Harry Kewell was disappointed after Sunderland sealed their place in the last 16 of the EFL Trophy at Oldham Athletic’s expense, admitting on Twitter that the League Two outfit struggled to deal with Chris Maguire at Boundary Park.
If Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to bottom-of-the-table Wigan felt like a major step in the wrong direction, Lee Johnson’s side moved a few inches forward last night.
After falling behind to Bobby Grant’s opener in Lancashire, Sunderland responded in fine style and made their quality count as Johnson tasted victory in charge of the Black Cats for the first time.
It was Maguire who levelled the scores after Oldham failed to deal with a teasing Jack Diamond cross, before Josh Scowen headed home the winner just after the interval.
Kewell was disappointed to see the Latics fail to build on their early lead, with the impressive Maguire sparking the fightback and securing Sunderland’s place in the latter stages of the EFL Trophy.
“We knew what they are capable of doing because they have good players, they pass and move and they try that third-man run. The number seven (Maguire) was causing us a little bit of a problem,” said the former Liverpool and Leeds United star.
“But I thought if we drop in, we can give them a little less room to counter. And then the (equalising) goal was an easy goal. Like I said (to the players), it’s a shame because opportunities in football don’t come around often.”
If Johnson can coax the mercurial brilliance out of arguably Sunderland’s most naturally gifted footballer, then don’t be surprised if the Wearside giants are back in the promotion picture sooner rather than later.
Maguire has six goals in 17 games this season and, in theory, he should thrive in a more forward-thinking, progressive style now that Johnson has replaced the pragmatic Phil Parkinson.
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