Sunderland’s sneaky Championship play-off semi-final tactic to stop major Coventry weapon
Sunderland’s sneaky Championship play-off semi-final tactic to stop major Coventry weapon
Sunderland have taken drastic measures to tackle Coventry’s long throw-in threat as they look to book their place at Wembley.
The Black Cats take a 2-1 lead into their Championship play-off semi-final second leg after an impressive away win against Frank Lampard’s side at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
A late Eliezer Mayenda winner two minutes from time in the first leg gave the Mackems a narrow lead heading back to the Stadium of Light tonight.
And they are keen to make home advantage count, having resorted to extreme lengths to restrict one of Coventry’s main weapons.
The Sky Blues made full use of full-back Milan van Ewijk’s lethal long throw-ins in the first leg, with the Sunderland defence holding firm to head away a flurry of set-piece deliveries.
But their opponents will have a harder time employing this tactic away from their home ground.
That is because the staff at the Stadium of Light have moved their advertising hoardings closer to the pitch in a bid to curb Van Ewijk’s huge threat.
talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham revealed the sneaky move whilst previewing tonight’s clash from the commentary box for Sheffield United’s 3-0 play-off second leg win over Bristol City.
He shared: “The little bit of news I’ve got from the Stadium of Light is this – my spies tell me that earlier today Sunderland had the LED perimeter advertising boards at the Stadium of Light moved in towards the pitch by two metres.”
Durham then quizzed co-commentator, former Norwich striker Dean Ashton, on the tactic: “Now as we know, Dean Ashton, Coventry have got a long throw weapon.
“That’s a bit sneaky from Sunderland, isn’t it?”
Ashton replied: “Very [sneaky]. But why wouldn’t you try and use every single advantage that you absolutely could?”
He then joked: “What they don’t know is that Van Ewijk is an excellent hurdler.”
Ashton was quick to praise Sunderland for looking to nullify Coventry’s set-piece threat, which he admitted could cause them major problems in the second leg.
He added: “It could make a difference because they loaded that up constantly, Coventry, in that first leg and it didn’t cause them too many problems.
“But it could do if they were able to use it continuously in that second leg. I quite like it.”
Stressing that the Black Cats’ tactic was within the rules, he added: “It’s a home advantage. You can do it. Of course you can.”
Despite this, the one-cap former England international also suggested the tactic could actually benefit Coventry, who argued the time taken to set up their throw-ins in the first leg had slowed their momentum at times.