There may well be some disappointment over Sunderland’s opening day defeat against Ipswich Town - but there can be no doubt the Stadium of Light faithful were fully behind Tony Mowbray’s side throughout a brave loss.
It seemed almost inevitable former Black Cats loan star Nathan Broadhead would find the target against his old club and that came to pass just before half-time as the Tractor Boys striker put his side in front. George Hirst doubled the visitors lead seven minutes into the second-half and things went from bad to worse for Sunderland when Trai Hume was shown a second yellow card with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Mowbray’s men put in a determined push to claim an unlikely point as Dan Neil got them back into the game with four minutes left on the clock. Despite 13 minutes of injury-time being signalled, the Black Cats could not find an equaliser and were left empty-handed from their opening game of the campaign.
The highlight of the day was the ferocious atmosphere created by the Wearside faithful on a challenging day for their side - but how did the Stadium of Light attendance compare to Sunderland’s Championship rivals?
1. Attendances for Championship clubs’ first home game of the season ranked.
Attendances for Championship clubs’ first home game of the season ranked. Photo: Getty Images
3. Plymouth Argyle v Huddersfield Town
Attendance: 16,446 Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
