Sunderland are through to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a win over Oxford United
Régis Le Bris says he is happy for Sunderland's penalties to be decided on the pitch after Habib Diarra stepped up at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Diarra's first-half penalty proved the difference between the two teams as Sunderland beat Oxford United to win 1-0 and book their place in the fifth round of the competition. Enzo Le Fée has been Sunderland's usual taker so far this season and despite one high-profile miss with an attempted panenka at Brentford has a very good record, scoring his four other efforts in all competitions.
Le Fée said earlier in the season that Habib Diarra had been keen on taking penalty duties, but the midfielder then suffered a groin injury which kept him sidelined for an extended period. Diarra's excellent strike, sending the Oxford goalkeeper the wrong way, will put him firmly in contention for future spotkicks.
Le Bris said: “We like to keep a bit of unpredictability [over who is taking the penalties]!
"It was decided on the pitch. It is a really question of confidence and who feels they are best placed to do it. Habib is very confident when it comes to taking a penalty. And he did well. He was confident he would score, and he did. Enzo was happy with the situation. He was comfortable with the decision for Habib to take the penalty. I have no worries at all about the connection between the lads."
Speaking after taking Sunderland’s first penalty of the season against Brentford back in September, Le Fée said: “I was sure I would score. We had a discussion with Habib because he wanted to take it as well. But I was sure, so he let me shoot and I scored. So, yeah, it's only confidence in the head. If we have another one, I will let Habib shoot because he let me shoot today. So, it's like this.”
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Régis Le Bris's verdict on Sunderland's win over Oxford United
“The result was the most important thing, getting through, and we were able to do that in the end," Le Bris said.
"We expected a tough game, we had that last season when we came here, struggled and lost 2-0. They do some very direct play, winning second balls, and they have the ability to fight around the drop zone. That was a part of the game that was always going to be really important. We struggled with it a little bit in the first half, but I thought it was much better in the second half. We scored, which is always important, and I think that helped us to manage the match from that point on much better.
“The attacking play improved as the match went on. The game became progressively more open. They played with a back four and were well organised defensively, to be fair. It wasn’t easy to find the right rhythm, but it was generally okay and it is often the case that in the second half, the game is a bit more open and you can create more chances. We did that, but unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal."
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