Le Bris praises Sunderland’s second-half improvement after they ‘struggled’ early on | OneFootball

Regis Le Bris says Sunderland “struggled” early on against Oxford but praised their ability to come back into the match.

His side edged past Oxford United in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win thanks to Habib Diarra’s first-half penalty.

Le Bris explained how Sunderland improved in the second half of the match.

“The result was the most important thing, getting through, and we were able to do that in the end,” Le Bris said.

“We expected a tough game, we had that last season when we came here, struggled and lost 2-0. They do some very direct play, winning second balls, and they have the ability to fight around the drop zone. That was a part of the game that was always going to be really important.

“We struggled with it a little bit in the first half, but I thought it was much better in the second half. We scored, which is always important, and I think that helped us to manage the match from that point on much better.”

Although Le Bris was happy with the performance overall, he emphasised that he would have preferred his side to get a second goal in the match.

“The attacking play improved as the match went on,” Le Bris said.

“The game became progressively more open. They played with a back four and were well organised defensively, to be fair. It wasn’t easy to find the right rhythm, but it was generally okay and it is often the case that in the second half, the game is a bit more open and you can create more chances. We did that, but unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal.”