Sunderland AFC: Romaine Mundle sends four-word reaction to Plymouth Argyle defeat | OneFootball

The Black Cats suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday.

Sunderland suffered their first defeat of the 2024/25 Championship season, as they were beaten 3-2 by Plymouth Argyle in dramatic circumstances.

The two sides looked set to share the points at Home Park with the scores 2-2. However, Joe Edwards was the first to pounce following Kornél Szűcs' effort from distance, smashing the ball under Anthony Patterson to hand Wayne Rooney his first league win in charge of the Pilgrims.

The visitors had taken the lead through a Patrick Roberts penalty, after Chris Rigg was adjudged to have been fouled in the box. Dan Ballard's own goal levelled the match, before his day went from bad to worse as he gave away a penalty for a mistimed tackle on Ryan Hardie.

Plymouth's number nine converted from the spot to hand his team the lead, but Romaine Mundle's curling effort in the 76th minute saw the game split at two each. Nevertheless, Edwards was able to win the match three minutes into injury time.

It brought to an end Sunderland's fantastic 100% record, with Regis Le Bris' side slipping off top of the table in place of West Bromwich Albion following their 3-0 victory over Portsmouth on Sunday.

Mundle sends simple message to Sunderland supporters

Despite the loss, the Stadium of Light faithful should still be extremely pleased with how they have started the new season.

They have conceded just four goals in the league, and although they lost to a team that had previously not won, they have still defied early expectations.

Le Bris has managed to instill an incredible mentality into his young side, one that has been particularly impressive after they lost their key player from last year, Jack Clarke, to Premier League side Ipswich Town in the summer.

Mundle has been a breakout star at the start of the new campaign, scoring twice in his first four appearances, after finding the back of the net just once in 2023/24 for Sunderland.

His goal on Saturday was extremely well taken from an acute angle, and could have easily allowed his team to continue their unbeaten start.

Mundle sent a simple, four-word message to supporters following the defeat on his Instagram account: "We will be back …❤️🤍"

Sunderland must react to defeat

Saturday's defeat could not have come at a worse time for Sunderland, as they prepare for the first Tees-Wear derby of the season next weekend.

The Black Cats were beaten 4-0 in the same fixture in the last campaign, their heaviest loss in the derby since 1936, when they were on the other end of a 6-0 demolition by Middlesbrough.

Boro are currently 10th in the Championship after an inconsistent start to 2024/25, and have won just once away from home so far, running out 2-0 winners against bottom of the table Cardiff City.

However, as with all derby fixtures, form will go out of the window on Saturday, and Sunderland can forget about the loss to Plymouth quickly with a dominant win over their closest rivals in the Championship.