Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray bemoans lack of attacking options after Ipswich defeat

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray was left ruing his side's lack of cutting edge in front of goal as the Black Cats fell to an opening-day defeat to Ipswich.

Sunderland started well but goals from Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst on either side of the interval left Mowbray's men with a mountain to climb.

Trai Hume's 72nd-minute red card should have made things more difficult but it appeared to galvanise the Black Cats instead.

Dan Neil pulled a goal back with five minutes to go and came close to levelling the scoreline in the dying moments when he hit the post.

However, the three points went back to Suffolk with Mowbray left to rue his side's inability to put the ball in the net. The 59-year-old admitted signing another striker is on his radar with 19-year-old Luís Semedo left leading the line.

Speaking after the game, Mowbray said: “You have to put the ball in the net when the chances come and I don’t want to keep banging the drum, but we need more options and the club are trying really hard to do that.

“We are putting bids in. To find strikers worldwide is really difficult as huge clubs in the Premier League are finding.

“Hopefully there will be some more attacking options in the squad in the next week or two, then they’ll have to settle in."

Despite the lack of options, Mowbray was still hopeful for the rest of the season with Ross Stewart and Bradley Dack on the comeback trail from injury.

“I think we’ll get stronger," he explained. "In six or seven weeks, hopefully, we have Ross Stewart down the middle, Bradley Dack might be playing off him.

"There’s enough there to say we’ll be fine.”

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