REGIS LE BRIS admits he was disappointed with the act of petulance that earned Reinildo Mandava a straight red card in the first half of Sunderland’s home draw with Aston Villa.
However, the Black Cats boss was delighted with the spirit and resilience that enabled his side to claim a point despite playing for an hour with ten men.
Reinildo was sent off in the first half at the Stadium of Light after kicking out at Matty Cash as he tumbled to the floor following a foul by the Aston Villa full-back.
There was very little force in the full-back’s retaliatory flick of his leg, but he made contact with Cash’s midriff and a straight red card felt inevitable once the Villa defender fell to the floor.
Referee Sam Barrott did not hesitate to reach for his pocket, with Reinildo now facing a three-match ban that will keep him out of games against Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Wolves.
“It’s difficult,” said Le Bris. “We have to respect the decision of the referee. Am I disappointed given his [Reinildo’s] experience? Yes, totally. He will be punished because he will miss the next games.
“Granit [Xhaka] spoke in the dressing room about these red cards. He has experienced this feeling before in his career. It can happen, but the main point was the score and the ability to earn a point.”
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Le Bris was forced into a tactical reshuffle after his side was reduced to ten men, replacing Chris Rigg with Dan Ballard and switching to a 5-3-1 formation that was designed to keep Aston Villa out.
The ploy worked, with Villa looking devoid of attacking ideas, but Sunderland’s good work looked like being undone when Robin Roefs was unable to keep out a long-range strike from Cash.
Trailing with a man disadvantage, midway through the second half, it would have been easy for Sunderland to have thrown in the towel, but displaying the kind of resolve that proved so important as they won promotion last season, Le Bris’ side redoubled their efforts and claimed a deserved equaliser when Wilson Isidor fired home his third goal of the season following a cushioned header from Xhaka.
“It’s a good point with two different scenarios,” said the Black Cats boss. “We started well, in the first half-hour of the game, sticking to our game plan. The red card changed the whole dynamic, and it wasn’t obvious that we would react properly.
“We did that though. We had the opportunity to change the game plan, and the second half was about having a deep block and trying to create opportunities through set-plays. I think it went well. We conceded, but I really liked the reaction. Sometimes, going behind with ten men, you can just give up, but that wasn’t the case.
“We kept the ability to go forward and think that it was possible to change the score. And that happened.”
Le Bris was delighted with his side’s defensive discipline and organisation, with Sunderland barely passing up a chance before Ollie Watkins wasted an excellent opportunity in stoppage time when he failed to make any contact to a cross from Jadon Sancho.
“It’s really important to have a solid shape to be able to defend properly,” said Le Bris. “Otherwise, against strong opponents in this league, it is really impossible to be competitive. This part of the game was a real focus through the pre-season, and for the first five games. I think this was really good practice for getting that right.”
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