Moyes tries to stay positive, fools no one

Ian Watson

David Moyes took positives from Sunderland’s performance in the defeat at Stoke as the Black Cats continue their search for a first win of the season.

The Potters cruised to victory at the Bet365 Stadium thanks to Joe Allen’s first-half brace.

“I didn’t think we played as bad as the 2-0 score suggested,” Moyes said of rock-bottom Sunderland.

“I actually thought we played better in the first half than the second half. We conceded two terrible goals. I’d like to say the referee (Mike Jones, who got in the way of a Didier Ndong pass in the build-up) was partly at fault for the first one but after seeing it again we had two opportunities (to clear).

“It was our own doing and then we conceded a goal from a set-piece where we lose the first header and aren’t particularly well organised at the edge of the box and it goes through sets of legs and we don’t kick it off the line.

“If we’d got in to half-time at 1-0 we’d been in the game enough to give ourselves a chance.”

Mark Hughes revealed it was seeing Stoke’s Allen up close which persuaded him he could flourish further forward as the Welshman’s scoring streak continued with a brace.

An injury doubt before kick-off with a hamstring problem, the £12million summer signing from Liverpool broke the deadlock with an eighth-minute header before lashing in a second on the stroke of half-time.

Allen took his tally to five in four games for club and country and has already equalled his best-ever Premier League haul for a season when he managed four with Swansea in 2011-12.

His purple patch has coincided with him operating in a more advanced role in midfield, something which Hughes only considered him for after working with him at training.

“We pushed him further forward just because sometimes when you get the opportunity to work with players day-in, day-out you see things that you didn’t realise that they may have the capability of,” Hughes said.

“His anticipation of where the ball is going to land was evident for everyone to see. In midfield or out wide or wherever the ball was dropping he anticipates really well. So if you can get him anticipating things in the box he’s going to get on the end of things and that’s what’s happening at the moment.

“We’re delighted with what he’s producing. Clearly he’s a little bit fragile at the moment because his workload since the summer is up greatly. We are going to have to manage him through this period while his body gets in tune but he’s doing exceptionally well. We’re delighted he’s with us.”