Sunderland were defeated 1-0 by Sacramento Republic in their second pre-season friendly early this morning.
Following a 4-2 over Darlington 1883 last week, this was the Black Cats' first friendly in North America, where they jetted out to just a few days ago, and exhaustion, an early lack of match fitness, and short numbers helped contribute to the poor result, which could have been an even heavier defeat.
Make-shift line up
With centre-forward Jermain Defoe operating on the left-wing from the off, promising young centre-back Tom Beadling on the left of defence and central midfielders Liam Bridcutt and Jack Rodwell forced to drop back into defence, it was certainly far from the line up Dick Advocaat will deploy in Sunderland's opening league fixture against Leicester City next month.
Adam Johnson, Patrick van Aanholt and new signing Sebastian Coates have all struggled to obtain visas for the trip yet, whilst the likes of Costel Pantilimon and Jordi Gomez remain troubled by niggling injuries, but these absences have allowed a handful of youngsters to get game time as they aim to impress this summer.
Solid first half
Despite the result, Sunderland put on a strong first half performance and were unfortunate not to go in at the break with the lead.
Defoe came close at the midway point of the half, whilst Steven Fletcher also hit the target as the Black Cats showcased some sharp build up play and crisp passing despite many of them playing out of position.
Sacramento did have a chance towards the end of the half, but it was Sunderland who went in at the interval on top as Fletcher headed against the bar just before the half time whistle.
Lack of depth contributed to poor second half
Advocaat made changes at the break, but those that he did make just disrupted the team as he introduced replacements that were hardly like-for-like, as Rodwell and Bridcutt stepped into defence and Sunderland suddenly became vulnerable at the back.
Sacramento had a lot of joy after the break as a result, with chances coming for the third-tier American side early on but failing to be converted. They would take the lead just before the hour though, Cameron Iwasa firing low and hard into the back of the net from 20 yards to put his side a goal up just moments after coming off the bench.
Opportunities continued to come for Sacramento as they targeted Sunderland's weak links, with Max Alvarez being slipped through on goal only to be denied by Vito Mannone, whilst Thomas Stewart continued to get the better of Bridcutt and fired over after doing so shortly after his side took the lead.
Were it not a friendly, Mannone would have seen red late in the game too as he handled the ball outside the area, but a yellow card was his punishment as the match neared its conclusion. Before it could do so, Sacramento hit the woodwork when Adnan Gabeljic directed Joaquin Rivas' cross onto the bar, Bridcutt again the man caught out.
However, the game finished at 1-0, which was perhaps kind to Sunderland given their sloppy second half display, especially defensively.
Defensive recruitments needed
The match certainly highlighted Sunderland's need for more defensive options.
With Nicolas Lombaerts having failed a medical with the Black Cats and Celtic's Virgil van Dijk not for sale, Advocaat needs to act quickly in the transfer market and add to his already well done business that has seen him sign centre-backs Adam Matthews and Coates.
Bridcutt failed to adapt to a right-back position that he was moved into during the second half too, and with Santiago Vergini to be sold this summer, Sunderland do not have a player for this role and thus this will be another area that the club will have to add to this summer.
Still positives to take
Despite the defeat and the manner of the second half, Advocaat will still be able to look at several encouraging signs that were shown in the game.
Firstly, the first half was strong. Numerous players coped with playing out of position and the team were on top during the opening 45 minutes, creating several chances and even hitting the woodwork.
Whilst the substitutions made at and after the interval showed that depth was not Sunderland's strong point today, one introduction in the second half, that of youngster Duncan Watmore, did have a positive impact on the game.
The 21-year-old, dubbed for great things on Wearside, was confident and direct in his play as soon as he entered the field and provided Sunderland with a creative outlet going forward for the final 24 minutes of the encounter.
There is plenty that Advocaat will learn from this display, but he will know that the performance on Friday will have to be better as they face Mexican side CF Pachuca, a team of a significantly higher standard than Sacramento.