Port Vale 1-0 Sunderland: Bottom of the league, magic in the cup – Vale’s ‘amazing’ run

Sunderland fielded a strong side against Port Vale, making just two changes to the side that beat Leeds in the Premier League in midweek.

However, they “never took the lead” against their League One opponents, according to former Black Cats midfielder Andy Reid, who is struggling to make the most of their chances after finally starting to create more in the second half.

“We know Sunderland will be in the Premier League next year, so in many ways this is a free kick where they can go and really focus on it,” he added. [the FA Cup]Reid told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They put together as strong a team as possible and they never got ahead today in terms of any quality.”

Murray added that Sunderland were “wasteful” and “could never get into that flow” they display in the Premier League.

“Although they chose a strong lineup, they missed not having Granit Xhaka in the middle to control the tempo of the game from the start,” Murray said.

“This season, Sunderland are used to teams attacking them and leaving space behind them, which means they can play on the counter-attack. But you can’t sit as far behind a League One team as a Premier League club – it’s your responsibility to create chances.”

Vale, meanwhile, is the opposite. They defended valiantly throughout the match and adapted to create chances and prevent Sunderland from penetrating them.

“Looking at those Port Vale players, every single one of them, those who started and those who came on, were absolutely amazing,” Reid said after the match.

“They won every second ball, every header, they gave everything they had, and when it came time to get a bit of quality, with that lovely little header from Wayne, they got it at the right time.”