A smiley Gus Poyet said today was “all about winning the game” even if Sunderland “had to play ugly” in their 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
He said he wasn’t able to see the decision in the first minute of the game when Frazier Campbell went down in the box (which is a stock plug-and-play excuse for managers who don’t want to admit a decision that went their way was wrong) but he essentially admitted referee Phil Dowd made a mistake.
[RELATED: Full game recap and highlights]
“It’s a confirmation that I knew we were better than the Southampton game [where Sunderland lost 8-0],” Poyet said. “I knew it was all about a feeling inside you to get rid of it, and it’s about winning, so today we feel that we are a proper team.”
Poyet also admitted he was shocked that his side scored yet another own goal and that he was worried it would end the way he feared.
10 - Since Aug 2013, Sunderland have scored 10 own goals, more than any of their players have scored at the right end in that period. Oops.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 3, 2014