SINCE joining Sunderland, Aaron Connolly has stressed his desire to put his experience to good use – and that was the case in the away dressing room at The Den on Saturday evening.
Connolly was keen to ensure his teammates set about striking the right balance in the aftermath of his early opener being cancelled out by Millwall’s 93rd minute equaliser.
Sunderland must, Connolly insisted, learn from the experience – particularly on the back of letting a two-goal lead slip against Coventry before the international break.
But the striker also pointed out that a draw at the home of the in-form Lions would have been deemed a superb result before kick-off and the Black Cats must not dwell on the frustration of the late dropped points.
“It’s a crazy game and a crazy league,” said Connolly.
“We’re still right up there and have two big games coming up so we have to focus on that.
“We go into every game expecting three points. It feels like a loss, like every late goal does, but we just said in the dressing room we need to learn from it.
“If you want to get promoted out of this league we have to learn from things like that. We can’t afford to drop points in them positions. We have to focus on these games coming up.”
RECOMMENDED READING:
Connolly put Sunderland ahead after just 10 minutes when he buried a superb controlled volley from the edge of the area to open his account for the club.
It rewarded what was a very assured start by the Black Cats and they could have had a second when Wilson Isidor could not get a firm enough contact on Luke O’Nien’s cut-back.
Millwall were struggling to clear their lines and after a corner from Rigg was not dealt with, they needed Lukas Jensen to be alert in keeping out Dan Ballard’s shot from point-blank range.
Tommy Watson summed up the confidence Sunderland were displaying when he beat Ryan Leonard down the left before his effort was held by Jensen.
Play was then halted after 41 minutes for stricken supporters in the Dockers Stand and Barry Kitchener Stand to receive treatment, leading to referee John Busby taking the players off the pitch.
They returned 25 minutes later for what remained of the first half, which passed without incident, with Sunderland going into the break with a narrow lead.
Sunderland looked set to hold on to that lead until Millwall snatched a point in the third minute of stoppage time when Aidomo Emakhu went on a driving run down the left before pulling the ball across the box for fellow substitute Femi Azeez to finish at the back post.
Connolly said: “It’s frustrating but we still got something out of the game, we can’t forget that.
“Just because it was a late equaliser, we shouldn’t be negative. We weren’t happy in there but won’t let it affect us at the start of a big week.”
Connolly marked his second Sunderland start with his first goal in red and white – and is now determined to kick on.
He said: “It’s like every new player at a new club, you wan to get that first goal. Thankfully mine came after my second start so I didn’t have to wait too long. Now I want to get 5, 10, 15. Hopefully I get my first one at the Stadium of Light soon.”
Head coach Regis Le Bris, like Connolly, was balanced in his verdict.
He said: “The first half was really positive.
“We controlled the game and we played under pressure.
“The collective mindset was very good. We scored once but we probably had two or three opportunities to score a second goal.
“We didn’t and we knew when we are away to this kind of team with a very impressive style of play with good accuracy, it is going to be tough.
“We have to improve some elements of our game, especially in the second half. At the end it is a good point away.”
