The Black Cats had numerous good chances to win the match, but they were unable to score, as they have so often this season, and lost to a goal by Ryan Andrews halfway through the second half.
Although Alese’s campaign has been marred by injuries, he hopes to end it well and start again in the summer.
We had opportunities in the first and second halves, which we could have taken and taken the lead on a different day. That’s just the way things worked out in the end because we didn’t take them,” he said to BBC Newcastle.
“I believe you can probably see that in the first 25 to 30 minutes, they essentially shut us down and had more possession of the ball in our final third. They didn’t really produce anything, and as the game went on, we had those opportunities right before halftime. Again in the second half, we had opportunities.
We may argue that we were winning the game for a significant portion of it or that we were the superior team, but in the end, we lost because we gave up goals and failed to score.
The predicted goals chart below shows how Alese has contributed to the Black Cats’ increased difficulty in defeat; nonetheless, personally, finishing the season unharmed and with minutes remaining is a good sign.
My goal has always been to get minutes before the season ends,” Alese continued. “The key goals have always been to stay healthy, support the club, and return for the preseason. We want to finish strong and offer the supporters a memorable last game to carry with them into the summer. Every pre-season is a new beginning. There will be new players, a new manager, and possibly even a new football philosophy.I wouldn’t say it’s gone; I still believe we’re playing excellent football and creating opportunities, but we’ve had trouble scoring in the past few games, so perhaps that warrants some investigation.
“Getting ready during the off-season is the big aim.”