Port Vale 1-0 Sunderland: Bottom of the league, magic in the cup – Vale's 'incredible' run

Sunderland put out a strong team against Port Vale, making just two changes from the side that beat Leeds in the Premier League in midweek.

However, they “never really got going” against their League One opponents, according to ex-Black Cats midfielder Andy Reid, struggling to make the most of their chances after they eventually began to create more in the second half.

“We know Sunderland are going to be in the Premier League next year so this is in a lot of ways a free hit where they could go and really concentrate on it [the FA Cup],” Reid said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They put out as strong a team as possible and they just never really got going today in terms of any quality.”

Murray added that Sunderland were “wasteful” and “could never get into that flow” that they display in the Premier League.

“Although they picked a strong side, they missed not having Granit Xhaka in the middle to control the tempo of play from the start,” Murray said.

“This season Sunderland are used to teams coming at them and leaving space in behind, meaning they can play on the counter. But you can’t sit back away to a League One side as a Premier League club – the onus is on you to create.”

Vale, meanwhile, where the opposite. They defended valiantly throughout the game and adapted to both create opportunities and prevent Sunderland being able to break them down.

“Looking down at those Port Vale players, every single one of them, the ones who started and the ones who came on, have been absolutely incredible,” Reid said after the game.

“They’ve won every second ball, every header, they’ve given everything they’ve got and when the time came to have that little bit of quality, with that lovely little header from Waine they came up with that at the right time.”