THE beauty of a bruising and brutal victory.
Sunderland’s best result of the season so far? It wouldn’t be difficult to make a case for it.
And it’s becoming increasingly difficult to doubt whether the Black Cats can last the pace in the Championship promotion race. The clocks haven’t yet gone back but results like Wednesday night’s success at Kenilworth Road suggest Sunderland have the steel as well as the style to stick around at the top.
After a frantic, breathless and suffocating night, Sunderland emerged with three brilliant points, secured by superb second half finishes from two of their brightest young stars in Chris Rigg and Romaine Mundle. They were separated by an Elijah Adebayo equaliser but the fact Luton – who made life so incredibly difficult for Sunderland – only hit the net once was because of another sterling effort by the Black Cats blackline, led once again by the imperious Chris Mepham.
At the ground where Sunderland’s dream of promotion to the Premier League was brought to an end back in May of last year, the Black Cats dug deep and passed a mightily difficult test of character. With it, they opened the gap at the top of the Championship to three points.
The Sunderland celebrations in front of the away end said it all, but only after a flare-up at full-time when Luton's frustrations boiled over on the pitch and in the stands. Luke O'Nien leapt into the fracas and was joined by both sets of coaches before the victorious players headed for the away end to join the fans in celebration. Luton's supporters fumed as Sunderland's smiling players headed for the tunnel.
One thing that hasn’t changed since Sunderland’s last visit to Kenilworth Road 17 months ago is Luton’s direct and physical approach, which explains why Le Bris opted to bring the experienced Alan Browne into the side in place of Patrick Roberts, with Rigg shifted forward on to the right flank.
Luton have struggled to adapt to life back in the Championship after their Premier League relegation and have endured a difficult start to the season, but were always likely to bound into this game with renewed enthusiasm and confidence after their thumping of rivals Watford at the weekend.
And they quickly let Sunderland know they were in a rough night. Composure deserted the visitors, who were pinned back and too often sloppy and careless in possession. There was the odd flash of hope – Bellingham curling just wide after a rapid counter attack – but the Black Cats struggled to retain possession. Rigg’s booking on the half hour mark was a show of frustration and when Anthony Patterson went down for treatment a few minutes later, the players in white rushed over to the touchline for a much-needed breather and instructions from Le Bris.
Luton’s set-pieces were troubling Sunderland. The Hatters had five corners in the opening half hour; from one Mark McGuinness brought a full-stretch save from Patterson, from another Carlton Morris’ header was deflected on to the top of the crossbar.
And it was from a corner that the hosts had the ball in the net in first half stoppage time but Sunderland were saved by the offside flag. The furious Morris was clearly onside but Jordan Clark wasn’t. The irate Hatters claimed the midfielder wasn’t interfering. While Luton fumed, Sunderland gathered themselves at the break after a breathless opening period.
Patterson’s distribution was poor but he made up for it with some crucial saves. Adebayo’s close-range header was superbly pushed over the bar just two minutes after the restart.
Then, after so much defensive courage, came a telling moment of class at the other end 10 minutes into the second half. Rigg pounced on a Luton error and collected the loose ball inside the penalty box but there was still work to do. With men in orange around him, the teenager calmly steadied himself and wriggled into space but slotting low beyond Kaminski.
Luton’s 63rd minute leveller inevitably came from a set-piece, Morris meeting Doughty’s free-kick and teeing up the unmarked Adebayo to head home.
But Sunderland responded instantly and superbly and were back in front within three minutes. The tireless Trai Hume stopped charging Chong in his tracks with a superb tackle and Sunderland turned defence into attack, with Mundle cutting in from the left and precisely curling into the far corner from outside the box.
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