Sunderland’s defeat to Birmingham City proved to be another bruising afternoon in an increasingly chaotic campaign, Michael Beale leaving his post around 36 hours after the full-time whistle.
Beale had conceded that his team’s shortcomings away from home had again been exposed, promising to reflect on why that was and also the lack of impact his in-game changes had ultimately made in a poor second-half showing. The head coach would later go on to address the furore surrounding Trai Hume and the handshake that never was, but his final words in his post-match press conference addressed the one real positive that had emerged from the game.
It’s a key positive for Mike Dodds as he takes over as interim head coach, with one of his key players in Patrick Roberts facing at least a month on the sidelines. In his absence Beale had handed a full debut to January addition Romaine Mundle, and the winger was at the heart of a good first-half display. His excellent cross for Mason Burstow almost yielded an opener, before he won the ball back off Birmingham’s defence and was denied Sunderland’s second goal only by a superb, flying save from John Ruddy not long before half time.
