Sunderland today qualified for the quarter-finals of the League Cup, or the Carabao/Capital One/Carling/Littlewoods/Coca Cola/Milk Cup depending on your generation, with a brilliant 3-2 win over Brentford at the Stadium of Light. As always with this club, lots to talk about, so what’s on the mind after Wednesday’s win?
Tremendous Triple T
Talbi, Tutieriov and Ta Bi, our trio of T’s who were unplayable at times against Brentford, particularly Ta Bi, who made a mockery of El-hadji Malick Diouf’s £45million price tag from
start to finish. The Ivorian had the beating of his man over and over, drawing foul after foul and picking up a hat-trick of assists (I don’t care what the official stats say we all know it was three assists) setting up his fellow forwards in Talbi, Tutierov and Fofana.
Tutierov and Talbi also threatened throughout, the pair were constantly showing for the ball, linking up well with each other and the wingers and deeper midfielders, stretching the Brentford defence while also doing well in coming short to get the ball. Both picking up goals created by Jocelin Ta Bi, Talbi doing his own David Nugent impression in stealing one off the line, and Tutierov with a decent finish into an open net after more good work from the winger.
Let’s hope the trio can carry this performance on and give Regis Le Bris a real selection headache by continuing to sieze the opportunities they’re given.
Fofana’s Best Game Yet
Personally I thought Malick Fofana was brilliant tonight, he looked confident on the ball, constantly running at Michael Kayode and getting the beating of the Italian. Fofana also picked up his first goal for the Lads which can only do his confidence the world of good, heading in a wicked Ta Bi cross into an open goal.
Fofana also won a number of good free kicks for Sunderland in the second half when we played the clock down and managed the game professionally. On each occasion he got the ball he knew where every opposition player was and knew exactly where to position his body to draw the foul and relieve the pressure on his team.
All we need now is for Fofana to translate this good performance into the Premier League and, along with Angulo’s improving performances, and Talbi and Ta Bi showing their worth, the Black Cats suddenly have some very good options on either wing.
Jules Ahoka Masterclass
How many times can we repeat this about Jules Ahoka? Every single match the Congolese has started he’s been a contender for Man of the Match. Once again he was good in possession, recycling the ball well and also breaking well and playing a good ball through to Ta Bi for the first goal of the night. Without the ball, Ahoka was once again solid, winning the ball back and holding off the Brentford players with relative ease at times.
Unlike the Hull game in the previous round, Ahoka was up against real pedigree in this game, no disrespect to Hull of course, who are still flying, but players like Vitaly Janelt and Mamadou Sangare are held in higher regard due to their Premier League experience in Janelt’s case and their huge price tag in Sangare’s. However, Ahoka was still the shining star in the midfield battle, and it feels like just a matter of time before he’s a constant in our Premier League midfield.
Defensive Performance
Yes we conceded two goals, but the defensive performance tonight was again much better than we have seen recently, especially considering what happened last time Danso and Alderete started a game together.
Kevin Danso was the captain from the start tonight, and played like one, winning header after header, clearing the ball when needed and also being solid in possession, playing a good ball over the top for Jocelin Ta Bi in the build up to Timur Tutierov’s goal.
Omar Alderete looked much more like the player we saw last season, very comfortable on the ball, putting in some great challenges and making crucial blocks and clearances and looking generally more up to speed and capable of dealing with the pace of the game. Alderete was replaced by O’Nien in the second half who followed up his strong showing against Leeds with another solid performance which included a goal line clearance in the dying stages.
The full backs also played their part, Alan Browne on the right put a shift in and, considering he was out of position, didn’t look out of place at all and was heavily involved in the third goal with a good carry through ball leading to the opportunity. Methalie was also solid, defending well and very rarely beaten by his man, showing his physicality on once occasion by shouldering Dango Outarra into the advertising boards with ease in the second half.
A Real Chance For Silverware?
So we’re now in the quarter finals. The Last Eight. City and Liverpool the only Champions League teams left in the competition, with just as many from Leagues 1 and 2 left at this stage. Crystal Palace away is not the worst draw by any means, Palace are struggling in the Premier League and Europa League at the moment, and Pierre Sage’s job is under real threat. A new manager may change the outlook on this draw if it is to happen, but at this point, it feels winnable and presents a great opportunity for the club to reach a cup semi-final.
On the other side however, it does mean a hefty fixture build up with 9 games in 29 days in the lead up to Christmas, including what is now a double header against Palace in December.
Let’s believe, we know we’ve got the ability, so let’s show the world we have what it takes to get over the line for the first time since 1973 and the first time ever in this competition. However, if we don’t do it, its a Mickey Mouse Cup that nobody ever cared about, win-win situation in my eyes.
One last thing. Ha’way The Lads.
