Sunderland 1-0 Burnley: Surprise injury boost, dream Mundle moment and impressive late response

Sunderland continued their stunning start to the season with their best win yet over Burnley.

Romaine Mundle’s first-half goal was enough to separate the sides, with the Black Cats also surviving a late red card to win three deserved points. Here’s the story of the game and its key talking points from a Sunderland perspective...

LE BRIS’ BOLD SELECTION AND SURPRISE INJURY BOOST

The talk coming into the game had been how Sunderland would line up without Jack Clarke, and it was no surprise to see Romaine Mundle handed a big chance after impressing over the course of pre season. Regis Le Bris’ other big call had been whether he would bring Alan Browne straight back into the starting line up, but the head coach decided to keep the faith with Chris Rigg following his superb showing against Sheffield Wednesday. It’s still early days but Le Bris has quickly shown his commitment to giving young players opportunities.

There was a pleasant surprise on the bench as well, as Dan Ballard returned from injury ahead of schedule. It’s a big few days in the transfer window but Le Bris is getting options, with Wilson Isidor introduced to the fans ahead of kick off.

Despite the noise around Clarke’s departure, as it happened it was Burnley who probably had the biggest issues by the time the teams were named. A number of key players from their first tow games of the season wee missing, including key central defender Dara O’Shea. Their squad still boasted stacks of quality but there was a door open for Sunderland.

SUNDERLAND’S FAST START

Burnley started brightly but Sunderland quickly began to peg them back, and by five minutes they had asserted total control of the game. They had a huge chance when Dennis Cirkin stole the ball just inside the Burnley half, driving towards the box. He found Mundle with a nice pass and the winger produced an excellent cutback, Rigg’s first-time effort as he drifted into the middle of the box drifting inches wide of the far post.

The chances continued to come for Sunderland, Mundle unable to connect with a volley after nice play down the right between Hume and Roberts. Mundle then worked another shooting chance as he cut into the box, but blazed well over. Le Bris had warned his side ahead of the game that Burnley would look to bait the press before going long and attacking the spaces in behind, but in truth the home press was working so well that the visitors just kept coughing up the ball.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF FOR MUNDLE

Sunderland had been so dominant through the first 25 minutes that Burnley needed a moment to catch their breath, goalkeeper James Trafford going down with an injury and Scott Parker quickly getting his players in for a tactical debrief. It did little to change the trajectory of the game. Sunderland built a nice move, working it out to Mundle on the left. He crossed nicely to Roberts on the right of the box and though he didn’t connect well with his volley, it rolled back to Mundle. He took a touch and cut back inside, thumping an effort past Trafford into the bottom corner. It was a lead that Sunderland totally deserved and a goal that Mundle’s persistence warranted.

BURNLEY STEADY AND GO CLOSE BEFORE THE BREAK

Perhaps inevitably the tempo from the home side dropped a little after the goal, though they continued to control the game and began to enjoy spells of possession all over the pitch. Burnley had most definitely steadied and found something of a foothold in the game, though it wasn’t until the very end of the half that they had their first effort of note. Burnley broke down the right and crossed the back post, where Hountondji was left unmarked. His header was poor, drifting well wide of the near post. It was a warning to Sunderland, though, that they were unlikely to enjoy as much dominance in the second half.

SECOND HALF STARTS WELL FOR SUNDERLAND

As expected, Sunderland didn’t enjoy the same level of control over the second half but they could be content that Patterson still remained something of a bystander in goal. They had a half a chance when a set play almost dropped for Cirkin in the box, but his effort was well blocked.

Burnley began to step up on the game and started to enjoy prolonged spells of possession, but the best moments generally fell to Sunderland on the break. Mundle fired over after driving forward from a Burnley corner, attempting to chip Trafford when perhaps he ought to have played in Mayenda. Only the final pass was missing for the Black Cats when they broke, one or two promising openings falling by the wayside. Trafford also did well to palm an effort from Cirkin clear of trouble when he met a loose ball on the edge of the box.

LATE RED LEADS TO NERVY FINISH

Sunderland were continuing to break dangerous, with Patrick Roberts a real threat, when a surprise red card left them up against it with five minutes to play. Dan Neil had picked up an innocuous yellow card in the first half and cost him dearly when Burnley sprung out from the back. Neil tried to step in to stop the break at source but was just too late, leaving the referee with no real choice but to show him a second yellow.

What followed was perhaps the most impressive phase of the game from a Sunderland perspective. Le Bris brought on both Nectar Triantis and Dan Ballard and Sunderland defended everything that came their way, Burnley barely registering a shot in the final stages. Three more points and richly deserved too.

Sunderland XI: Patterson; Hume, O’Nien, Alese, Cirkin; Neil, Rigg (Browne, 70); Roberts (Triantis, 90), Jobe, Mundle (Ballard, 90); Mayenda (Rusyn, 79)

Subs: Moore, Watson, Hjelde, Poveda, Watson, Ekwah

Burnley XI: Trafford; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires; Vitinho (Sambo, 71), Noah-Massengo (Amdouni, 62), Brownhill, Hountondji (McNally, 88); Rodriguez, Foster

Subs: Hladky, Green, Humphreys, Hugill, McDermott, Masara

Bookings: Egan-Riley, 8 Neil, 39 Hume, 50 Rodriguez, 83 Rusyn, 90

Attendance: 40,096