Big decisions cost Sunderland dear at Blackburn…

Big decisions cost Sunderland dear at Blackburn including refusal to add a third striker

'Put that on Netflix,' crowed the Ewood Park stadium announcer at full-time following Blackburn's 2-0 win against Sunderland. It was not a Netflix subscription that the 3,500 travelling fans were clamouring for, however, it was VAR.

And had Premier League referee Craig Pawson had access to a small screen, the joker on the mic might have lost his sense of humour. Sunderland came away from Blackburn smarting at the injustices that had a decisive impact on the game.

To his credit, boss Tony Mowbray did not make an issue of Pawson's controversial calls in front of the media but that did not expunge them from the record. Ryan Hedges' trip on Jack Clarke should have resulted in a penalty just after the half-hour; instead, just 22 seconds later, Sunderland found themselves a goal down to Ben Brereton Diaz's stunning strike.

Then, within five minutes of the second half getting under way, Pawson's assistant failed to spot that Scott Wharton was offside when he headed Blackburn's second goal from a free-kick. They were match-defining moments, and they went against the Black Cats.

For all Mowbray's sang-froid, those decisions ruined his return to this corner of Lancashire, where he had spent five-and-a-half years in charge before leaving in the summer. His mood will hardly have been helped by the sight of defender Aji Alese limping off in the second half with a foot injury picked up in a 50-50 challenge - a tackle that Mowbray said afterwards Alese felt was 'a really bad tackle'.

But rather than concentrate on the officials, Mowbray instead looked closer to home and pointed to the Sunderland's well-documented lack of centre-forwards. Sunderland racked up more shots, more shots on target, more corners, and 60 percent possession against a Blackburn side that fell just short of the play-offs last season.

What they lacked was a finisher. It was telling that the closest they came to a goal was when centre-back Danny Batth brought a fine save out of Thomas Kaminsky in the second half, by which time they were already two goals down.

Mowbray said weeks ago that he did not want the lack of firepower caused by the injuries to Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms to become an 'easy narrative', but the truth is that it is undeniably having an effect on their season. Not in every game - they scored three goals to win at Reading with no strikers, twice at Watford to earn a draw, and twice to beat Wigan at the weekend - but in the tight games, the marginal games.

Hence they were unable to turn their dominance against Preston and Blackpool into goals, with both games ending 0-0, while they managed only a consolation goal in defeat at Swansea, and have now come up empty-handed at Blackburn. Clarke playing up front through the middle may be their best option, but he is not a stand-in for Stewart or Simms.

Sunderland's decision to go into the season with only two centre-forwards has proved costly and it must be addressed in the January window. Had the referee awarded the penalty for the foul on Clarke, and had Sunderland taken the lead rather than falling behind within seconds, the result might have been very different.

But had Sunderland added a third striker in the summer, his mistake might not have mattered.

Big decisions cost Sunderland dear at Blackburn including refusal to add a third striker

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