Phil and James react to professional Sunderland performance against poor Luton Town

Sunderland Echo

Transcript

00:00Hello, welcome to the Stadium of Light. Sunderland have just beat Luton Town 2-0. Phil, a very

00:05routine win. I was stunned at how poor Luton Town were. I knew that they were in dire straits

00:10but they were chalk and cheese from the game at Kenilworth Road earlier on in the season.

00:14Very meek opposition but Sunderland got the job done.

00:15Yeah, it was a professional performance. I thought Sunderland did control the game other

00:19than the one set piece where Morris has the head of the pats and turned on the post. Sunderland

00:23never really let Luton into the game. It was a good display. As you say, I think it was

00:27more about how bad Luton were, to be honest. It's unfathomable to me that they could be

00:32that poor. The team, right from League 1 on the way to the Premier League, was such a

00:35nightmare for Sunderland. Not just at Kenilworth Road, here as well. They were such a tricky

00:39opponent. I couldn't really believe what I was seeing. They were so poor. But I think

00:42Sunderland were professional. Let's give some credit to Lebris as well. A lot of people

00:45called him for 4-4-2. Stuck to his guns. I thought the 4-3-3 worked absolutely fine.

00:50Sunderland didn't let Luton get into the game, controlled possession and absolutely the right

00:53call to bring Dan Ballard back. Good to see not a pick Chris Meckham. I love him. He's

00:57been one of Sunderland's best players. But it was what the game called for. Ballard won

01:00so many first contacts. Just stop Luton getting their long balls, getting that platform. A

01:05really good night for Lebris. Not the most exciting performance. A dismal opponent, really.

01:09But a professional win. Let's give some credit to Sunderland for that.

01:12First time Sunderland have won by more than a one goal margin since October 26 against

01:17Oxford United at the Stadium of Light. Felt like it could have been more. Roberts hit

01:21the post. I felt like Sunderland left a couple of goals out there. Could have got a few more.

01:25I think in the first half you felt that little bit of slight frustration again. That it felt

01:28like Sunderland had the opportunity to put their opponent at the sword and they didn't.

01:32I thought that Maurice Header actually walked Sunderland a bit from that point to the end

01:36of the first half. They were excellent. To be fair, I thought the second half they were

01:39really, really good. I think they were just unlucky not to score again. East Dome made

01:42a bit of a mess when Roberts put a good cross in. Roberts was so unlucky not to get a goal

01:46or assist. I thought he was excellent tonight. Back to the pirate Roberts we love seeing.

01:50I totally agree with you. I think Sunderland could have been more ruthless, especially

01:52in the first half. I do think, by and large, the second half was a really, really good

01:56professional display from Sunderland. Could have scored more. The opposition were poor

02:00but I actually felt that there's another couple of levels to come from Sunderland in terms

02:03of the performance, which they're going to need for Leeds on Monday. Definitely. I think

02:07it's going to be a completely different game on Monday night. The biggest test of the season

02:12quite literally. I think it's really important to get back to winning ways. Keep the pace

02:16for the teams at the top. A shout out to Trey Hulme as well. Last three assists and a goal

02:21in his last three home games. I thought his all-round display from minute one tonight

02:24was just excellent. Six goal combinations this season. Never gave Luton a sniff defensively.

02:28Really nice in the build-up play. We sometimes don't get the credit Coggy deserves just because

02:32he's so solid every week really. I thought tonight he was particularly good. I'm going

02:36to give him my man of the match. Although, I thought Ballard and Roberts were excellent.

02:39Enzo Le Fay as well. It wasn't a sort of virtuoso performance like it was against Middlesbrough

02:44but he pops up with a goal. I guess that's what you get from a £20m player. Moments

02:48like that. Even when he doesn't necessarily run the game. He doesn't do too much flashy

02:53but he puts one in the back of the net with a superb finish. It can be a little bit frustrating

02:56at times because you want him to touch the ball more. He's not as involved as you want

02:59him to be because he's got so much quality but that's not a criticism of Le Brice. I

03:02think you just need Mundell and Watson back and that just opens up so many opportunities.

03:06But credit to him. Again though, it's like you're watching Luton. You know the team's

03:09so aggressive for so many years. Just backing off on the edge of their own box and letting

03:13a player of that quality have the shot. Blissington off in the way. It's a brilliant strike into

03:17the far corner. Really, really good signs and all eyes on Monday night. What a game

03:20that's going to be.

03:21Happy days on the whistle coming. Drop your questions for Phil in the comments section.

03:25We'll hopefully have a preview podcast as well so check out the Raw podcast feed. Sunderland

03:29Echo for all of the latest after Luton Town ahead of Leeds night. Thanks for watching.

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