Sunderland were forced to stay the night in Southampton following their exit from the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening, with thick fog preventing the team plane flying home immediately after the match.
David Moyes’s side were due to travel back to the north-east straight after the match but were unable to do so because of the weather conditions on the south coast. They planned to fly home from Bournemouth airport as noise restrictions in place at Southampton airport mean flights cannot take off between 11pm and 6am Monday to Saturday. After their unplanned overnight stay, Moyes’s squad did a light recovery session in Southampton on Thursday morning, a Sunderland spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian.
Sunderland lost the match at St Mary’s 1-0, Sofiane Boufal’s sumptuous strike securing Southampton a trip to Arsenal in the quarter-finals. “At the moment our luck’s out but it’ll change and the performances will lead to goals and results, I have no doubt about that,” said Moyes, who was charged with misconduct by the Football Association on Thursday after being sent to the stands during his side’s latest defeat. Sunderland, who have lost their last three matches and are bottom of the Premier League, host Arsenal in the early kick-off on Saturday.
“It’s another loss, which is frustrating for us but we have to keep going,” said the Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore. “We could have had a penalty – I haven’t seen it back myself – but losing is frustrating and it’s disappointing to be out of the cup. You could say we haven’t had much luck but sometimes you’ve got to earn it, so we will keep working hard for each other and be positive.
“Our team ethic is very important but we have great lads in the dressing room and good backroom staff, so everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction. Now we have to make it count and take it on to the pitch.” The Sunderland team were due to return to Wearside on Thursday afternoon.
In July, Moyes and the first-team squad were forced into an emergency landing at Manchester airport after one of the engines on the flight taking them to their pre-season training camp in Austria failed.
