Mel Reay delivers honest verdict as Sunderland's title dream comes to an end with disappointing defeat

Mel Reay says her Sunderland side have done brilliantly this campaign but admitted the overwhelming emotion was disappointment after their title dream came to an end on Sunday afternoon.

The Black Cats went in to the penultimate game of their campaign two points off league leaders Crystal Palace, who they face at Selhurst Park next weekend. Palace’s win over Lewes therefore meant that Sunderland needed a result against Charlton, but they fell to a 1-0 defeat after Kayleigh Barton’s goal on the hour mark.

Reay said her team’s campaign has been a ‘monumental achievement’ but added that they had to learn from what was a disappointing performance at Eppleton.

"I think they were maybe the better team overall, I don't think there was much in the game,” Reay told BBC Radio Newcastle.

“I think that's how we knew we were going to pan out. Claudia has made one or two saves but ultimately we haven't tested their goalkeeper enough and you're not going to score and win games if you don't do that.

"They maybe edged it but I was disappointed mostly with our in-possession work, maybe it was a bit of stage fright with the nerves and the pressure. They can only learn from that experience if they want to be on the big stage with the crowd and the coverage, we've got to be brave in these moments and play football. Charlton are a stern defence, as are we. They probably put us under more pressure than we did them until the last 30 minutes when we made the substitutions, and we started to have a go and you want to do that from the beginning. We're disappointed that we've fallen to a defeat, so we just have to go to Crystal Palace and try and spoil the party next week.

"We've done brilliant, to be up there with challenging with two games to go is a monumental effort from everyone involved. I'm sure we'll reflect and be proud of what we've achieved, but at this moment in time it's just disappointment that we couldn't take it to the final game."

Palace’s win over Lewes means the latter have now been relegated from the Championship, which means that Sunderland, Durham and Newcastle United will all compete in the second tier next season.