Kyril Louis-Dreyfus sent a clear message as Sunderland's old ghosts return to haunt them at Shrewsbury

The Black Cats saw many familiar failings return to haunt them at the Montgomery Waters Meadow, where prospective new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was in attendance.

We take a look at some of the key talking points from the clash:

THE GOALKEEPING DILEMMA

You know things aren't going particularly well when your name is being mentioned in the same breath as Lee Camp and Jason Steele.

Such a fate has now befallen Remi Matthews after an evening to forget at Shrewsbury.

While there was little Matthews could do about Harry Chapman’s well-taken second for the hosts, he was undoubtedly at fault for the first – as he misjudged a cross and rushed out to try and clear the danger, leaving Ethan Ebanks-Landell free to nod home from close range.

And he was fortunate not to have handed Shrewsbury a third too, after he fumbled a free-kick over the line. The linesman’s flag spared his blushes on this occasion, but there are serious doubts over the strength of Sunderland’s goalkeeping department.

While Matthews has looked solid at times, particularly in some Papa John’s Trophy games, he has been prone to errors this term. Lee Burge, while impressive in spells, also hasn’t been without his moments of concern.

Lee Johnson gambled on a change in goalkeeper for this game and it didn’t pay off, and now he has to find a solution to what is quickly becoming a problem position.

THE LEFT-SIDED PROBLEM

Another area where concerns are quickly arising is on the left-side of the back four.

Jake Vokins has struggled since his arrival from Southampton and it’s noticeable than teams are now focusing a great number of their attacks down Sunderland’s left flank.

Indeed, Shrewsbury’s winning goal exploited a weakness on the left as they quickly swung a ball into the left-back area – where Vokins had switched-off, and Chapman pounced.

This has been a position that has been largely up for debate since Sunderland’s drop into League One and, while Denver Hume’s return will hopefully provide some long-term stability in this area, a short-term solution needs to be found.

Otherwise, the Wearsiders will continue to see this area targeted and exploited.

ANOTHER DEFENSIVE INJURY

Once again, Sunderland’s defensive options are starting to look stretched.

Jordan Willis’ evening ended after just two minutes and Johnson is now fearing he could be without the centre back for a prolonged period.

Sunderland are also without long-term absentee Arbenit Xhemajli, while there are lingering concerns over Tom Flanagan too.

That leaves Bailey Wright and Dion Sanderson as the club’s only senior central defenders.

While the likes of Oliver Younger could step up into the side, and Conor McLaughlin and Luke O’Nien could move into a more central role, it’s a position of concern for Sunderland moving forward – particularly given the hectic schedule, and the fact Sanderson is cup-tied in the Papa John’s Trophy.

As we saw last season with Tommy Smith, it would not be a surprise if the Black Cats begin to monitor the free agent market – especially now the League One salary cap has been overruled.

A LACK OF SERIOUS INCISION

How many times have we said this in the last three years?

Sunderland once again looked blunt when attacking at Shrewsbury. There were the odd moments of promise, but the Black Cats failed to construct many positive patterns of play in Shropshire.

Aside from the goal, most of the visitors’ chances came from moments of individual brilliance – mainly from Aiden McGeady.

The winger forced opposition stopper Matija Sarkic into some good stops from distance, but he was otherwise relatively untested on an evening where a familiar failing returned to haunt Sunderland.