Kevin Danso Explains What Sunderland Were 'Missing' Vs Brighton Amid Defiant Message

Sunderland defender Kevin Danso has outlined that the Black Cats' lack of quality and "conviction" in the final third was the catalyst for their defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

Sunderland lost 2-0 to ten-man Brighton with second-half goals from Maxim De Cuyper and substitute Jaouen Hadjam coming either side of Pascal Struijk's red card following his foul on Wilson Isidor to deny a clear equalising opportunity.

It was potentially Regis Le Bris' side's poorest performance of the season so far, with the lack of creativity and dynamism in attack matched by their uncharacterstic lack of organisation and rigidity in defence.

Sunderland controlled possession against Fabian Hurzeler's high-flying side with 62 percent overall, but failed to convert their ball dominance into goals, with the disappointing defeat now leaving the Black Cats just one point above the relegation zone in 16th.

Following the defeat, Danso explained where it went wrong for Sunderland and also issued a defiant message to the Black Cats faithful that Le Bris' side will rectify their recent dip in form.

Le Bris admitted that Sunderland must improve in attack following the defeat to Brighton, and Danso shared the sentiments of the Black Cats manager, outlining that a lack of "conviction" in the final third was costly on Saturday afternoon.

As quoted by the Sunderland Echo, Danso said: "It was a tough game. We know Brighton are in form at the moment and a very good side out of possession.

"After the first ten minutes or so, we were able to break their press and create chances, albeit not very clear-cut chances.

"In the last third, we were missing that bit of conviction and couldn't create that clear-cut chance.”

With the defeat now Sunderland's third consecutive Premier League loss in a row after beatings from Arsenal and Manchester City before the international break, the Austrian international admitted that the mood was different in the dressing room on Saturday, given the comparatively subpar performance the Black Cats put in.

"It feels different to after Arsenal and City defeats. Today we had opportunities to score first but once we conceded it was not quite the same performance.

"We have bags of quality and just need to score first because then we will be a tough team to beat.”

Danso has made a stellar start to his Sunderland career, but he himself was at less than his best against Brighton, being alarmingly caught out in possession, almost leading to Seagulls attacker Yasin Ayari taking an early lead if not for Robin Roefs' strong save, which saw further confidence breed amongst Brighton.

He is correct to place blame for the Seagulls defeat towards Sunderland's lack of dynamism in the final third, but Danso and his fellow defenders were also at fault for their atypical lack of resolution at the back.

Therefore, the Tottenham Hotspur loanee and the rest of his Sunderland teammates are desperate to put things right at Portuguese second tier side SCU Torreense on Thursday in the Europa League.

With the damning defeat continuing Sunderland's losing streak, Danso added that the Black Cats squad are determined to defy the outside noise and concentrate on resurrecting their form.

"We always try to avoid all the negative noise,” he added. “I felt until we conceded, we were able to create some chances.

"Everyone can say what they want, but it is up to us to get our heads down.

"We believe in ourselves, we know the quality that we have, so it is up to us to turn good performances which we had against some of the top sides into points, and also, when we are playing bad, to grind out wins.”

Sunderland's first European away day in over five decades offers Le Bris' side a welcome and fast chance to put things right following the Brighton defeat, and hopefully kickstart an improved run with a heavily congested fixture list ahead.

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