Sunderland lost their second game in 4 days as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Birmingham last night.
Mikael Forssel was the goalscorer, taking advantage of debutant Clive Clarke’s mis-timed challenge on Damian Johnson to cooly convert a penalty in the 40th minute.
Once again Sunderland dominated possession but lacked the creative spark needed to unlock the Birmingham defence. Their best chance fell inside the opening 3 minutes when Lawrence’s diving header flew agonisingly wide of Maik Taylor’s post.
Daryl Murphy also had a goal disallowed for offside just before half time when he did well to convert Lawrence’s fiercly struck cross-cum-shot into the net.
Despite their effort and perserverance, Sunderland could not find an equaliser and the game petered out for yet another loss, Birmingham’s third successive 1-0 defeat of Sunderland.
We need fresh faces and new impetus, and we need them quick.