3 things we learnt about Sunderland after their 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Fulham | OneFootball

Sunderland‘s FA Cup campaign came to an end on Wedneday night, as they were beaten 3-2 by Fulham in a fourth round replay at The Stadium of Light.

Harry Wilson’s eighth minute strike from the edge of the area was enough to give Fulham a 1-0 lead at half time, before substitutes Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andreas Pereira combined for the latter to double their advantage on the hour-mark.

The hosts did pull one back with around 15 minutes to go through a stunning strike from Jack Clarke, only for Layvin Kurzawa to restore Fulham’s two-goal advantage from close range moments later.

That meant that substitute Jewison Bennette’s late effort was little more than a consolation for the Black Cats, whose manager Tony Mowbray may have been given plenty to think about from this match.

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at three things we learnt about Sunderland from that clash with Fulham, right here.

With Ross Stewart out for the rest of the season through injury, and Leeds United loanee Joe Gelhardt cup tied, Sunderland went into this game, without a recognised centre forward to call on.

That certainly proved noticeable throughout the course of the match, with there being a number of times were wide men such as Patrick Roberts or Jack Clarke broke into dangerous areas, but found themselves without someone to play that final pass into, for a finishing touch to be applied to the move.

Had there been someone in the final third to do that, things could have played out rather differently on the night, and that will prompt some concern for the Black Cats, about what attacking threat they will actually be able to pose in the Championship, if Gelhardt picks up an injury of his own.

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Still a gulf to the Premier League

Currently sitting ninth in the Championship table, just two points adrift of the top six, Sunderland are not out of contention to secure a place back in the Premier League via the play-offs this season.

On the basis of this showing however, it seems there would be plenty of work for them to do if they did manage to get there, with Fulham controlling large parts of this game and rarely looking in too much trouble, despite the long spells of possession and territory Sunderland enjoyed.

Given the work the Cottagers themselves had to do in the transfer window last summer following promotion to now put themselves in a comfortable position in the top-flight, it seems Sunderland would have to do the same to have any chance of top-flight survival, if they claimed a second straight promotion this season, even if they can rightly feel proud of the effort they put in here.

One of those among the players to impress with their efforts for Sunderland on Wednesday night, was Jack Clarke.

The winger has been a threat for Sunderland all season, and was again in this match, with his dribbles into the box giving Fulham plenty to think about, before producing a top quality finish for his goal,

This shows what he can do against Premier League opposition, when given the chance he never really got during his Tottenham days, and is also a far cry from his previous struggles on loan elsewhere, highlighting just how much Sunderland and Clarke seem to suit each other.