James Copley and Jason Jones react as Sunderland beat Millwall 1-0.
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00:00Hello, you're joining us at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland have just beaten Millwall 1-0, a game, James, in which Sunderland probably could have and should have won by more goals?
00:10Yeah, I think that's the big frustration is that Sunderland didn't put Millwall to the sword. I didn't think Millwall were very good at all, to be honest.
00:16They set up quite defensively, didn't really offer much in an attacking threat. I thought Aaron Connolly maybe showed why Sunderland got rid of him in January. I didn't think he offered that much.
00:26Josh Colburn didn't really do too much. But good for Sunderland to get back to winning ways. I thought it was a decent performance. Obviously, a massive step up from the Preston and Coventry City games.
00:37Important to get back to winning ways, important to keep that relationship with the home crowd going. And yeah, should have scored a penalty as well, which I'm sure we'll come to.
00:46We will, we will. I mean, it's one of those where I think at this stage, given where Sunderland are in the table, the points are obviously important, but perhaps just as important is the regaining of some momentum.
00:57Yeah, definitely. I mean, Coventry was really jarring, wasn't it, from the Sunderland fans' perspective? And I guess from their perspective as well, it was the first time Sunderland had lost by more than a one-goal margin since the end of last season.
01:08It was a drubbing, it was a thumping. They were outclassed, outplayed, out-tacticed. So, good to come back off the international break, get those three points in the bag, minutes in the legs, and then hopefully Sunderland can start getting some players back from injury and kick on towards the play-offs.
01:22I feel like at the end of the season, we might not remember this game much, but it could be really important if Sunderland do achieve the goals.
01:31Absolutely, absolutely. We'll get into the game itself. Obviously, Regis Lebris, kind of one-hand tie behind his back in terms of selection today. So many defenders out injured. In the end, he ended up going with Alan Brown at right-back, Trey Hulme swapping over to the left flank. I mean, what did you make of Alan Brown's performance?
01:46I thought Alan Brown was really good, really solid, really dependable, considering it's his first start for Sunderland in a little while, his first game at right-back for Sunderland. I think he played a little bit there for Preston, but not too much. I thought he was good. You mentioned during the game, Jason, he was passed a couple of times positionally where he wasn't where you'd expect him to be, but I thought on the flip side of that, his passing actually was very, very good.
02:08I want to shout out Trey Hulme, who moved over a left-back, who's playing with a hip injury. We know he can play left-back, but it's not his most natural position. I thought he was fantastic, typified with the goal, supported Rene Munger really well. He is a hell of a player, Trey Hulme. I think he is a candidate for being Sunderland's player of the season. Mr Dependable, he's fantastic. My man of the match today.
02:29Yes, I thought he was wonderful. Really, really steady. Then, of course, like you say, got the winning goal. It was a great finish as well, wasn't it? Really smartly worked corner-kick routine between Munger and Roberts, down on this near side, and then the ball from Roberts towards that back stick. Trey Hulme's met it really sweetly, hasn't he?
02:46Yeah, really well worked. A fantastic finish. I think set-pieces have been a little bit of a frustration at Sunderland. We had that spell at the beginning of the season where we were scoring from them quite often, and then it seemed to go downhill, but that was fantastically well worked. Assist for Patrick Roberts as well, inch-perfect goal. He could have had another couple of assists today on another day. I thought it was a return to form for him. I have seen a lot of mad things written about Patrick Roberts.
03:10Yes, he can be inconsistent, but I saw somewhere on social media somebody say that he was Sunderland's worst and most overrated player, which is just laughable, to be honest. I think he's fantastic. When he plays well, Sunderland plays well. Yes, as I mentioned, some inconsistencies, but really, really pleased to see him return to form today.
03:28I think that's the thing with Roberts, isn't it? The biggest bug there that people have is a lack of end product, and I think that there have been times where you could argue that his return, certainly in the Goals Forum department, hasn't been there, but it's hard to argue against his inclusion in the team when he's producing passes like that to set up the trade-in for the winning goal.
03:45Yes, I agree. We should probably end up there and go and speak to Rajeev Sabri. Shout-out to Phil, who's on his honeymoon. Congratulations to Phil and Beth. He'll be back with you next week. I'm sure you'll all be pleased to hear that.