What were the positives and negatives from Sunderland's victory over Hull?

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The Lads ground out an impressive 0-1 away victory on Sunday, courtesy of Wilson Isidor's second half goal. Our writers have their say on what went well and what didn't

Andrew Smithson says…

Away the Lads and Lasses

What a day!

I couldn't follow the Wear derby live but it seems as if the Lasses deserved to beat Durham, and whilst the Lads also won by a single goal, I think we can definitely say they were the better team.

It can be difficult to play later in the weekend after the teams around you have already picked up points, but we looked strong and responded to two iffy results on the road with a classic away performance.

Tactical discipline

Tight games can often be settled by a moment's hesitation or just one player switching off.

However, there were some very mindful performances from individuals, who stuck to the roles they were given and hit high levels both on and off the ball.

Régis Le Bris is clearly keen to instruct the side differently depending on the opposition, and is happy to make in-game tweaks too. There were periods when he wanted the players to press high up and others when it was suitable to drop off, and that's clearly been drilled into them.

It's good that the players can implement these tactics as a unit, and after scoring a quality goal, the stress-free way in which the team saw things out was hugely impressive.

A reluctance to utilise the bench?

This isn't a criticism, and more of an observation, but it seems to me as if Le Bris prefers not to make too many substitutions if he can get away with it.

The two players he brought on were very good and their introductions made sense, but there were a few other options on the bench that may have backed themselves to do a job and will hopefully be keen to keep pushing in training after being forced to remain on the sidelines.

There's a raft of games coming up and it might be time to see a few fresher faces coming on, but it seems there won't be minutes being handed out for the sake of it.

A word of caution

In the main, this was an excellent showing against a potentially dangerous opponent that we outthought and outplayed, but there were one or two small panics.

Although Hull City didn't overwork Anthony Patterson, they did hit the bar and might've also seen the otherwise colossal Chris Mepham penalised for handball.

No team can expect to go through a full ninety minutes without some pressure of course, but these moments will hopefully ensure that whilst Sunderland are deservedly top, nobody gets carried away just yet.

Malc Dugdale says…

Mega Mepham!

That was a very well-earned clean sheet and three points as a result. I have to say that Chris Mepham in particular was top quality, and had he not been as good, we may well have got a draw at best.

He's steadily becoming the keystone of our defence and Dan Ballard will have a hell of a job getting back in when he's fully ready.

Ten out of ten for Mepham, including the iffy handball on the edge of the box that he somehow blagged his way out of.

Wilson Isidor delivers

During large parts of that game, Hull threatened us quite well on the counter but our new centre forward showed them how it's really done to get our goal.

His pace to get onto the ball ahead of the defender was fantastic, and the way he chopped back and forth to lose the defender before deftly chipping it over the keeper was beautiful to watch.

That composure was something we've really been lacking up front and for him to show that after such a powerful run was immense.

I'm growing more and more convinced that we've found the centre forward we've craved since Ross Stewart.

Well played, Wilson.

A tricky afternoon for Patrick Roberts

For me, Roberts had a pretty wasteful game, being given the ball with loads of space and time, but not finding a way to significantly threaten the goalkeeper himself or through his teammates.

I was begging for him to chop inside and shoot, or to put a first time cross in that the attackers could gamble for, but he seemed hellbent on dribbling around a few players then making zero progress.

I think it's time we considered other options, as with the possession we had, we should've scored more than one, and I felt that Roberts was the main reason we didn't.

Maybe it's time for more minutes for Tommy Watson?

Some overly aggressive play

Occasionally, the Lads got so passionate about the tackle and the press that they dove in and left us exposed to counter attacks, which were given away rather than earned.

Luke O'Nien was guilty on a couple of occasions and had Hull been more efficient with their forward play, we could've lost that, never mind won or drawn.

The aggressive press is good but a better balance is needed at times. We got away with it, so all good, but room for improvement for sure.

Mark Roberts says…

A win on the road and we're top of the league!

Arguably a slightly worse overall performance than at Watford and Plymouth, especially in terms of attacking and creativity. That said, if we're serious contenders, these are the games where we need to come through, ride the difficult spells and leave with three points.

Some luck replaced some individual errors, but overall, a resolute defensive performance sealed it.

Sometimes, you make your own luck- the Illan Meslier gift, the referee wanting to play and perhaps a generous decision at the end of the first half with a floundering Chris Mepham, but Anthony Patterson didn't have many saves to make.

In the first half Hull, were lightning quick on the break, but I felt that Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume were excellent, with Luke O'Nien not far behind, stopping attacks with some aplomb.

With Mepham, handball aside, it was a solid wall for most of the game, which a determined Hull City failed to breach, with 71% of tackles won (Hull 48%) and 20 clearances.

Dan Neil impresses

An excellent performance; his best of the season.

Level headed, some good bursts forward and much better retention of the ball.

His first real captain's performance!

Wilson, Wilson!

He's got something, so have we found our first centre forward since Ross Stewart?

He's still got a long way to go, but he's only just started in the Championship and I think there's some improvement in him. A great goal, with strength, pace and composure.

Three goals in four starts? That's a twenty-goal striker. Class.

Ineffective wingers and slow changes

I totally agree with Malc: Patrick Roberts had so much of the ball all game and created next to nothing. It seemed like Hull's gameplan was to give him acres, thinking he wasn't going anywhere, before waiting until he crossed poorly and launching a counter attack.

I'm not sure what was going on with him as he could and should've created at least half a dozen attempts, so I hope it's a one off.

I don't think Romaine Mundle did much, but only because we've come to expect more. Alan Browne didn't come on until the 85th minute and Tommy Watson just warmed the bench.

Personally, I think both should've been hooked with at least twenty minutes to go.