Dick Advocaat admits Sunderland could not deal with Crystal Palace pace in 4-1 defeat
Sunday 12 April 2015 09:43, UK
Dick Advocaat said Sunderland simply could not deal with the pace of Crystal Palace after seeing his side beaten 4-1 at the Stadium of Light.
It was a humbling result for the Black Cats following their Tyne-Wear derby triumph last weekend and sees them drop to 16th in the Premier League table.
Advocaat remained calm and logical in discussing his side’s predicament and they supporters will hope that his vast experience can pull them through in the final weeks of the season.
“It was okay, not more. We did not create a lot of chances,” he said of an even first half. “You could see that Crystal Palace had some movement up front and second half we could not handle their pace.
“In the air we had some problems and in the end we were beaten in seven minutes.
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“I don’t want to complain about the players. You win as a team and you lose as a team. But as I said in the ten or fifteen minutes we could not handle the pace and we are losing the ball in the air. If you lose that, with the quickness they have, then they start scoring goals.”
The Dutchman did admit to be surprised by such a harrowing defeat given the win over Newcastle and their subsequent performances in training but insists there is no reason to panic while their safety remains in their own hands.
“We did not see that because after the game on Sunday, we trained really well this week,” Advocaat commented.
“You could see during training that the confidence came back. The first half was okay but not really good. Then we give it away in ten minutes, we have to learn from that.
“We still have to get the positives out of the group because we still have to play six games. We still have everything in our own hands but we have to win games.
“You cannot lose 4-1 against Crystal Palace because in home games you have to get results. It’ll be a long 14 days because next week we don’t play.”
We still have to get the positives out of the group because we still have to play six games. We still have everything in our own hands but we have to win games.
