Sunderland's away form concern after Huddersfield defeat

Matty Pearson's first half goal was enough to give Huddersfield the points as Michael Beale's side struggled to create many real openings on another frustrating night in the Championship.

Pearson bundled home from a matter of yards after Anthony Patterson could only parry Jack Rudoni's free kick with Sunderland struggling to deal with the physicality of the home side. 

Huddersfield hit the post early in the second half before Jobe Bellingham then cleared from the line with Sunderland's best chance coming in the final minute on the break when Trai Hume was put through on goal by substitute Mason Burstow only to be denied by a good save from Lee Nicholls. 

It's a result which sees Sunderland drop a place in the Championship table and leaves plenty of questions heading into another away fixture at Birmingham City this weekend.

We Are Sunderland look back at some of the key talking points from West Yorkshire:

Michael Beale rotates Patrick Roberts but can't avoid injury

Sunderland got off to the perfect start in their three-game week following their second half fightback against Plymouth Argyle before back-to-back away trips with this fixture against Huddersfield and the visit to St. Andrew’s at the weekend to face Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham, but Beale had hinted at the possibility of the need to rotate his side over the course of the seven days.

That came with Patrick Roberts dropping to the bench for the returning Jobe who was left out of Beale’s squad for the first time since his appointment at the weekend before providing the perfect response when scoring Sunderland’s crucial third goal within minutes of his introduction to take the game away from Plymouth.

“This week we feel we've had a slightly strong squad and we could give him a break,” Beale explained on Jobe. “The plan was, could he come on [against Plymouth] with 30 minutes and really impact the game with lots of energy?

“I think the goal changes everyone's perception as well, because if you take the goal away Jobe has just come on and had a positive impact in the game. The fact he came on and scored, it was a nice personal moment for him as well.”

For the Roberts enthusiasts that may have come as a surprise, but the change also suggested Beale altering his system by removing the No.10 position from his starting line-up – a position occupied by Abdoullah Ba against Plymouth. Beale has been keen to promote Ba’s influence in recent week’s since his return to the side against Ipswich Town last month – the Frenchman enjoying a standout game in the recent win over Stoke City.

With Roberts dropping back down to the bench it allowed Ba to move back over to the right-wing where we have seen more productivity after the 20-year-old’s indifferent afternoon against Plymouth, all while holding Roberts as a potential ace up the sleeve depending on how the game played out.

And with the game going far from plan for Beale in the first hour, Roberts was called as he replaced Ba who had struggled to make an impact. Within minutes Roberts was racing towards goal, drawing a foul, as Sunderland searched for a spark and a route back into the game.

And it was Roberts who came close to an equaliser with a trademark run in-field from the right to curl at goal only for the slightest of deflections to take it wide with goalkeeper Nicholls scrambling to his right before another surging run to the byline resulting in an inviting cross into the six-yard box.

Roberts’ introduction did not end up yielding a route back into the game for Sunderland, but it did end in concern as the winger took himself off the field in the closing stages with a hamstring injury.  Managing Roberts' return from a calf injury has been carefully considered by Beale but this latest setback will be a huge concern.

Did Sunderland ask enough questions?

Things have changed a little at the John Smith’s Stadium in recent weeks following the departure of Darren Moore at the end of January with former club captain Jon Worthington taking interim charge of the Terriers. Moore had won just three games in his relatively brief spell in charge with one of those coming in the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light in November.

And you wonder how much that fixture was replayed in the days leading up to this with how Huddersfield approached and the success they enjoyed in this game, despite Worthington expecting a difficult challenge from Sunderland.

“[They] have a young, exciting team who will pose their own questions but we must back ourselves to be able to answer them,” said Worthington, that despite a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday last time out at the John Smith’s Stadium as well as being both 2-0 and 3-2 up at Southampton at the weekend – the Terriers one of just three teams to score three or more at St. Mary’s this season behind Norwich City and Leicester City. Although it ended in defeat on the south coast, this represented a much sterner test than the league table suggested.

But with regards to Sunderland asking those questions Worthington was concerned about, there was very little in the opening 45 minutes. If Beale was unhappy with Sunderland’s first half display at the weekend against Plymouth, he will have been less than impressed here after they came off second best for the most part.

Huddersfield threatened inside the opening minute when Sorba Thomas got free down the left to cross – a theme of the first half. Huddersfield were more aggressive than Sunderland who contributed to the home side’s momentum with a number of cheap turnovers – one of particular note coming when Dan Ballard lost out to Thomas who drove into the area to pull back for Ben Wiles who was only denied by a fantastic interception by Luke O’Nien before David Kasumu then fired just wide.

Worthington’s side did a good job in managing Jack Clarke as Sunderland were limited with what they brought in the final third for much of the first half – reduced to a series of efforts from range by Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah.

But Huddersfield’s persistence in hassling Sunderland paid off less than 10 minutes before the break when Leo Hjelde was guilty of trying to play out from the back which put Neil under pressure as he lost possession outside of his own area to Kasumu who had to be brought down by O’Nien.

But the resulting free kick saw a fierce strike from Rudoni that Patterson could only parry into the path of Pearson who bundled home with his thigh from inside six-yards.

The hope was that Sunderland would come out firing after the break as we saw against Plymouth, but it was Huddersfield who continued in the ascendancy with Sunderland’s sluggishness creeping into the restart which almost took the game away from them as Kasumu hit the post from a free kick – again given away courtesy of a cheap turnover in possession.

Sunderland’s first real question for goalkeeper Nicholls, aside from a fumbled Neil effort in the first half, came from Jobe’s strike just before the hour when cutting inside from Clarke’s short pass but the midfielder’s attempt was down the throat of Nicholls and lacked the conviction to really trouble the Huddersfield No.1

Jobe then had to clear from the line to deny Rudoni’s glancing header from Thomas’ corner to the near post as it was the home side who continued to look the more likely to score the elusive second goal of the game.

Sunderland’s best chance came in the final minute on the break when Burstow released Hume in the area only to be denied by Nicholls before the Huddersfield stopper was alert to turn Tom Lees' interception over the bar deep into stoppage time.

Beale looked at an improvement in the second half and the result of what happens in both boxes but, ultimately, it was another game where Sunderland struggled to really threaten on the road with this the sixth time they have failed to score on their travels.

Clarke early injury scare

Sunderland fans had their collective hearts in their mouths inside 10 minutes when Clarke pulled up when chasing a through ball from Ba following a tangle with Pearson.

Clarke pulled away into the left channel after Jobe had won back possession well in midfield for Ba to slide a ball into the space, but just as though it looked Clarke would race away on goal he gingerly pulled up clutching at his foot. The winger remained down for a period of time and offered a number of worrying glances over to Beale and the Sunderland coaching staff on the bench as he laboured to track back to help defend a Huddersfield corner.

Clarke could still be seen testing out his foot several minutes later before giving the thumbs up to the bench allowing a huge sigh of relief from West Yorkshire to Wearside.

It goes without saying how much an injury to Clarke would impact Sunderland’s chances of reaching the play-offs this season with the winger in outstanding form contributing 18 goals and assists so far this campaign.

With that said, it wasn’t until the second half we saw Clarke threaten Huddersfield’s defence more regularly with Pearson and Rudoni doing a sound job in doubling up on Sunderland’s talisman in the first half with a very robust approach.

Clarke was able to escape some of those challenges early in the second half to progress Sunderland up the field but the final ball remained missing for Beale’s side before he was again kept relatively quiet by Worthington’s side with Huddersfield’s Thomas the winger to shine in the West Yorkshire night.

Sunderland fail to respond

Beale has stressed the importance of this three-game week from the onset and having seen his side respond in the second half against Plymouth he will have been hoping for similar here against Huddersfield.

But with Tuesday night’s results in the Championship going against Sunderland the pressure just turned up a dial in the need for a result at the John Smith’s Stadium. Sunderland began the evening in ninth after wins for West Bromwich Albion, Hull City and Norwich City bunched things up further in the Championship table with Beale’s side unable to fire back.

Sunderland had to wait until the final day of the season last year to clinch their top six spot and a similar story may be emerging here with six teams separated by just four points.

Away form concerns

It culminates in what is an overarching problem for Sunderland when it comes to their form on the road. This was Beale’s fifth away game in charge since taking over in December with Sunderland having taken just five points from a possible 15 – the only win coming in Beale’s first away game in charge at Hull.

But it’s a trending issue for Sunderland this season who have just four wins on their travels – that win over Hull on Boxing Day their only success since September’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Sunderland’s away form played a pivotal role in them reaching the play-offs last season with 11 wins and six draws, the fourth best away record in the division. This season things have flipped for Sunderland where they have already eclipsed last season’s total of seven home victories, it is away where they are struggling. Beale’s side are currently in the bottom half of the Championship’s away table and it remains an area that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later if they are to continue mounting a challenge for the play-off spots.

And things don't necessarily get easier with another trip on Saturday and the emotion that will be tied to a reunion with former head coach Mowbray at Birmingham.