Sunderland defender bemoans poor start against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley says that his side's poor start in their English Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers cost them dearly.
The teams met at Molineux Stadium on Saturday 27 November. Following a disappointing opening half, the Black Cats only burst into life after Kevin Foley scored the opening goal for the home side in the 50th minute.
Steve Bruce's men hit back to take the lead through Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck, but they could not hold on for a victory as Stephen Hunt and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake both scored in the last 10 minutes, giving the Wolves a 3-2 win.
As a result of the defeat, Scotland international Bardsley claimed that Sunderland, who are pushing for European qualification the season, cannot afford to wait for their opponents to take the early advantage.
He told his club's official website, “The manager pointed out to us that we weren't good enough in the first hour and he is right. There were spells in the game where we didn't pass it as well as we could have. We only decided to turn up and have a go once
we went a goal down. We shouldn't have to wait for them to score to kick-start us, and that's what we've done again.
"We should have held on to the lead, but we've been punished. It's a disappointing result and we have to improve. You would have backed us to win at 2-1, but we let the lead slip and we should have done better."
Sunderland have fallen five points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and remain three behind sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers after their draw with Wolves.
Their next opportunity to move up the table will come when they host bottom side West Ham United at the Stadium of Light on Saturday 4 December.
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