Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray says his side did not offer enough creativity to score the goals they needed to win, before they crashed out of the Carabao Cup on penalties
Tony Mowbray admits Sunderland were not brave enough in the opening 45 minutes against a ‘scared’ Crewe Alexandra side in the Carabao Cup, and ended up paying the price. The Black Cats came from behind to draw 1-1 against the League Two outfit at the Stadium of Light, but then went out of the cup at the first round stage after losing 5-3 on penalties.
Sunderland were poor in the first half and Crewe went in at the break ahead, with Luke Offord heading the visitors in front in injury time. “We’re all disappointed,” said Mowbray.
“They have to judge their performance levels and who they played against and the quality of the opposition and how do they feel about their performance. I think in the first half we weren’t brave enough, there were some young boys playing in the first half.
“When you get an opportunity in life, you have to grab it with both hands and grap the nettle. It’s not as though the message isn’t drummed into them every day – be positive, play forward, pass forward.
“But we kept going sideways and around and around and around, and didn’t cut through a team that was, in my opinion, waiting to get beat. They came scared, they played five at the back, and ultimately we just didn’t have the quality at the top end to punch the ball through and hurt them in their box.
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Lee Bell says penalties ‘exciting way to go through’ after Crewe stun Sunderland
Crewe manager Lee Bell praised his players’ penalty-taking expertise as they dumped Championship Sunderland out of the Carabao Cup.
Crewe pulled off a notable upset as they scored all five of their penalties to secure a 5-3 shoot-out win at the Stadium of Light.
Elliott Nevitt, Chris Long, Rio Adebisi and Joel Tabiner all scored from the spot, before Ryan Cooney converted Crewe’s fifth and final penalty to secure a place in the second round.
Earlier, Luke Offord had headed the League Two side into a first-half lead, with Chris Rigg claiming Sunderland’s equaliser midway through the second half as the game finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.
Bell said: “It is the most exciting way to go through. We practised penalties yesterday, but I think it was a really good performance, everyone put a shift in, as you have to when you come to a place like Sunderland, regardless of what team they started with.
“We were really well organised and showed some real courage when we had the football.
“I am absolutely delighted for the players in the dressing room, who are in there enjoying it now, and for the fans who came here tonight, and rightly so.
“We spoke about how important set-plays are in our division and we have to keep working on them and keep working on how to deliver new ones to the players.”
Sunderland exited the League Cup at the first-round stage, but it was still a record-breaking night for Rigg, who became the youngest goal scorer in the competition’s history.
Rigg also became Sunderland’s youngest-ever goal scorer when he fired home from the edge of the area in the second half to cancel out Offord’s first-half header.
The 16-year-old committed his long-term future to the Black Cats earlier this summer despite reported interest from Newcastle United and Manchester United, and after breaking into the senior ranks last season, is set to play an increasingly prominent role over the course of the next nine months.
Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Chris Rigg belies his age a bit. I can be quite harsh on him, and then I sometimes have to check myself and remember that he’s just a 16-year-old boy.
“I expect more from him sometimes, but then I remember just how young he is.
“He played with real discipline tonight. I asked to play deeper in the first half, and he did that. Then I asked him to start breaking into the box in the second half, and he did that and scored.
“It was disappointing in the end because in the first half, we just seemed to pass round and round.
“We played against a League Two side with good organisation and commitment, but we should have had more to have won the game.”
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