Calum Mills says…
Isidor the bagsman!
Firstly, congratulations to our mercurial Frenchman on becoming a father.
The feeling must be incredible but to come off the bench and be the man of the moment with a last minute goal…the feeling can’t be far off being just as good!
He was unlucky in midweek against Huddersfield as his energetic left wing performance could’ve seen him start in place of Simon Adingra, but he had to bide his time on the bench again. He has a point to prove due to not being the main man behind Eliezer Mayenda, but two
goals in three games may just make him our starting striker going forward.
From the minute he stepped onto the pitch, he had some gumption about him and had he not fluffed his lines with what would’ve been pretty much his second touch of the game, he could’ve scored sooner. Either way, he got his goal and helped us bag three points!
Enzo Le Fée makes his mark
Le Fée was brilliant. He was everywhere and put in a hell of a shift defensively — which is something we’re yet to see from Adingra.
Could this be why Régis Le Bris made the change? You could absolutely argue it is because the tackle he made in the outside our box in the first half was textbook.
His delivery of balls into the box and midfield link up play was superb, and when we won the penalty he was the only man I wanted to see pick the ball up.
Vive la France!
Mixed fortunes for Reinildo
We can’t have too many complaints when we’re winning games in the nation’s top league, but we all know how strict and anal the referees are with holding in the box.
It looked minor but you can’t wrap your arms around a player in the box in today’s game. Reinildo will learn from this because up until that moment, he was having a brilliant game.
He was also lucky to not see red with a late drive into Brentford’s box which resulted in him going down very easily. Had there been a different referee on the day, he could’ve been taking a lonely walk down the tunnel.
John Wilson says…
Sunderland show their mettle
Where do you start with a game like that? What a battling display.
There were gutsy tackles and some good passing movements, and I can only see this team getting better as they gel and buy into being ‘Sunderland’.
The fans make the difference
Once again, the crowd stayed with the team.
There was no mass exodus before the end and my ears were ringing in periods — always a good sign.
An inconsistent refereeing display
Such was the nature of the game, picking negatives is churlish, but the referee was very inconsistent.
That said, he could’ve been one of the positives as at last we had a referee who had the courage to award a penalty for pulling inside the box. It actually made players think for the rest of the game.
Unfortunately, there was so much more that he let go, making it all about himself too many times, but well done for trying to stamp out the pulling disease.
The Brentford fans’ repertoire of songs…oh dear
Unfortunately, I sit in the North East corner so I can always hear the away fans, and their continuous chants of “Football in a library” and “Sssssh” would’ve been funny if they weren’t so annoying.
“We’ll sing on our own” was another one, and either they genuinely can’t hear the noise trapped so high up, or they’re just routine away songs come what may, but who cares?
Not enough positives to mention Roefs, Isidor and Le Fée — and a long drive home with a smile on my face!
Jon Guy says…
An early test passed
For me, it was a litmus test.
Brentford won’t be in a relegation scrap as they’re a solid, mid-table side, but we were the better team and deserved the win.
It was a performance that combined technical ability with a work rate we’ve always wanted from players in the shirt. Great performance.
Sunderland go ‘til the end once more!
We weathered the storms but never lost belief we’d win the game.
The penalty save changed the game, and the defence, on the whole, was immense. Positive substitutions and a just reward for our efforts.
We have a brilliant goalkeeping dilemma
Anthony Patterson is one of the best keepers in the country, and it speaks absolute volumes that Robin Roefs is keeping him on the bench.
A proper penalty save, and he commanded his box. It’s a vital position and we now have two brilliant number ones.
Some missed chances
It’s very difficult to find two negatives but we didn’t take our chances in the first half and we can’t afford to do that this season.
The window is still open, and an out-and-out striker would be welcome. It’s about the depth of the squad, and dare I say we need two players who’ll get eighteen to twenty goals each this season.
Malc Dugdale says…
Isidor the super sub!
The newest father in the squad was immense.
Just when we thought we may settle for a home draw and an unbeaten league record at home thanks to converting a penalty when they didn’t, an inch-perfect cross from the skipper found the head of our striker and the game was done.
I was over the moon for Wilson — whom one of my backyard chickens is named after and who’s coincidentally very broody just now! He’s a class act who gets the club as well as anyone for many years.
Towards the end of last season, Eliezer Mayenda took most of the plaudits and rightly so, but they’ve both looked at home in this league and at the Stadium of Light, you simply can’t write either off.
Well played, Wilson. One for the little one.
Super Robin Roefs
We have to take our hats off to the Dutch stopper who’s deservedly been called up by his national side.
It wasn’t a great spot kick but he read it well and parried it well out of danger — something their goalkeeper couldn’t replicate when the tables were turned — and that moment changed the game as much as our penalty did.
His distribution was cracking all day, he couldn’t do anything about the goal we did let in, and it was vindication of his selection ahead of Anthony Patterson, who had a couple of ropey moments in the League Cup game.
Some sloppy marking for Brentford’s goal
Brentford’s goal was well-taken but the two defenders either side of the attacker could’ve both done better.
I think it was Nordi Mukiele and Trai Hume, and given this was their first time playing together, they can be forgiven for the mix-up.
Sod it — we won anyway, so let’s put this one down to experience.
No more negatives!
After securing our second home win in the Premier League, they don’t deserve a second down.
That was a hardworking comeback from a goal down against an established side.
Long may this continue, and well done to Régis Le Bris and the squad. Keep this up and we may well stay up and then some.
