Newcastle United continued their push for Europe, with Middlesbrough hopeful of making a late play-off dash. Sunderland though, managed to throw away initial optimism with a capitulation against Blackburn. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00 For Sunderland, their good Friday was good indeed as they finally ended their winless
00:07 run away at Cardiff City with a 2-0 victory in the Welsh capital.
00:12 Interim head coach Mike Dodds got the reaction he was looking for after the international
00:17 break and they returned to the Stadium of Light on Easter Monday full of optimism.
00:23 That was to be short lived though.
00:25 A horror show on Wearside was to be seen by those in attendance at the Stadium of Light
00:31 as the Black Cats shipped five goals with only one in reply to a struggling Blackburn
00:36 Rovers side.
00:38 Following the final whistle, fans were calling for change at the boardroom level with many
00:43 becoming disillusioned with the club's recruitment model.
00:47 Talk of a high performance culture seemed like a bad joke to the Sunderland supporters.
00:53 And they weren't wrong with this result being only the third time they had conceded
00:58 five goals at the Stadium of Light since the club moved there in the 1990s.
01:04 Change is needed fast on Wearside before things get ugly for those of a red and white persuasion.
01:14 On Tyneside, chaos has become the norm as matches go for Newcastle United are of late
01:20 owing to various squad injury issues, with Easter Saturday being no exception.
01:26 They took the lead early thanks to an Alexander Izak penalty but fell behind to two West Ham
01:31 goals before half time.
01:33 Their day got even worse after the break as the Hammers went 3-1 ahead, but this side
01:39 has a never say die attitude.
01:41 Another Izak penalty brought them back into it before a brace from Harvey Barnes sealed
01:47 a memorable win for the Magpies.
01:50 It was not without issue however, as Jamal Lassells, Miguel Almiron and Tino Livramento
01:56 all picked up injuries during the game.
01:59 Eddie Howe's side welcome Everton to St James' Park next, hoping to continue their European
02:05 push.
02:06 Jamal Lassells will not feature again this season though, as his injury was particularly
02:11 serious, an ACL tear similar to that of Sven Bottmans which will keep him sidelined for
02:17 six to nine months as he recovers from surgery.
02:22 Finally, Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough managed to win four important points over
02:27 the course of the weekend.
02:29 They snatched a late draw away at a strong Southamptonside before returning to Teesside
02:35 to claim a comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
02:40 Inconsistency has plagued Boris' season, but fans will hope that there is still a lingering
02:46 hope that they could yet make the playoffs despite on paper it being unlikely.
02:52 Other sides would have to drop points, but for those of a Middlesbrough persuasion, they
02:56 will hope that is possible.
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