SUNDERLAND climbed to third position in League One as Omar Beckles’ own goal and a late strike from Luke O’Nien secured a 2-0 win at Shrewsbury Town.

The victory extended the Black Cats’ unbeaten run to five matches and provided further evidence of their promotion credentials. What were the key debating points from the weekend trip to Shropshire?

SAFE STANDING

Shrewsbury made history earlier this summer when they installed 550 rail seats at the top of the Salop Leisure South Stand at their Montgomery Waters Meadow stadium.

The Shrews’ supporters’ parliament raised £65,000 to fund the safe standing trial, and on the evidence of Saturday’s game, the scheme looks likely to be judged a huge success.

Unlike on the old terraces at Roker Park, supporters in Shrewsbury’s ‘safe standing’ section are allocated a specific ‘rail seat’ they have to stand behind. This prevents overcrowding, and means the authorities know exactly how many supporters will be housed in the standing section.

It is no coincidence that the most vocal element of the Shrewsbury support have opted to congregate in the safe standing section – along with their drum – and it surely only a matter of time before safe standing is introduced to English football’s top two tiers.


GOOCH CAN BE SUNDERLAND’S GAME CHANGER

Lynden Gooch didn’t start Saturday’s game – but his appearance from the substitutes’ bench was integral to Sunderland finishing on top.

Jack Ross has plenty of attacking options at his disposal, but Gooch is one of the few players in the Sunderland squad to combine pace and creativity with energy and strength.

In the first half of Saturday’s game, the Black Cats lacked someone capable of driving between midfield and attack with the ball at their feet. As a result, they struggled to retain possession and found themselves penned in their own half.

Gooch’s introduction changed things, with the American putting Shrewsbury’s defenders on the back foot with his driving runs. Having proved his fitness after an injury absence, he should return to the starting line-up at Doncaster tomorrow.


SUNDERLAND STILL LACK A PHYSICAL THREAT

On the face of it, Sunderland haven’t really missed Charlie Wyke. In the five league games since the summer signing picked up his latest knee injury, the Black Cats have claimed three victories and two draws.

Saturday was the type of game Wyke would have excelled in though. Unlike Jerome Sinclair and Josh Maja, who were outmuscled whenever Sunderland looked to go long in the first half, Wyke would have relished a physical battle with the Shrewsbury defence.

In his absence, the Black Cats do not really have a striker who can win long balls and retain possession with his back to goal. As a result, when they were pressed into their own defensive third at the weekend, Sunderland’s defenders struggled to clear their lines.

Ross is having to adapt his game plan to reflect his side’s lack of physicality in attack, but there will still be matches where a lack of muscle in the final third is apparent. With Wyke unlikely to play again this year, Sunderland might have to address that in the January window.


JAMES RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin defended excellently at the weekend, and their efforts enabled Sunderland to keep only their second clean sheet of the season.

Reece James also deserves a huge amount of credit for his performance, and the summer signing from Wigan Athletic has impressed in each of his last two outings.

There can’t be many League One clubs that boast three top-notch left-backs, but Sunderland find themselves in that welcome position and while Bryan Oviedo and Denver Hume were both absent at the weekend, they were not missed.

James will have been frustrated at his lack of involvement in the early weeks of the season, but Ross has always insisted he will stick with his players if they play well in the first team. With that in mind, the 24-year-old can now consider himself Sunderland’s number one left-back. He will certainly retain his place for tomorrow’s trip to Doncaster.