Sunderland lost at home for the first time this season to Johnnie Jackson's Charlton who won 1-0 with a goal claimed by Jayden Stockley. A performance was called for and Charlton played as a team with some particularly good defensive work.
Curbs praised Dobson in the middle of the park for doing the job that had to be done. He said, 'Everyone has played their part.'
Steve Brown said that none of us envisaged a clean sheet at Sunderland. The game against Doncaster was now even more crucial. He gave Johnnie credit for getting the two up front which Sunderland didn't expect.
Curbs said there was a lot more aggression about it, we made some blocks when we had to. Steve Brown said this was a side determined not to leak a goal. Curbs had been quite right to highlight Dobson, he did the donkey work. Charlton were tiring towards the end.
Dobson the hero of the day
Curbs said that Dobson made sure he was in the right place at the right time defensively, allowing Lee to go on his runs. If we could get two home wins, we would be looking at mid-table.
Dobson said: 'The last few weeks have been tough, find yourself out of favour. I should be keeping my shirt. For me personally it was unbelievable. The team gave absolutely everything for each other and there was a lot of quality as well. We've set a standard and we've got to make sure we're at that level every game.'
'We had a change of formation with three at the back and we decided to go high press, making it five at the back at times. Next week we can put extra layers on to what we showed today. We can't get too carried away, it's only one game. It's a start.'
Curbs said that Purrington was outstanding. It's hard to pick someone who didn't do his job. Steve Brown praised Pearce for the way he came off the bench. He kept the back line nice and solid.
Steve Brown said that the inconsistency of individual performances meant the team kept having to be changed.
JJ said it was bit of a roller coaster, particularly the five minutes added on. 'We worked as long as we could yesterday. I've changed the shape. I had to keep it simple, but I stressed you have to run, you have to work. What they gave on the pitch was what I asked. The message got through. I said at half time "We haven't come here to nick a point, we've come to win the game."'
'We know we've been conceding too many goals, you have to start with a clean sheet. Against a team that scores many goals, that's brilliant.'
'You need to get that win, you need a statement win and a statement performance. They needed this win. The mood in the changing room is fantastic. If it's a one off, its not good enough. They have shown me what they are capable of. There's loads of work to be done. I like two strikers on the pitch. I try to keep the message simple without overloading them. It's good we've got a clear week on the training pitch.'
Curbs said that Charlton fans were hoping for this reaction. He'd made big decisions, made a statement. 'We all needed a lift.'
Steve Brown said the squad was top heavy and it needed to be trimmed down a bit.
Match report
Charlton started with a fluid 4-4-2 formation with three or four at the back. Sunderland won an early corner after a MacGillivray save, but Matthews headed away. Charlton briefly switched off defensively, but Sunderland shot wide.
Charlton won four corners in a row. From one of them Stockley should perhaps have gone for goal after a good ball from Washington.
After another corner won by Srockley, Charlton had a spell of pressure. Just after the half hour Lavelle went down with a groin injury and was replaced by Pearce
Leko went down after good defensive work in the penalty area to deal with attacking full back Cirkin. A shot was saved by MacGillivray. A good counter attack led to a Charlton corner. Dobson took one for the team with a yellow card.
HT: 0-0
Leko put in a great cross but Purrington was unable to connect.
There was a moment of danger when the ball bobbled in front of MacGillivray after a Sunderland corner. Cirkin hit the crossbar 11 minutes into the half. Sunderland built up the pressure. A shot from Leko was blocked.
Sunderland manager Lee Johnson got a yellow card. On 66 minutes Stockley, making use of a ball from Leko, scored with a header leading to a chorus of 'You're not fit to referee' from the home crowd.
Leko was doing great work as a wing back. Sunderland made two substitutions. A Sunderland free kick 10 yards from the area went straight into the wall.
Sunderland called for a penalty for a handball, but Pearce defended with his face. Leko couldn't get on the end of a Washington touch. On 79 minutes Sunderland made their third substitution. Washington made a good run in a counter attack but Hoffman saved.
Purrington got a yellow card for time wasting. Evans got a yellow card for a late challenge on Famewo.
With five minutes added on DJ replaced Leko and the substitute made a contribution. Charlton stood firm, as well organised as they had been all match.
The teams around us won, Doncaster beat Cheltenham 3-2 and Shrewsbury who won 4-1 against Cambridge. Charlton are still third from bottom.
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