STANDING on the touchline at the John Smith’s Stadium on Wednesday night, with the jubilant Huddersfield Town fans having just streamed out behind him, Sorba Thomas was asked to explain his side’s approach to their game against Sunderland.

“We knew Sunderland had a lot of young talent, but we also knew that we could bully them on the day,” said the Huddersfield winger. “We knew what we could do to win the game, and we stuck to our game plan, and it worked.”

So, there you have it. In an era of forensic data analysis, intricate tactical planning and an obsessive pursuit of marginal gains, when you come up against Sunderland, particularly at your home ground, all you have to do is outmuscle your opposition and knock them off the ball. Win the physical battle, as Sunderland’s opponents on the road have invariably been doing more often than not this season, and you will win the game.

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That is almost certainly damning Huddersfield with faint praise, particularly given the quality of the set-piece routine that led to their winning goal, but it nevertheless gets to the kernel of an issue that is becoming increasingly problematic for the Black Cats this season. Opponents are sensing a physical vulnerability, and are exploiting it. It happened against Rotherham on Michael Beale’s watch, when Sunderland scrambled a point after being bullied for most of the first half, it happened at Plymouth under Tony Mowbray and it also happened at Stoke earlier in the season. All games where Sunderland’s footballers were knocked out of their stride.

A lack of physicality was an issue for much of the Mowbray era, and was something the recruitment team were keen to address in the last two or three transfer windows. Having signed the likes of Dan Ballard, Pierre Ekwah and Jobe Bellingham, Sunderland are no longer an especially small team. They are, however, a side lacking Championship knowhow, containing players who do not really seem to know how to cope with aggressive, fired-up and often much more experienced opponents.

“It’s a fact that we’re a young team,” conceded Beale. “I think everybody knows that. Certainly, Jon (Worthington, Huddersfield’s caretaker boss) and his team would have known that going into the game.

“But look, they’ve got a lot of experience now in the Championship. How many seasons do you have to play in the Championship to be experienced in it? At the weekend, we’re praising bringing an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old off the bench against another Championship team, to go and get the result. It’s more about application.”

So, if a physical or age imbalance is not to blame, what do Sunderland’s players need to do to avoid a repeat of Wednesday’s defeat?

Be braver is the first thing that comes into Beale’s mind, not in terms of leaping into tackles, because no one was shying away from physical confrontation against Huddersfield, but in terms of looking to be progressive when receiving the ball under pressure rather than being forced backwards or opting to take the easy way out.

Time and time again on Wednesday, especially in the first half, Sunderland’s midfielders were unable to advance up the field because of the effectiveness of Huddersfield’s press. More often than not, they either turned over the ball or went backwards to try to find a team-mate. As Thomas rightly pointed out, they were being bullied out of trusting their natural game.

“I felt Huddersfield came at the game and made it a really physical one,” said Beale. “Not in terms of fouling, just being physical in the duels, and they made us run back. There was a part of the game in the first half where we had to roll our sleeves up a bit and give a bit back, but I’m not sure we did that well.

“I felt in the first half, they pressed down on us, and our midfielders wanted too much time on the ball and too many touches. They pressed down on us, and it made it difficult. Did we show enough bravery to play forward? That’s something we talked about at half-time, and I thought we were better in the second half, we certainly created more opportunities.”

Sunderland did improve marginally after the break, but their lack of a cutting edge – another problem that has been apparent for most of the season – meant they were unable to claw their way back into the game. As a result, their away record now stands at one win from the last 11 league matches, hardly a run that screams promotion.

“It wasn’t our night, but we can’t keep saying that away from home,” said Beale. “Our away form is not good enough for a team that’s got the aspirations that we’ve got. So, we have to improve it.”