Mark Bonner challenges Cambridge United to cause a surprise to delay Sunderland’s League One play-off push

Mark Bonner has set Cambridge United the challenge of delaying Sunderland’s push for a play-off place in League One this Saturday (April 23).

The Black Cats are currently one spot outside the play-offs by virtue of goal difference from Wycombe Wanderers, but they have a game in hand of both Wycombe and fifth-placed Plymouth Argyle.

It will be the hosts’ penultimate game of the season at the Stadium of Light, with automatic promotion-chasers Rotherham United the final visitors on Tuesday night.

It means there will be added incentive for Sunderland in their bid to get out of the third tier in the pyramid, where they have been since being relegated in 2018.

“I think they are probably at this level longer than they wanted to be and hoped they would be and probably should be, for what they’ve got,” said United head coach Bonner.

“There have been a few versions of themselves over their League One era in terms of managers, and again another change this year.

“But since they have made the change they’ve shown some real consistency. They’ve won a lot of games late on, scored a lot of late goals, they’ve been harder to beat.

“It’s like all these teams, if you look at the squads that they’ve got, you write their team up and look at the options they’ve got, they are players that are certainly top players at this level.

“They’ve got the potential to play or the experience of playing in levels above, that’s what we come up against all the time. It doesn’t mean you can’t compete with them. Over 46 games you would certainly expect them to be ahead of you, but over the odd occasion…..”

When the sides faced each other in November, it was two wind-assisted strikes that was the difference, with Sunderland earning a 2-1 victory at the Abbey.

“When we played them earlier in the season at our place, and it was a really close run game that basically a corner decided as it was the windiest day in the world and there were tonnes of corners for everyone towards the South Stand and they managed to score from one,” said Bonner.

“It was a terrible game really but it was a really close game and we were competitive against them then, and we will have to try to do the same again.”

Sunderland have the likes of former Premier League players Alex Pritchard, Aiden McGeady and Patrick Roberts among a raft of experience in their ranks, with ex-Norwich City boss Alex Neil now in charge.

“There is no doubt that they have real talent in their team,” said Bonner. “Players that have moved for big money in the past, players that have scored a lot of goals, or just had very good careers or that have got the potential to have them.

“I think when you play at a club like Sunderland, or we’ve seen it against a few teams, it’s a heavy shirt to wear because the expectations are so big and therefore that can sometimes take its toll.

“But I think in recent weeks they’re finding really good consistency in form at a time when you need it at this stage of the season.

“The problem is there are a lot of teams doing that or teams above them that have lost a little bit of rhythm have got the cushion so it’s going to go to the wire.

“I’m sure for them this game is a pivotal one and one they look at and think we need three points from this one because it will set us up nicely for the last weekend.”

He added: “I think it will be a brilliant occasion to be part of and if we can ruin a party and cause a surprise then of course we would love to do that.”

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