Sunderland star criticises Preston North End players for 'extreme' time-wasting at Stadium of Light

Trai Hume has criticised Preston North End players for their “extreme” time-wasting antics in the Championship on Tuesday evening at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats were trailing 1-0 after Emil Riis’s superb goal when the game was stopped initially for a Preston head injury. The player quickly got back to his feet, but another Preston player then went down with an injury.

He was substituted off, only for another Preston player to go down injured. There was then a long pause as Preston readied their next substitution and another as the officials realised the visitors now had twelve players on the pitch, with referee Lewis Smith losing control of the situation.

It was only the intervention of the Sunderland coaching staff that alerted the officials to the extra player, but a fired-up home side equalised within moments of the restart, with second-half substitute Romaine Mundle netting a stunning goal.

“Hull came here a couple of weeks ago whenever they won, and they did a lot of time-wasting,” Hume said when asked about Preston’s gamesmanship. “So, kind of expected, but they did go to the extreme really, didn't they? But, I think after they had about four or five players that went down, the fans got up from it and, we pushed on and ended up getting the equaliser. So it kind of helped us in a way, but it's not ideal, but that's what teams do whenever they come and play against us. I mean, they took it to extreme lengths.”

Asked whether he was involved in speaking to the referee, Hume said: “I would usually get involved, but obviously I was booked, so I kind of just stayed over the other side of the pitch and didn't get involved in it. But you can have conversations with the ref, but it's also hard on the referee because it's their players that are going down, and there's always a lot going on. So, it's hard for players and the referees. So it's hard to do, but they did go to the extreme whenever they did it. They knew what they were doing. So, it's just it's part of football really, isn't it?

“Whenever one or two players go down, it's not as long because they had so many that went down at a time. We were waiting to play for five or six minutes. So it got the crowd on their feet, and they were annoyed, and we were annoyed, and then, obviously, the main goal is to score, so it just left everyone up. And we're unfortunate that we only scored one goal in this game. So it just ignited us, and it kept us going. So, it was a positive thing in a way.”

Trai Hume delivers verdict on Preston North End game

“Their goal was kind of against the run of play, if you want to say,” Hume added on the game against Preston. “You know, I thought we, the first half, we created a lot of chances, probably could have scored a few. And they were kind of playing direct up to the big striker and playing off that and getting little chances from that, second balls and stuff. So, we are frustrated because we know we could have scored a lot more goals.

The goal we did concede was, along ball up, striker holds it, turns and shoots, and it's frustrating for us as a back four, and if we're part of that, we concede a goal like that whenever we're dominant in the game, really. So, it is tough, but I think overall we did create enough chances to win the game. You know, it's just one of those things, isn't it?”

Sunderland fail to capitalise on kind results in Championship

Sunderland failed to capitalise on results elsewhere on Tuesday night with second and third-placed Sheffield United and Burnley both dropping two points in the Championship.

“It is frustrating whenever you say that because, you know, we thought we could have came away with three points,’ Hume said when asked about results elsewhere. “And you look at the other results after the game, you realise they've drew. But, you know, obviously we could have made more, so they both could have won. And we could have been even further away. So, you've got to think of it as a positive. But obviously, you know, we are frustrated that we didn't get the three points.

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“It's tough, because obviously we're seven points off, I think it is. It will be tough to catch them. But, you know, it's not on us. We just have to keep taking them game by game and keep winning. And it's basically the pressure's on them to keep winning. And if they do lose, hopefully, we can keep winning and keep getting points to basically get closer. So, you know, until mathematically we're out of it, of course we still believe.”

“You always want to get promoted, obviously, in the Premier League. It's the pinnacle of football, especially for players outside the water, and it's the best league in the world. So, obviously, you want to get there. And this is one of the toughest leagues, I would say, in the world. So, there's a lot of games, and you've just got to keep on pushing and building.

“It does get tough on the mind and the body because there's so many games. So, you've just got to keep digging away and keep pushing. Whenever I was part of the League One squad that got promoted, it was one of the best feelings in the world. Going through that with your teammates and doing it for the fans and your family, it's an unbelievable feeling. So, of course, we have that in the back of our minds. But, you know, we've just got to, like I said, just keep taking it game by game. Hopefully, you can reach that point by the end of the season.”