Parkinson hails Sunderland’s response

Posted Sunday, November 03, 2019 by PA

Phil Parkinson was delighted with his Sunderland players’ resilience after they shrugged off the disappointment of their midweek Carabao Cup exit at Oxford with a hard-fought home win over Southend.

Luke O’Nien settled things with a first-half header as the Black Cats ground out a 1-0 win that took them to within a point of the play-off places in League One.

Parkinson is still waiting for his first away victory as Sunderland boss, but his two home matches have resulted in back-to-back wins over Tranmere and Southend.

Parkinson said: “I’m very pleased. We’ve had two long trips on the road, and maybe we weren’t at our sharpest for the whole game, but in patches we were good.

“It’s important when you are not quite at your best you get the result. We showed good resilience and we should have scored more, although some of our crossing was not as good as we like.

“It’s an important win for us, with the possibility of not having a league game for a while (because of international call-ups). Everybody knew it was important to get the result.”

Parkinson reserved special praise for O’Nien, who is evolving into an effective attacking midfielder after spending much of his time under Jack Ross playing at full-back.

He said: “Luke is a terrific player. The most important thing is he is great in both boxes, and that is where the game is won or lost.

“That goal, I am looking forward to watching it again with a glass of wine. It was a terrific header, a great cross, and I am very pleased for him.”

Sol Campbell is still to claim his first point since taking over as Southend manager but the former England international was not too downhearted at his players’ display.

He felt his side should have had a first-half penalty when Simon Cox’s strike appeared to strike Max Power on the arm, and was pleased his side did not collapse after falling behind.

Campbell said: “It’s another defeat, but the performances are getting better.

“I thought we kept the ball really well. We were maybe a little bit nervous in the beginning, but I thought the players grew as the game went on.

“Sunderland had a little bit more possession, but as the game went on we had more of the ball and there was a definite shout for a penalty. I thought it hit his arm straight away, but obviously the referee has missed that one.

“The lads played really well, and the main thing is the performance. It’s definitely gone up another level, and I’m pleased with that. The guys have worked extremely hard, they’ve run their socks off, and I’m pleased.

“It’s a good feeling when I see the players starting to link up together and keep the ball, and start to ask questions of the opposition.”