Ross: Win over Southend shows how far Sunderland have come

Posted Sunday, October 28, 2018 by PA

Sunderland manager Jack Ross believes everyone at the club is showing they know how to handle life in League One more every week.

The Black Cats boss was speaking after watching his team make it four leaue wins in a row by extending an unbeaten run to seven games by overcoming Southend 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.

George Honeyman’s header in the 29th minute was followed by a stunning 30-yard drive from Chris Maguire seven minutes after the break, before Aiden McGeady capped the win with a third with 10 minutes remaining.

It was a win that lifted Sunderland to within three points of leaders Portsmouth and they remain a point behind second-placed Peterborough.

Ross, whose side have kept a third clean sheet in a row, said: “We are learning this league isn’t easy, today’s performance, this type of game, would have caused us problems before.

“We would have been spooked by it a bit more, against a good side, but we are learning as a club. We have learned not to concede during difficult periods and then we know we will have passages in a game where we will score.

“The second goal, we felt at half-time, we thought we needed and if we did get it then we could go and control the game.

“Southend played to get back into it and that opened things up for us. The tangible reward was to keep that clean sheet.

“It doesn’t surprise me Chris Maguire’s goal because he has the ability, there was no question he could play for this club and that he could handle the expectation.

“It was about getting him right and that strike today was outstanding. I thought all three goals were good quality.”

Southend boss Chris Powell was more disappointed by the outcome. The Shrimpers had a chance to climb into the top six if they had left the north east with three points.

But Powell felt that a penalty claim that was waved away, when Sunderland were ahead, after Tom Flanagan wiped out Dru Yearwood proved costly for his team.

Powell said: “We were certainly in the game in the beginning, disrupted by a bad injury but we got ourselves going again. I felt we took the game to Sunderland. We gave away a poor goal.

“I think the game-changing moment is the penalty incident with Dru. That’s a big, big moment in the game. The second goal’s a hell of a strike. We created more chances and had more efforts on target.

“Honeyman, Maguire, McGeady get goals when they have the opportunities. McLaughlin made a couple of good saves but that’s things we have to learn.”