Sunderland defeated West Brom 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in a thrilling match.
After the thrilling victory over West Brom on Saturday afternoon, Mike Dodds believes the Sunderland players feel good about themselves. However, he acknowledges that he would like to strive to enhance the team’s style and aggressive play in the last three weeks of the season.
Just before halftime, Pierre Ekwah’s goal gave the Black Cats the lead and they maintained their fifth clean sheet in six games at The Hawthorns. Shortly before, at what turned out to be the game’s pivotal moment, Brandon Thomas-Asante was sent off for a second yellow card
Dodds stated that although his team is developing and has a solid foundation from which to advance, it is now his responsibility to attempt to increase the intensity in the last part of the game. In actuality, neither goalie faced significant testing during the contest.
“The group just had a chance to speak in there and they feel they’re in a really good place, that’s five clean sheets in six games,” Dodds stated.
“Any squad has an extremely solid foundation if they are not giving up goals. To be honest, I would like it if we could move the ball more freely, but there are instances when you have to tighten up in specific locations, which might hinder that.
“So, I need to find that balance if I’m being overly harsh, but they have a great coach and a really talented squad. Although the red card clearly marked a significant turning point in the game, I felt the performance was comprehensive and professional. We discussed our offensive play as a squad, and I don’t think we accomplished it consistently enough. We thought there were opportunities for us to take advantage of.
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