David Elliott says…
Nilson Angulo impresses
Once again Angulo looked a threat.
We need to try getting him on the ball more. Plus, his positioning when we’re defending is superb and he is quick into the tackle.
The red and white warriors return
Our old fight and togetherness were back.
We probably just shaded that game and created opportunities to win it.
Little goal threat again
I suppose our lack of a clinical finish meant a draw instead of a win, but hopefully it’s coming.
Poor game management
Some sloppiness winds me up — not getting on with a throw in and a bit of faking injury. That sort of thing is for other teams and not us.
We also need to move the ball morr quickly when players are in space.
Gary Winter says…
A valuable clean sheet and a solid effort
As early as it is in the season this shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the match between these two is a big one in our season — during the last two seasons, our matches with Leeds have been season-defining, after all.
Sunderland needed a reaction after failing to register a point in our last four while playing in-form Leeds.
There were nervy moments and the dent to our conference in recent weeks was evident, but the hard work paid off.
Robin Roefs again provided a top class stop and a clean sheet against a decent side will hopefully stand us in good stead for the next couple of important league matches.
Left wing promise
Flashes of real threat from Nilson Angulo, who still lacked that final pass in the final third but kept Leeds all their toes all afternoon.
He’s clearly the most fancied of our options down that side at the moment and his play on Sunday can only help his case going forward, but he wasn’t the only one with the much-anticipated introduction of Chemsdine Talbi.
Almost on cue, our most exciting moment arrived with his first touch on the ball.
His direct style and desire to drive at goal is what we’re currently crying out for. He isn’t perfect but someone to take a long-range punt in that wind could’ve been the difference. Perhaps a start to turn finding some goals…we can hope!
A blank in front of goal
No goal and despite huffing and puffing, no real clear-cut chances.
During the World Cup, Brian Brobbey showed his real strength in front of goal — and equally in his last outing against Man City. Give him the ball in the box and with no time to think.
Come on, Sunderland — feed him and he will score!
A long road with lack of confidence
We have chance to get up to speed in the weeks to come, but we need to find our conference and that swagger from last season before too long, or it’s a long road ahead.
John Wilson says…
Fight, lads, fight!
The fight and determination was back for this game.
Tight marking, wanting to get to the ball first, being aggressive in the challenge…it was all encouraging and good to see.
More promise from Nilson Angulo
For me, man of the match for the second game running.
Always a threat, with neat flicks and aggressive recovery tackles. He was our most exciting and dangerous outlet in a much better performance in a game we deserved to win.
Hopefully we can keep this spirit up.
The wind plays havoc with Sunderland’s best efforts
You can’t legislate for such things of course, but the windy conditions were the winner for most of this game.
It made playing flowing football quite difficult.
James Trafford
Might be illogical and it might be unfair, but I can’t stand the guy.
Time wasting, slowing the game, feigning injury, smirking. He deserves one of my “down” awards!
Lars Knutsen says…
A much better performance from Sunderland
This was a much more assured performance from the Lads, despite the stormy conditions.
We looked up for it throughout and shaded it against a team that has only lost one game this season. The game improved as a spectacle in the second half, as both teams pressed for a winner.
Considering we were missing Thomas Meunier, Kevin Danso, Dan Ballard, and that Nordi Mukiele was subbed as a precaution, the defence did well. Luke O’Nien also excelled, and it was good to see Omar Alderete looking more like his normal self.
No lack of energy from the Lads
On the pre-match podcast, Bomber spoke about the contrast of the constant travel this season compared to the whole week of training ground preparation for almost every fixture last season.
Clearly this is a factor but there was little evidence of any Polish hangover in this game. We pressed well, and it was great to have Brian Brobbey back.
We’re a totally different side with his goal threat, and overall looked much more like we did last season.
Did Leeds pay Sunderland a compliment?
I feel that Leeds got the draw they came for, which was in a way an indirect compliment to the home team. They had few shots on target until the very end, which tells its own story.
Certainly in the first half, Brobbey had two great chances. Dominic Calvert-Lewin didn’t get a look in against O’Nien and Nilson Angulo was a thorn in their side — the visitors struggled to keep him quiet.
Missed chances prove costly
There were few clear-cut chances but with a bit more composure in front of goal, we would’ve won.
We’re clearly missing Wilson Isidor but I would love to have seen more shots from twenty yards, especially from Enzo Le Fée and Granit Xhaka.
If we keep on performing as we did yesterday, we’ll rise from the bottom of the table, starting at Coventry.
Mark Ryan says…
A solid defensive display
They weren’t perfect by any measure, particularly dealing with the wind in the first half, but the back four made sure Robin Roefs wasn’t troubled too much throughout the match.
Most importantly, they played morr smartly, particularly under the conditions.
When in doubt, they got rid of it and didn’t allow Leeds’ press to put them under too much duress.
Nilson Angulo causes mayhem
When he’s off, he doesn’t offer a lot, but when he’s on, Angulo is so so dangerous.
He gave Jayden Bogle fits and forced two of James Trafford’s better saves. He also got the ball in space more in this match, which is what he and Malick Fofana need to be successful.
An underwhelming result?
The draw is certainly better than a loss, but we really needed the win.
Three points would have gotten us out of the drop zone and within touching distance of midtable. This was certainly better, and looked closer to the Sunderland of last season, but we still need more.
A solid performance from Timur Tuteriov
I like Tutierov.
He works hard and gets into decent positions, but there are so many more substitutes that I would’ve rather seen in that situation.
I’d have much preferred either Chemsdine Talbi or Habib Diarra for Brian Brobbey to scare Leeds with more dynamism, and then to bring Malick Fofana with the second substitution.
I also doesn’t mean anything good that in back-to-back games, Régis Le Bris didn’t give an actual striker — Juan Riquelme Angulo — a shot up top.
Tom Albrighton says…
A run of losses ended
It’s nice to have not been beaten and it’s especially nice that we didn’t drop any major clangers in the process.
The defending was more like the Sunderland we’re used to and want to see, but defending is only one half of the game.
Well played, Nilson Angulo
He’s taken his fair share of stick and after a good performance midweek he backed that up today by being arguably our man of the match.
It goes to show sometimes it’s worth sticking with players even when you aren’t entirely sure as to the reasons why — getting him squared up against his man with full backs helping goes some way towards it.
Attacking bluntness
I’m just lost for words.
At times we can rue our luck but we just never ever look like scoring. Our attacking play was too slow and too naive, with our best chances coming from Leeds defenders making errors in the wind.
We need a remedy. You can’t win games if you can’t score goals and we need to start winning games — fast.
In the thick of it
I’m sorry to have to say it for those who are in denial but picking up just the solitary point cements the reality that we’re firmly in this relegation battle.
Five points from eight games is a paltry return and the reality is with Coventry and Chelsea still to come, we need no less than four points before the break to give us a semblance of hope. The fact that that feels both unlikely and still wouldn’t see us average the hallowed one point per game over our opening ten games solidifies that position.
What’s worse is that with an attack so blunt, it’s really difficult to see where our change in fortunes and next haul of points is coming from when our best performance for weeks has only yielded a 0-0 draw at home to Leeds.
