Tony Mowbray says Sunderland's first-half performance against promotion favourites Burnley has proved the Black Cats can compete with any team in the Championship - although he admits they have to be able to sustain it across 90 minutes. Sunderland and Burnley were two divisions apart last season, with the Clarets in the Premier League while the Wearsiders were in League One.
Now they find themselves at the same level, albeit their resources and the depth of their squads are poles apart. But in the first half at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland bridged the gap and took a 2-0 lead into the break. They could not maintain it in the second period, however, and Burnley came roaring back to win 4-2.
Burnley got a goal back soon after the break and Mowbray felt his players went into 'protect mode', although that was not the plan, rather than continue to play as they had in the first half. "The message wasn't to go into protect mode," he said.
