the equaliser.

It was Wallace again, who delivered another great ball into the box for other West Brom substitute Daryl Dike to head home their winner.

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I am not going to berate Mowbray though as I’m sure he and this team will bounce back. That is something that they have done all season. Also, as Mowbray alluded to after the game, this team is still learning about this division and the West Brom squad have a lot more experience at this level.