'Put my hands up': Luke O'Nien makes Sunderland pledge after costly moment in Sheffield United defeat

Luke O’Nien believes Sunderland were unlucky to lose at Bramall Lane on Friday night but said he held his hands up for the loose pass that led to Chris Mepham’s red card.

Sunderland played well against an in-form Sheffield United side and missed a first-half penalty through Patrick Roberts. Mepham then saw red after the referee ruled he had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when he felled Tyrese Campbell just outside the box.

The Blades in the end only had a one-man advantage for a matter of minutes, with Harry Souttar shown a second yellow card for a foul on Wilson Isidor. The second half was then finely balanced for the most part but substitute Tom Davies scored a late winner. It brought an end to Sunderland’s impressive unbeaten run, but also extended their winless run to six games.

O’Nien said he would review the passage of play that led to his error and learn from it.

"It's very similar to the last five or six games, where there's a fine line between dominating and winning and we haven't got the points the performances have merited,” O’Nien said.

“That's in our hands, we've come to Bramall Lane and put in a very good performance but haven't got the points. It's a hard one to take.

“I put my hands up for Meps getting sent off, I've got caught in the middle [of the pitch] there. Like all the mistakes I've made in my career, I'll watch it back, learn from it and get better. We'll do that collectively as a team and individually. That's how we've moved forward as a team in the last few years, we learn from our mistakes. Games like today will serve us for the better in the long run. We've just got to work harder and train harder, there's a very fine line between a good team and a very good team and it's our job to turn these tight games into wins.”

Sunderland return to action when they face Stoke City at the Stadium of Light next Saturday.