The Black Cats were far from their best at the Kassam Stadium, but on a difficult pitch against obdurate Championship opposition, they stood firm defensively and produced just enough attacking class to warrant a place in the fifth round.
Habib Diarra’s first-half penalty proved decisive, although Sunderland’s winning margin would have been much wider had Oxford goalkeeper Matt Ingram not made a string of impressive second-half saves.
The Us threatened with a couple of dangerous long throws at the other end, but Robin Roefs was never seriously tested in the Sunderland goal as his defence held firm. The physicality and willingness to battle that has served Regis Le Bris’ side so well in the top-flight this season shone through again against an Oxford team scrapping for survival at the foot of the second tier. You have to earn the right to play on days like this, and to their credit, the visitors were not found wanting.
The game had to survive two pre-match pitch inspections to get the go-ahead, but thankfully the rain that had tumbled down in Oxfordshire for most of the day abated an hour or so before kick-off. Nevertheless, the pitch at the Kassam Stadium was heavy and pockmarked, perfect for an FA Cup upset. Or so Oxford would have hoped.
Le Bris’ team selection helped guard against the likelihood of a shock result, with the Sunderland boss naming a strong starting XI despite making six changes from the midweek Premier League defeat to Liverpool.
The return of Luke O’Nien and Dennis Cirkin brought some bite to the back four, not to mention a fair bit of experience of facing Championship opposition, and while Oxford’s main first-half tactic was to launch long balls over the Sunderland backline, the hosts found themselves facing some committed defending.
Roefs was called into action to keep out an 18th-minute strike from Stanley Mills, but even at that stage, most of the attacking was taking place at the opposite end of the pitch.
Wilson Isidor fired into the side-netting as he returned to the starting line-up for the first time since early December, before Oxford goalkeeper, Ingram, flung himself to his left to keep out a low strike from Diarra.
Sunderland were gradually moving through the gears, although Le Bris was becoming increasingly agitated on the sidelines before his side were handed an opportunity to open the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark.
Christ Makosso fouled Cirkin as the full-back broke into the left of the 18-yard box, and after he was handed the ball by Enzo Le Fee, Diarra stepped up to casually roll his spot-kick past Ingram.
It was Diarra’s first penalty in a Sunderland shirt, with the Senegal international seemingly having replaced Le Fee as the primary spot-kick taker in the wake of the Frenchman’s failed Panenka experiment at Brentford.
Makosso had a golden chance to make amends for his misjudgement just before half-time, but while he rose between two Sunderland defenders to meet Will Vaulks’ long throw, the centre-half headed wide from the edge of the six-yard box.
Vaulks’ aerial missiles became an increasingly prominent part of Oxford’s weaponry as the game progressed, with the Black Cats defence looking far from comfortable as they were asked to deal with balls dropping six yards or so from the goalline.
Sunderland needed a second goal to feel comfortable, but there was a listlessness to much of their attacking play in the opening hour or so with neither Isidor nor Chemsdine Talbi proving particularly effective in the final third. If this was Isidor’s opportunity to audition for a more prominent role in the Premier League, he was found wanting.
Romaine Mundle was by far the liveliest of Sunderland’s forward players, and the winger forced a good save from Ingram just before the hour mark as he curled in a first-time effort with his right foot from the left of the box.
Ingram was called into action again moments later, tipping over a 25-yard strike from Talbi, and completed a hat-trick of quickfire saves when he scrambled Trai Hume’s shot around the post.
The tempo of Sunderland’s attacking had changed, and when Le Bris introduced Eliezer Mayenda for Isidor midway through the second half, the Spaniard almost had an instant impact as he fired in a near-post effort that Ingram saved.