3 things we clearly learnt about Sunderland after their 1-0 victory v Morecambe

Sunderland finished their normal season campaign against Morecambe yesterday. 

The Black Cats were able to come out on top with a 1-0 victory that leaves them fifth in the League One table and ready to compete in the play-offs whilst their opponents avoided relegation due to teams below them losing.

Sunderland will now go on to face Sheffield Wednesday in the play-offs and if they are able to overcome the Owls across two legs, they will be up against either MK Dons or Wycombe in the final.

They don’t have much time to prepare for their first game as they host Wednesday on Friday evening but here we take a look at three things we learnt about the Black Cats after their win yesterday as they look ahead to their next game.

They know how to make their possession count

Looking at the statistics from yesterday’s game, the two sides were fairly even in terms of share of possession at 45% vs 55% in Sunderland’s favour.

However, Morecambe had no shots on targets whilst the Black Cats registered three on target showing they did a better job at using their possession to their advantage and get into strong spaces that would give them the chances in front of goal.

There is a reason Sunderland are towards the top of the table and being able to do this is definitely a reason. Although Alex Neil would rather his team have the ability to play nicer and more free flowing football, it’s important to be able to adapt to games where this is not possible to do but still be able to come out on top.

Therefore, we can see that Sunderland were able to use what time on the ball they did have to their own advantage which helped them win the game.

Defensive duties

Given Morecambe had their fair share of the ball, it’s no surprise that they were able