There is something very different about this group of Sunderland players, and they never give up, which is why we keep on finding ways to accrue points.
Another decent performance, another point on the board, and we’re still undefeated at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League. That said, despite being pretty upbeat and positive in the wake of the game, I’m actually feeling slightly conflicted about the result Sunderland achieved against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
On one hand, I feel frustration that Reinildo Mandava’s moment of madness led to a subsequent red card, which not only means we are going to be without a very good player for three games, but also meant that we had to play over an hour of football with ten men, in a game that I think we would have won comfortably if it had been eleven versus eleven. But, on the other hand, I feel unbelievably proud of my team and the players for the effort they showed across the ninety minutes to ensure we got a good result.
Sunderland were fantastic. I keep talking about the spirit and desire of this group, and rather perversely I think that to a small degree our players quite enjoyed the scenario that unfolded, and they all got stuck in and made sure that Aston Villa struggled to make their one-man advantage count. Despite having a player fewer, Sunderland were the better team, and every single man in a red-and-white shirt grafted for the point we achieved.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, were turgid, and despite the raft of quality players at their disposal, they look like a side who are going to struggle. If I was a Villa fan, I’d be seriously worried, because they do not look like a group who are up for the fight, or that are playing for their manager right now. We all know how football works, though, and one good result could improve their confidence and turn things around, but failing to beat a team who had ten men for 66 minutes of the game will have only dented their self-belief even further.
Sunderland continue to surprise and impress me. Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete at the back have been two unbelievable signings, and I feel like I need to pinch myself occasionally when I’m watching just how good some of these players are that we’ve recruited. Still, some of the Lads we had last season – namely Wilson Isidor, Trai Hume, Chris Rigg, and Dan Ballard – do not look out of place when surrounded by these new acquisitions in our team, and for that they deserve immense credit.
The goal that Villa scored came against the run of play (and, in truth, the always-excellent Robin Roefs probably should have done better, but we’ll let him off), and we didn’t drop our heads. We persisted, we drove at the Villa defence, and Mukiele’s long throws caused all kinds of problems and led to the equaliser. But it was two moments of quality from Granit Xhaka and then Wilson Isidor which led to the goal – a wonderful cushioned header from our captain into the path of Sunderland’s top scorer, who was on his toes and ready, nudging Ezri Konsa aside before slamming the ball beyond Emi Martinez.
There is something very different about this group of Sunderland players, and they never give up, which is why we keep on finding ways to accrue points.
Another satisfying performance, then, even if I am a tad annoyed that we never really had the opportunity to beat Villa with eleven players.
Let’s keep the good feeling going as we head into next weekend’s game against Nottingham Forest!
Category: General Sports
