Regis Le Bris has demanded his Sunderland players drive improvements as he admitted they “lost control” in the 2-2 draw against Plymouth Argyle. The Black Cats head coach was frustrated with his team’s performance at home against the team rooted to the bottom of the Championship and who had lost 5-0 at home to Burnley in midweek.

It was a huge two points dropped for the Wearsiders who remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light in the Championship this season – stretching to 14 matches – but who will be rueing this result which should have been better. After a goalless first half, Plymouth Argyle took the lead when Anthony Patterson inadvertently turned Ryan Hardie’s effort into his own net in the 58th minute.

The Lads responded brilliantly, with quickfire goals from Wilson Isidor and Trai Hume putting them in front and they should have gone on to win from that point heading into the final 10 minutes. However, Nathanael Ogbeta’s stoppage-time equaliser denied Sunderland all three points and was a dent in the Black Cats’ automatic promotion hopes.

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With Sheffield United unexpectedly losing 3-0 at home to Hull City on Friday night, this was a golden opportunity missed to close the gap on the league’s front runners with Burnley due to play Leeds United on Monday tonight. Sunderland would prefer a draw in that game, or at least a Burnley win, to keep in touch with Leeds who look like they mean business and who could stretch their lead over Le Bris’ side to seven points at the close of play this evening.

Speaking post-match, Le Bris said: “I am disappointed because it wasn’t our best performance. The first half was okay. We faced a low block, and we were balanced, but we struggled to create chances. We were organised and stable in the first half, but the second 45 was a different story.

“We lost control, made too many mistakes, and opened up our shape, allowing Plymouth to create chances. In the end, we were fortunate to come away with a point because the second half wasn’t the game we wanted to play. We weren’t at our best level, and we didn’t deserve to win.

“We are still in a good place, but the league is tough. We have to learn from this experience, manage things differently when we’re feeling a bit more tired, and push ourselves further. It’s still one point, but if we want to be in the top bracket of the table, we need to improve.”

Isidor scored his ninth goal of the season but he reckoned it didn’t mean much in the circumstances. He and his team-mates were left disappointed at the result and he admitted there will be a response as they prepare to face Middlesbrough a week today (February 3).

Isidor said: “It was a tough game but we cannot hide behind that. We know where we want to go and we need to show. I know the group feels disappointed but now we have to do better because that’s not enough. We need to react. I’m happy to score but I don’t care. I prefer not to score and win this game instead. We will train hard and put more character on the pitch. We know what we have to do.”

Meanwhile, Sunderland have confirmed that Nazariy Rusyn has joined HNK Hajduk Split on loan. The forward will spend the remainder of the 2024/25 season at the Stadion Poljud and the agreement includes an option for the Croatian side to make the transfer permanent following the end of the campaign.

Rusyn moved to the Stadium of Light in September 2023 and has made 32 appearances to date, whilst also earning his first senior call-up for Ukraine during his time on Wearside. Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “We wanted to find the right opening in this window for Nazariy to play more minutes and Hajduk represents a great opportunity for him.

“The combination of playing style and a club competing for a league title provides the perfect foundation for him at this moment in time and we wish him well for the remainder of the season.”

Rusyn hardly had a chance in the team this season and the likes of Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda have been ahead of him.

Abdul Samed’s return to fitness is a big plus for Sunderland and he played for 61 minutes before being replaced by Mayenda. The squad depth is beginning to take effect, with Chris Rigg only emerging as a 76th-minute substitute for Patrick Roberts against Argyle while Enzo Le Fee got another 90 minutes under his belt. Winger Ian Poveda was an unused sub but is also ready to play his part.