Tony Mowbray explains his tactical changes and early substitution against West Brom after frustrating night

The Black Cats took a first-half lead as Manchester United loanee Amad converted from the penalty spot, before Alex Pritchard saw an effort saved by Baggies goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

It was a different story after the break, though, as goals from West Brom substitutes Tom Rogic and Daryl Dike turned the tide.

“It’s a frustrating night for us,” said Mowbray after the match.

“Pritch’s chance with the goalie sticks in my mind to go 2-0 and it’s a long way back for them from there.

“I think we have to address the scenario where we feel as if we have to protect something because we don’t help ourselves.

“We sat too deep and invited pressure. This team at this stadium needs to play on the front foot and yet it’s a human thing really to protect what you’ve got sometimes.

“It’s a frustrating night for us because against good teams and good players you’re giving them too much time on the ball and they’ll pick the right pass more often than not, and that’s what they did tonight.

“They have some very good players for this league and ultimately it’s frustrating for us.”

Mowbray made one change to his starting XI following Sunderland’s 3-0 win over Millwall, with Elliot Embleton replacing Jack Clarke.

Clarke was then brought on for Embleton in the 58th minute, yet Sunderland weren’t able to hold their advantage.

“I wanted some more direct speed on the pitch to break away,” added Mowbray when explaining his substitution.

“You could feel they were pushing us back a little bit and you need to throw punches when teams are doing that, you can’t just sit in.

“Jack has been really good for us one-on-one in wide areas, taking people on and using his pace down the outside, and yet Embleton did really well.

“We tried to play to narrow their back four off today and push our full-backs high, and we had relative success in the first half.

“They found a way and their quality found a way to push us back. I just wanted to change it and bring a bit more mobility and speed on.”