Anth Gair says..
We won!
For a team that’s shown absolutely nothing going forward recently, this was the real test.
Most of the ball, most of the chances, most of the corners and finally over the line with the victory.
Jules Ahoka makes his mark
A lad who’s played enough games for me to count on my hands — he’s absolutely mint.
I’ve seen him, and he’s mint, man. Strength, passion, tenacity…phenomenal.
Not a perfect Sunderland display
We wouldn’t have beat a Premier League side with that performance.
They’d have quite easily defended our attacks but I’ll asterisk this by reminding myself
that we played a severely understrength side.
A lack of firepower
We should be scoring a lot more than that in a game like this. But a win is a win and we move on.
Hopefully it’s the confidence boost the lads need going into Bournemouth on Sunday.
Calum Mills says…
All-action Jules Ahoka
Only his second appearance for the club but another brilliant performance.
Could’ve done a little better with their goal, but two goalkeepers weren’t saving it. Great header, great tenacity, great ability in defence & attack. Superb all round!
Sadiki the saviour
He does so much hard work off the ball and does his best to link up play but he was just lacking a goal. Well? He finally got one and what a way to do it: a belting injury time winner.
Could we see ‘version 2.0: of Noah Sadiki who’s scoring goals as well as being everywhere else on the pitch? I hope so.
Rancid refereeing
Alright, get UEFA on the phone because I want to have a chat with them about the man in the middle. He is aware that football is a contact sport, right?
What on earth was he on? I’ve never seen such a farce from the man in black before.
The Lads couldn’t even breathe on a Torreense player without him blowing up and I’m still trying to figure out why Timur Tutierov’s goal was disallowed as I didn’t see any overzealous contact being made on any of their players.
A flat first half
We were poor for their goal and both wingers were sat too deeply in our own half which allowed Torreense to step on to us with the ball. We could’ve scored two or three goals ourselves before they did, but as soon as we went a goal down, I feel like our heads dropped.
We lacked any real conviction in our passing — both Malick Fofana and Nilson Angulo keep wanting to turn back on themselves and even Chris Rigg, for someone who’s very creative, kept looking for the easy option.
Against Brighton, we looked clueless in all honesty and it was much of the same again last night.
I hope we see a much more brave and confident Sunderland at the weekend as we all know how dangerous we can be when firing on all cylinders.
David Elliott says…
Sunderland’s youngsters show their potential
I thought Timur Tutierov worked hard, showed some good touches and movement and was denied a perfectly good goal.
Chris Rigg also had a solid game and played one peach of a pass with his right foot. And Jules Ahoka impressed massively. He grew into the game, showed strength, energy and confidence. He has enormous potential.
A gritty away victory
It was good to see the “‘til the end” spirit again even though the opposition was not particularly strong and we needed our big substitutes to turn it around.
A win however is important — especially away in Europe — and it’ll surely boost morale and confidence
A disjointed attacking display
We just don’t seem to have any dynamism or speed of thought when we come up against an organised rearguard.
The wingers look afraid to take on their full backs and continually cut inside or turn back, making us very predictable
What was the referee playing at?
I didn’t think I would be wishing that Thomas Bramall was refereeing us again but that display was shocking.
I was so worried Ahoka’s goal was going to be ruled out — why on earth did that go to VAR?
Referees need to be held to account and he needs to sit out a few games at this level because he’s simply not up to the job.
John Wade says…
Maiden Sunderland goals for two players
Two lads getting their first goal for the club is really pleasing — in fact, let’s call it three players seeing as there was nothing wrong with Timur Tutierov’s and how the referee gave a foul there is beyond me.
Jules Ahoka has impressed in both of his starts and he looks an absolute machine. Noah Sadiki has come in for some criticism for not adding goals to his CV when he’s so good in that midfield area. Now he’s got one, let’s hope it opens the floodgates.
A second half improvement
The second half was so much better even before the substitutions, as we looked threatening and it’s lovely to see.
Nordi Mukiele was brilliant when he came on. He gives us such a different dynamic to Trai Hume, and it’s a shame he’s our best centre back, really.
Getting out of there with what looks like no fresh injuries is a huge bonus too.
Where is the attacking width?
It can’t be a coincidence that our wide players turn back inside then backwards every time, and Régis Le Bris must be giving them the evils from the sidelines if they dare to attempt a dribble past their fullback.
I was seeing runs at various points during that first half that that weren’t being used.
I know you can’t hit Hollywood balls all the time, but every now and then it would be nice to have someone try and find these runs.
A game spoiled by the referee
What was the referee up to?
No way should Tutierov’s goal have been disallowed and there was no foul by Omar Alderete for me. Once they couldn’t rule it out from the offside they just randomly found something else. All game, he was penalising us for any sort of contact and sometimes when there wasn’t any at all.
I understand UEFA referees are working to slightly lower tolerances on how much contact is a foul but I found it difficult to see any infringement at times.
John Wilson says…
The upward curve continues!
A huge positive must be the fact that we’re even talking about this game, and what an upward trajectory this club has had.
It was incredible to be watching the Lads on TV in a European fixture. We can’t keep pinching ourselves, of course — we must keep building and progressing and believing — but what an away win and a joyous spectacle
The changes make the difference
The game changed with Régis Le Bris making a quadruple change on the hour mark.
Belief seemed to grow almost palpably on the pitch and in the stands. It was a good run out and experience for a lot of the younger lads, and I must say I like the look of Jules Ahoka.
He’s got bags of potential, but credit to Le Bris for changing things.
A minefield of a pitch
Once the Portuguese side were told they’d have to play elsewhere, I wonder how many options they had.
The pitch was dreadful. The penalty area was cutting up badly, and the ball hardly bounced. This may account for Omar Alderete’s awful miss, but maybe the ball just didn’t bounce as he expected.
More duff officiating
We get used to our poor refereeing but this fella was whistle-happy beyond belief and I think he wants football to be a non-contact sport.
Very frustrating, but an away win can’t be sniffed at.
Jon Guy says…
A vital win for the Lads
The kind of win that can kickstart a season with nineteen attempts on goal, and victory at the death to send the team and the fans home with a real lift.
Hugely deserved and while frustrating at times it’s typical of Sunderland to turn what should’ve been the easiest fixture for us into a huge victory.
Jules Ahoka looks class
Another great performance from Ahoka — one goal and he could’ve had another.
He looks a real player and if we need to rest one of the central midfield duo you have no worries he can do the job. I thought he was the standout of the players who haven’t featured heavily this season.
Great Sunderland substitutions
Régis Le Bris worked his magic again with the substitutions. He saw a need for a change, put four on and won the game.
We looked a different team after the substitutions.
Another poor referee
I don’t know what football looks like in Albania but if this how games are officiated, it must be non-contact.
I still can’t why the first goal was disallowed, and set pieces were negated as you knew the whistle was about to be blown.
Despite his best efforts, it’s a big win for us.
Malc Dugdale says…
A stellar effort from Jules Ahoka
What a great showing from the young lad at the heart of midfield.
A goal, another man of the match performance for me (which he also earned against Hull in the cup, in my view), and a massive signal to the head coach that he should be in the reckoning to help the first team whenever needed.
Top drawer, Jules.
Noah’s time finally comes
I’m chuffed that the man who covers more miles than any other finally got his first goal, and especially when it was so key to getting our first away win in Europe, and six points for this campaign.
The strike was a cracker and nobody deserved that more than Sadiki.
We had to fight for that win but he personifies the fight this club has, and he stood up when needed. Again, cracking stuff.
Malick Fofana underwhelms
I’m still wondering why we paid all that money for Fofana. For Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to fly over to make the deal happen, I expected much more by now, and I was again left wanting.
We may not be playing to his style but you have to wonder why he can’t yet adapt to how we have to play, and add value and at least some flair and creativity. Enzo Le Fée cost less and seems twice the value or more.
He’s far from Will Grigg levels, but if he doesn’t start to show why he was worth all that fuss soon, the big price and the low output will put him in that same category and will put increased pressure on him to perform — which he won’t need.
Major level changes needed.
Ref rubbish again
Timor Tuteriov deserved his first European goal and I was really disappointed with how soft the referee was for contact in the box, which seemed to lead to it being ruled out. And then when he could’ve benefited from that softness and looked to have won a spot kick, the ref went the other way.
I think the ref must’ve left his netball kit at home, and swapped it for football for one night only, as any contact in the box was automatically a foul against the defender, but thankfully Ahoka’s header stood and nobody could chalk off Sadiki’s shot either.
Hopefully we’ll see many better officials and better surfaces than that as we progress through this competition.
It wasn’t a great night but we did the job despite the man in black doing his best to break 4000+ red and white hearts. Great support from those that travelled. You deserved that win more than anyone. Safe travels home.
Mark Ryan says…
DR Congo to the rescue!
Jules Ahoka and Noah Sadiki came through for the goals.
Both weren’t bad in the first sixty minutes, but after the subs, and given the freedom and desperation to be more attacking, both improved exponentially.
Ahoka — back from his honeymoon — looked poised at times to get a hat trick and Sadiki moved with much more alacrity through the left half space.
I couldn’t be happier that Sadiki finally got his first Sunderland goal. What a moment.
Nordi Mukiele makes his mark
I said last year that Mukiele was Sunderland’s second-most important player and second-best player. I’m ready to call it, he is number one in both categories, and he’s becoming my all-time favorite Sunderland player.
He changes everything when he’s on the pitch and will do anything and everything to drag the team forward, kicking and screaming if he has to.
He’s incredible.
The pros and cons of multiple substitutions
I wish Mukiele, Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fée and Reinildo hadn’t needed to come in.
Torreense were tough to break down, but especially for a young group of young players unused to playing together.
That said, the opportunity was there for several players to stake claims to playing time and none of them did it, with the possible exception of Chris Rigg in the first half and Ahoka in the second. Timur Tutierov also did his best as well given the circumstances.
Questionable decisions from the man in the middle
We weren’t good in the first half, but the atrocious refereeing didn’t help the situation.
Omar Alderete couldn’t spin around without getting called for a foul and disallowing Tutierov’s goal was inexplicable.
Inconsistent and just out of his depth.
Will Patterson says…
A key away victory
At the end of the day, we want to get as far as we can in this competition.
Good bad or ugly, three points count the same and that’s the main thing we can take away.
Nordi Mukiele. Enough said!
Thank God for Nordi.
He impacted the game most of all the substitutes and for me at least, that proves he’s the finest footballer in our current squad. His directness and his urgency created threat, and his quality created chances.
You can’t question Trai Hume’s endeavour but he doesn’t have the quality Mukiele does.
CB, RB, RW…I’d play him anywhere. What a man, and what a player.
A sub-par first half
Maybe it’s in Sunderland’s nature as a club to not be comfortable to being a favourite.
It certainly didn’t help us in League One but the languid, lethargic and frankly dismal first half was not something I’ll remember fondly — and it shouldn’t take a quadruple substitution to bring impetus into the eleven on the pitch.
The goal was a worldie and even going in at 0-0, I’d have said the same.
Our full backs didn’t support our wingers and the ball moved slowly through midfield. And for all they worked very few of our front four’s runs in behind were noticed. Improvement needed.
A lack of threat from the wings
I truly believe our wingers have quality.
Nilson Angulo shows glimpses, Malick Fofana has great pedigree and the rest of our wide men have had their moments, but what I find baffling is the lack of threat from wide, particularly in the first half.
The pace of the ball out there produced barely any moments where they could isolate their fullback. Dayann Methalie in particular looked scared to support Fofana on the left — whether that’s a tactical instruction or not, I’m unsure.
In a game where you’re strong favourites, and you need to create space we need to start encouraging quick wide ball or for those players to run in behind far more often.
I really feel for them and I don’t believe they’re being enabled as they should be. The spine of the team is more than good enough to facilitate it, but I just wish they would.
