As the holder of not merely a doctorate in human physiology and biomechanics but a diploma in the mental preparation of elite athletes, Régis Le Bris is a slightly unusual Championship manager.
Given that Sunderland’s 48-year-old head coach first took charge of a senior team only two years ago, eyebrows were raised when the Frenchman who had endured Lorient’s relegation from Ligue 1 swapped Brittany for Wearside this summer.
A bold move looks an increasingly inspired one, however, as Le Bris’s vibrant young team secured a fifth win from six league games.
They have still to concede a goal at home this season and seem committed to fulfilling their manager’s pledge to “bring joy to Sunderland supporters”.
Watched by a crowd of 42,781, Le Bris’s first Wear-Tees derby ended in a victory that banished memories of Sunderland’s unexpected defeat at Plymouth last Saturday and clinched three precious points against potential promotion rivals.
A misty, murky, afternoon when the slate grey cloud sat so low in the sky that, from a distance, the Stadium of Light seemed in peril of sinking into the adjacent River Wear, cried out for illumination. Fortunately Chris Rigg was around to provide it. With 24 minutes gone and Middlesbrough dominant, Sunderland’s 17-year-old midfielder was well placed to pounce after George Edmundson blocked Patrick Roberts’ shot. Spotting that Seny Dieng had been left stranded, Rigg overcame an unhelpful angle by audaciously backheeling the ball over the line.
Given that the average age of this Sunderland squad is 23, it doubtless helps that Le Bris made his name as a youth coach in France, producing a string of leading players including the Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier. “Our mindset’s very strong,” said Sunderland’s manager. “And Chris Rigg is a symbol of our process, our model; he always wants to learn, to improve and understand the game better.”
Boro had reason to rue the early moment when, having connected with Isaiah Jones’s glorious right-wing cross, the unmarked Tommy Conway seemed certain to score but, instead, could only watch as his header brushed the crossbar.
Until Rigg’s opener, Boro had frustrated the home players and crowd with a patient build-from-the-back approach, heavy on the sort of short-passing interchanges that afforded the visitors a decent amount of control.
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Boro’s problem was that they struggled to conjure clearcut scoring chances, leaving Anthony Patterson underworked in the home goal. If that situation was quite possibly exacerbated by the clattering first-half challenge from Sunderland’s Trai Hume that appeared to diminish Emmanuel Latte Lath’s effectiveness at centre-forward, a lack of goals from open play has proved a worrying recent theme.
Boro had one shot on target and permitted themselves to be picked off by opponents who, having modified their usual hard, high press, deployed clever contain and counterattack tactics.
Maybe Boro could sometimes do with mixing things up a bit and attempting one quick early long pass instead of 33 perfectly calibrated shorter ones?
They were lucky not to fall further behind when, deep in the second period, Romaine Mundle’s free-kick ricocheted off a post. Back in the first half, the impressive Mundle should arguably have won a penalty after Luke Ayling’s challenge but Boro were unable to capitalise on that reprieve.
“Sunderland have quality, especially in wide areas, but we restricted them to a couple of bright moments,” said Boro manager, Michael Carrick, who maintained Hume should have been sent off. “It was very close. If anything, we were the better side. It’s fine margins but we have to find a way to break teams down.”
