Andrew Smithson says…
Our international bright young things
With so many players away on international duty before the weekend, I was worried the group might’ve looked leggy, but in the end there were no such signs of fatigue.
Quality players know how to look after themselves of course, but travelling thousands of miles and being away from your club and therefore unable to prepare tactically can still have an impact no matter how professional you are, so to see the team produce those energy and synergy levels was hugely encouraging.
Here come the Men in Black…Selhurst Park challengers!
There were no complaints
about the kit this time, and a first away clean sheet and point are real building blocks in terms of form on the road.
The Lads were under the pump at the end but it was to be expected, and whilst the casual observer might watch the highlights and assume we just parked the bus, there should be no mistake: we gave as good as we got in the main and are proved we aren’t just in the Premier League to make up the numbers.
Win your home games and pick up what you can away from it, and you should be fine — doing so at a very strong Crystal Palace side suggests the latter part of the formula is achievable.
Piecing it together
I think there’s a lot of work going on at the training ground, because Sunderland seem to be trying a few new set piece routines.
Defensively, they’re spot on with dead balls (as the whole side was in open play, to be fair) but at the other end things haven’t quite clicked yet and that is a minor frustration.
There was one corner that went horribly wrong and that’ll happen every now and again, but in general terms I can see a breakthrough coming and I just hope it doesn’t take much longer because the way we set up away from home means they present an important opportunity to get some efforts in on goal.
Enzo Le Fée being out may not have helped with some of the plans, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that things start to drop for us and we use our improved height and athleticism to our advantage.
The Glaziers were a pane
I get the gamesmanship and quite liked even to see the likes of Robin Roefs managing the clock, but I do feel slightly let down by Palace’s play acting, which for me went that bit too far.
I appreciate this might make me a hypocrite, as I almost commend Sunderland for getting that extra level of ‘know how’ they seem to be showing, but the hosts are a big physical team that are happy to dish it out, so to then see them falling over and claiming soft free kicks and penalties was a bit disappointing.
Don’t get me wrong — Palace are quite likeable because they’re trying to go up against the big boys and their fans always call dodgy things out, but I just thought they might’ve wanted to stand up a bit more and gone in for an old-fashioned ding dong.
John Wilson says…
What a battling perfornance!
We seem to have a solidity and gritty understanding at the back, and we certainly look like a Premier League team as far as our midfield and defence is concerned.
We’ve also got some strong, tough players at the back — refreshing to see after often being bullied in recent years.
Robin Roefs impresses
He pulled off some fine saves that kept us in the game. We’ve made some excellent signings over the summer, but it could be claimed that our new goalkeeper is the best piece of business.
Agile, commanding and with good distribution. An excellent game.
A slightly disjointed attack
We’ve bought experience at the back and fast, younger legs further forward, but our transition isn’t quite clicking yet. At times, Palace showed us how to do it, but they’ve had way longer to do so.
With a few more games under our belt, I’m hopeful that we can hit teams on the break a lot more, once our forwards gain experience and composure in this league.
No more negatives!
It would be trite to remark on a second negative. Perhaps there are one or two grumbles about finishing and loose passing but make no mistake: this was a very good away point.
I would’ve taken a point before kick off and I’m very satisfied that’s what we earned. The away fans sounded on top form as usual.
Joseph Tulip says…
A first point on the road
After losing at Burnley it was important to register a point away from home and we showed great character to do just that.
Had we lost a second away game, the pressure would’ve been on for the trip to Nottingham Forest in two weeks time, but we can focus on building on our 100% home record next week against Aston Villa knowing we’re in good shape after four games.
Robin Roefs saves the day
The Dutchman was outstanding, especially in the second half as Crystal Palace really tested our resolve.
A lot has been said of our decision to bring in a new keeper, but Roefs is proving his worth and I remain confident that Anthony Patterson will prove to be a very worthy backup should we need to call on him.
Roefs was behind an incredibly committed defensive display, in very difficult weather conditions. It’s testament to the spirit in our camp that we can show such character when several players have been around the globe this week on international duty.
The Lads soak up the pressure
Similar to Burnley, we were subjected to intense pressure from our hosts in the second half.
Fortunately we appear stronger for our Turf Moor experience, digging in to keep Crystal Palace at bay even though we relied on a bit of good fortune at times and the reflexes of our superb goalkeeper.
An injury to Enzo Le Fée
The mercurial Frenchman was a big miss, having been so influential last time out again Brentford.
Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and that Enzo is back in contention for the Aston Villa game next week. I think a few of our other injured players are due to return imminently too, which can only be a good thing.
Nic Wiseman says…
Resilience from Sunderland
The team proved extremely hard to beat — even with the 6’4 Mateta playing up front.
On the preview pod, Palace fan Kevin Day said we’d have to be very good to come away from Selhurst Park with anything. On that basis, we must be alright.
Régis Le Bris shows his mettle
Le Bris had the team well drilled and his geeky obsession to his job is paying dividends.
Some unfair criticism of Chemsdine Talbi
To the guy who messaged BBC Radio Newcastle complaining about Chemsdine Talbi — the coach keeps playing him because he sees something in him.
Clearly he’s seen as better than Patrick Roberts, because Pat has been allowed to go to Birmingham.
A handful of mistakes
It seemed we were making a few unforced errors, but that’s to be expected with so many new players.
