The unwanted record put to an end and a telling full-time reaction: Behind the scenes at Sunderland 1-0 Shrewsbury Town
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We take a look at some of the moments you might have missed from the League One victory – from some tactical switches to a telling full-time reaction:
WARM-UP OBSERVATIONS
As Lee Johnson’s reign continues, further tweaks are being made to the way Sunderland operate on the field.
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Hide AdThere are the more obvious changes he has made to the style of play, and then some more subtle tweaks designed to aid the performance.
Many of those have come in the pre-match warm-up, where further adjustments have been made this week.
Sunderland’s players are now put through a short, sharp, passing and movement drill before they move into some more possession-based work during their preparations.
It’s a small change in the grand scheme of things, but one which shows that Johnson is keen to ensure things are done his way moving forward.
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Hide AdAlso on show during the warm-up was Oliver Younger, who narrowly missed out on the squad this time around.
The under-23 defender has been on the bench in recent weeks but missed out as Danny Graham returned to the fold – but still took part in elements up of the warm-up before then completing some solo runs.
CHANGING-UP THE CORNERS
One of the major frustrations of Sunderland’s play in recent months – and arguably recent seasons – has been a failure to take advantage of set-piece situations.
That was evident on Tuesday evening when the Black Cats failed to make a string of corners count against Plymouth, with goals from set plays few and far between in recent months.
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Hide AdBut the coaching staff have set about trying to change that.
We’ve seen Sunderland try and mix things up in recent weeks with some short and quickly taken set-pieces, and further changes have now been worked on.
The hosts employed some new routines as they looked to make their corners count – one of which, in the first half, saw all the players congregate on the edge of the area before breaking off and looking to make clever runs.
They didn’t pay dividends against Shrewsbury, but expect similar and further routines to be employed moving forward.
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Hide AdAnd Sunderland need to make them work – set plays can be key, especially in games as tight as we saw on Saturday.
A SUNDERLAND LINK
There was one obvious Sunderland link in the Shrewsbury Town side, as ex-Black Cat Donald Love made a rare appearance.
The former Manchester United youngster has been out of favour in recent weeks and had played just five minutes of league football all season before the trip to Wearside.
He was steady if unspectacular against his former club, but wasn’t the only player in the Shrewsbury ranks with links to Wearside.
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Hide AdThe other was Harry Chapman who, while on the books of Middlesbrough as a youngster, was coached by club legend Gary Bennett.
The pair shared a wave after Chapman finished his post-match media duties, with the Shrewsbury loanee having been one of their better performers.
FLEXIBILITY ON THE FLANKS
This game signalled something of a tactical change from Sunderland.
While recent games have seen Johnson start the side in a 4-2-2-2 shape, his side were set-up in a far more traditional 4-4-2 this time around.
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Hide AdAiden McGeady and Jack Diamond were played as out-and-out wingers and enjoyed plenty of success down their respective flanks, particularly in the first half.
The duo got into some good areas and perhaps the only disappointment was that the Black Cats couldn’t turn those promising positions and patterns of play into more concrete chances.
It was some fine wing play that created the goal though, as McGeady got into a good area and whipped in a fine cross which was met by a looping Charlie Wyke header.
McGeady put in a promising performance out wide and looked to get at his man more than he has perhaps done in recent weeks.
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Hide AdDiamond was his usual lively self, and again found himself in some excellent areas during the dominant first half display.
The duo swapped flanks at the break, but it was a half in which Sunderland failed to really have any impact in the final third as Shrewsbury tried to find a way back into the game.
It was no surprise that both were withdrawn, as Johnson changed to a 4-3-3 shape in a bid to see out the game.
Such changes – both in terms of the change in formation and the switching of the wingers – can prove to be useful tools in games, and the ease at which Sunderland adapt to these switches was pleasing.
They’ll certainly be key in the coming weeks.
A TELLING FULL-TIME REACTION – AS AN UNWANTED RECORD ENDS
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Hide AdLee Johnson’s full-time reaction was fairly understated, but told a story.
A simple fist-pump greeted the final whistle; a show of relief as Sunderland’s head coach clinched his first league win at the Stadium of Light.
It felt like a weight lifted – not just for Johnson, but the squad as a whole.
Sunderland had gone 82 days without a League One win on Wearside, with their last triumph coming against Ipswich Town.
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Hide AdThat was the longest period the Black Cats had gone without winning at home during their time in the third tier – but that unwanted record has now come to an end.