'Different teams, different styles, different ways of playing.' That was as close as Tony Mowbray could get to explaining how his Sunderland side could go from a 5-1 humbling at home at the hands of Stoke City to a rock-solid defensive performance and a 1-0 win at play-off rivals Norwich City in the space of a week.
The Black Cats' capitulation against the Potters the previous weekend had prompted Mowbray to apologise to the supporters, but it was his team's performance at Carrow Road that provided a more fitting response. Sunderland's gameplan had fallen apart against Stoke as they were picked off by a team that played on the transition and capitalised on their mistakes, but the approach they took against Norwich worked a treat.
Norwich try to build from the back and that meant Sunderland were able to play a high press and try to catch them out, particularly in the first half. Sunderland were without two of their most creative players in Amad and Alex Pritchard, both of whom missed out through injury, but that did not hamper them unduly.
