Matchday Musings: Late frustration as Sunderland are held by Blackburn

Yesterday at 01:00 AM

Despite rallying from 1-0 down to eventually take the lead, the Lads were forced to settle for a point as Rovers netted a late equaliser. Phil West reflects on this Ewood Park clash

Pencil and paper at the ready? Excellent. Here we go.

An early goal conceded? Check.

A lifeless first half performance? Check.

A rousing start to the second half, garnished with two well-worked goals and further proof of our grit and determination? Check.

A late sting in the tail as the opposition saw a chance and took it, thereby denying us the victory? Check.

If this Boxing Day clash with John Eustace's well-drilled and stubborn playoff chasers was the perfect post-Christmas test of our promotion credentials, it more or less followed the script that's been written by Régis Le Bris' players for the past month or so.

As we seem to do on a weekly basis, we rallied from a goal behind yet again before taking the lead in the second half and conceding a scrappy goal to ultimately allow two points to slide.

Yes, I hear the arguments about 'any point away from home being a good one' and that this result keeps us close to the mythical 'two points-per-game' average that'll keep us in the promotion mix as the season heads towards its conclusion.

However, it's also fair to say that having done all of the hard work to get back into the game following a poor first half and the concession of a goal to Yuki Ohashi, this was a big opportunity missed for Sunderland; a chance to really put the squeeze on the teams above us in the table that was ultimately not taken.

If questions can rightly be asked of Le Bris' in-game management (no changes made until Chris Rigg limped off with what looked like a nasty ankle injury and several visibly-flagging red and white-clad players left on the field in the latter stages) you could hardly blame the players for being out on their feet at the end of this feisty encounter, and with a trip to Stoke City next up, the argument for the head coach to utilise his wider squad to a greater degree is surely more valid than ever.

Was a draw a fair result? Perhaps.

Rovers, propelled by the outstanding Tyrhys Dolan and the relentless Lewis Baker, enjoyed the better of the first half as the Lads struggled to gain any traction. Wilson Isidor, ostensibly shadowed by former Sunderland defender Danny Batth, cut an isolated figure for much of the half, and there wasn't a great deal of threat from the wings, either.

There was plenty of graft from the outstanding Dan Neil and no lack of effort from Jobe, but after Ohashi gave the hosts the lead, it felt as though it would either be the spark we needed to stage a comeback or the trigger for a rare defeat.

Fortunately, it was the former, as a different Sunderland side emerged after the break.

When Rigg tucked the ball past Aynsley Pears to make it 1-1 before an outrageous flicked finish from Isidor gave us the lead in front of a raucous away end, it seemed as though our habit of roaring back into games before eventually taking the points would serve us well for another day, even if we started to grow visibly weary as the half wore on.

Sadly, it wasn't to be, as following an impromptu game of pinball in the Sunderland area led to Harry Leonard grabbing a late equaliser for Rovers- another irritatingly sloppy goal to sit alongside those from Anis Ben Slimane, Lewis Koumas, and Zan Vipotnik.

With the Lads making a trip to Stoke City on Sunday before Sheffield United's blockbuster visit to Wearside scheduled for New Year's Day, I can't help but feel a nagging sense of annoyance at the way in which this game concluded.

Granted, it wasn't as inexplicable as the implosion against Coventry or borne of the same naivety as the dramatic draw against Millwall, but it was a late kick in the gut after we'd worked very hard to edge ourselves in front.

Rovers were undoubtedly decent value for the draw and Eustace will rightly highlight his side's never-say-die spirit, but our attentions now turn to a clash with the beleaguered Potters and their under-fire head coach, Narcís Pelach.

We've regularly gained points from losing positions this season so the law of averages might've decreed it would go the other way at some stage, but hopefully we can see the job through if we're in a similar position with ten or fifteen minutes left to play in Staffordshire.