Sunderland fan blog: Tony Mowbray had the right to be angry after second-half collapse against Burnley

At half-time Sunderland were two goals to the good: they largely played some expansive football and caused Burnley problem after problem.

Yet at the full-time whistle Sunderland were on the back of a devastating 4-2 defeat to Vincent Kompany’s men.

So what went wrong?

When the second half began, some sort of comeback was expected from the Clarets: after all, the man at their helm – Vincent Kompany – is a man that played a key role in Manchester City’s Premier League triumphs over his 11-year stint at the club.

Still, when Burnley’s fourth went in with 87 minutes on the clock, it was hard to believe the home side were two goals up only 37 minutes earlier.

So if the first half performance was one of the best displays of the season, their second, arguably, has to be one of their worst.

Yes, some credit has to be given to Kompany’s fighters but Sunderland lost their grip on the game when Burnley netted their first, and then even more when the second flew past Anthony Patterson.

For the Black Cats, this proved to be an afternoon where their injury problems truly hit home: Mowbray, a seemingly frustrated and angry figure post-match, recognised that Sunderland’s height difference practically led to Burnley’s second-half resurgence.

At the moment Sunderland are struggling in all aspects of the pitch.

As Mowbray pointed out, Sunderland went into “protection mode” and you can’t argue, for most of the second half, the Black Cats succumbed to Burnley pressure.

Mowbray had the right to be angry and frustrated come the full-time whistle. He was late to his post-match press conference but the answer why must be left to the imagination.

After this second-half display the team, arguably, deserved a post-match inquest, and the impact this had will be shown in Tuesday’s open training session, before the big answer against Luton at Kenilworth Road.

For now, Sunderland must taste the frustration that this devastating defeat has created. The Black Cats need more first-half performances like they had on Saturday, and less like the second-half display.