Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson slams Bristol Rovers for timewasting in opening day draw

Phil Parkinson also had his say on ex-Bristol City defender Bailey Wright, who narrowly avoided a red card at a crucial point in the game

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson has slammed Ben Garner’s Bristol Rovers, claiming the Gas “just came to timewaste” following Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

It took the Pirates just three minutes of the new season to get off the mark, with Luke Leahy dispatching a penalty into the top corner after rash goalkeeping from Lee Burge saw Jayden Mitchell-Lawson bundled over.

Rovers clung onto their lead for almost 80 minutes thanks to a valiant defensive display, but Chris Maguire scored with eight minutes to play to take a point.

At full time Parkinson, whose moans and groans could be heard echoing around the empty Stadium of Light, shared his anger over Rovers’ approach to the game.

"It was a terrible start for us,” he told Chronicle Live. “We couldn't have started any worse, against a team that just came to timewaste and obviously that is helped by the fact that when the ball goes into the stands we haven't got ball boys, and no-one knows what the rule is – can you get the ball quickly, sometimes it was allowed and sometimes it wasn't.

"After the terrible start we became a bit frantic after that but once we got into our rhythm and started playing, we got better and better as the game wore on.

"Really in the second half we completely dominated the game and should have won it comfortably.

"We got the goal through Chris and we also had several other chances to get the goal back but there was some poor finishing but some good goalkeeping as well, and the save from Max's shot kept them in the game.

"I don't think we could have done much more in the second half in terms of the way we played, but obviously the final moment of quality needs to be better because with the amount of dominance we had, we really should have been out of sight."

Sunderland had midfielder George Dobson sent off in stoppage time for a forceful lunge on Mitchell-Lawson, but Parkinson believes a red card might have been harsh.

"He won the ball and I thought at the time it was going to be a yellow, but the manner of the challenge meant it was one of those that is sometimes interpreted as a red," Parkinson said.

"I'll have a look at it again tonight and make a decision (whether to appeal) after that."

Parkinson did admit, though, his Black Cats might have been lucky they were not reduced to 10 men earlier, with Bailey Wright avoiding a second booking by the skin of his teeth.

He brought down Gas striker Brandon Hanlan to halt a promising counter attack, and referee Anthony Backhouse drew his yellow card from his pocket before holstering it again – much to the frustration of Garner and his coaching staff.

"Normally in those situations, a referee would give a player on a yellow card another opportunity because it was an innocuous type of challenge but, yeah, on another day he could have got a red," Parkinson conceded.