Sunderland unlikely to appeal ‘harsh’ Trai Hume Bristol City red card

Sunderland unlikely to appeal ‘harsh’ Trai Hume Bristol City red card



Instead, Le Bris is minded to treat Hume’s one-game ban as an opportunity to give the defender a breather.

If that’s confirmed, Hume will miss Monday’s home game against Blackburn but will be back for the final two games and the play-offs.

Hume was sent off after just seven minutes at Ashton Gate on Good Friday. It immediately looked a harsh call from referee Oliver Langford, with striker Nahki Wells already losing balance before the slightest of touches from Hume.

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Despite going down to 10 men, Sunderland took the lead thanks to Eliezer Mayenda’s brilliant individual goal before Bristol City fought back in the second half and picked up all three points after goals from Rob Dickie and Ross McCrorie.

Le Bris said: “The red card changed the dynamic of the game.

“With 10 men against 11 for 85 minutes, it was long. I think the decision was a bit harsh.

“We started well and probably after that for 20, 25 minutes the game was balanced. We scored a positive goal and after that we defended well. In this context, when there are many crosses and shots, you can make a mistake and the opponent can have a very good shot. The equaliser was positive for them and their energy.”

Asked whether Sunderland will appeal, Le Bris said: “I don’t know. For us, we just want to manage the different games properly and manage the squad to have the best energy at the end of the season.

“The play-offs is most important so I don’t know if it will be necessary.”

Hume has started 41 of Sunderland’s 42 games this season, only missing the November draw with Millwall when was serving a one-game ban after picking up five yellow cards.

Despite the defeat, Le Bris was proud of Sunderland’s defensive effort and said the Black Cats can take heart from the display.

He said: “It was really positive to live this experience. We could face this challenge in the play-offs and even with 10 men for the whole game it finished 2-1 and we’d have another game at home.

“If this challenge happens again we’ll have this as a reference. I hope it won’t be the case but you never know.

“We’ve shown before that after defeats we react well so I’m really confident about the resources of the squad and the way we are managing the squad right now. It’s really important for the future.

“We might not have the best starting XI now but we want the best 16, 17 or 18 ready for the play-offs.”





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