'No excuse': Tony Mowbray delivers verdict on what went wrong in Sunderland defeat

Tony Mowbray said his Sunderland side had no excuses after a poor performance against Huddersfield Town made it back-to-back defeats in the Championship.

The Black Cats dominated possession throughout the game but a sloppy display saw them concede some big chances on the break, with the visitors taking a deserved lead through Michal Helik. Luke O'Nien equalised before the break and though Sunderland improved after the interval, they fell behind again after more poor defending allowed Delano Burgzorg allowed to score.

Jobe Bellingham had forced a superb save from Chris Maxwell shortly before that strike but Mowbray's side struggled to create any significant chances in the latter stages on a deeply frustrating night for the team and the supporters.

Mowbray said he felt his side lacked the intensity they required to push Huddersfield deep into their own half early on, eventually allowing Sobra Thomas' set pieces to come to the fore.

The head coach said it was a steep learning curve for his players and that they needed to produce a big response away at Millwall on Saturday.

"We're disappointed with the result and the performance, we lacked energy and creativity," Mowbray said.

"We know how they would play and what they would do, and I was frustrated with how we performed. It's not the first time we've faced a team with players behind the ball and it's not the first time we've struggled to break them down. It's a frustrating night and we're disappointed with the goals. The first one is a set play and the second one is a ridiculous goal. There's no excuse, we're disappointed and we have to be better on Saturday.

"We needed more guile. We needed the intensity and the energy early on, to lock them in their half so they're a long way from our goal and not getting any free kicks or corners. We just lacked that intensity and sometimes I do think it's the youthfulness of the players, just not having that understanding of what it takes to be a natural winner and how ruthless you have to be. It's easy for me to say but they're learning curves - they have to learn from this one.

"You have to be right at it from the off, aggressive and on the front foot and at it. it felt too slow, too much possession and not going anywhere with it, not direct enough. The fans expect to win [these games] and we expect that.

"I wasn't here yesterday [due to illness] but I was trying to feel the mood before the game. If there's a team you think you should be beating you have to have heightened adrenaline and make it happen, don't just think it will happen.

"I felt we lacked a bit of intensity really to drive home our superiority. If you're even five percent off your maximum you can get hurt. We have to take it on the chin and congratulate them."

Sunderland travel to Millwall on Saturday afternoon, who were beaten 3-1 by Ipswich Town on Wednesday night.