Marco Gabbiadini claims Sunderland player must be 'looked at' after 'really stupid' moment vs Plymouth Argyle

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini has claimed that Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson must be “looked at” following his display against Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.

The Black Cats saw their perfect start to the season curtailed after shipping a stoppage time winner at Home Park, with Patterson pushing an initial effort from distance back into the path of Joe Edwards, who swept home a decisive strike without hesitation. Prior to that sucker-punch, Sunderland had conceded via an own goal and a penalty, with Dan Ballard culpable on both occasions. And reflecting on Saturday’s setback, Gabbiadini was quick to highlight the centre-back and his goalkeeper for their unfortunate roles in the defeat.

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Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, he said: “Plymouth scored two goals from nothing, really. A bit of a strange one. I'm sure the lads would be disappointed. And a couple of individual errors, which was something that happened to us at this time last season as well.

“That's our second own goal, and, Dan Ballard, really silly penalty to give away. I think also the goalkeeper's got to be looked at - a really stupid clearance that he made. Defended well from the winger and got the ball to his hands - he threw it straight back to them and they ended up shooting within two seconds.

“Look, it's all a learning curve when you've got players as young as 17 and 18 in your team. Even Patterson, he will learn from the errors on Saturday. It was one of them games that was very winnable, but by the same token, it was against a team who really needed a win.”

Sunderland suffered another blow late in the contest on the south coast when Ballard appeared to sustain an injury that required medical staff to help him from the field of play after the final whistle. At this stage, there is no concrete indication as to the extent of the issue.