Defo mate. He’s played a blinder there. Be plenty of people screaming on in the first half that we needed Roberts but he was the complete opposite of what was required that first half. Keep them quiet, stifle their attack which is their biggest asset then go to our better formation second half when they’re tired.
cheers again RTB... good game that, very tactical from both sides, had a feeling it would be a hell for leather or a cat/mouse game and think we got the best of the two...lads kept shape and adjusted throughout the game. is dodds in the running?... does he want the job...nee idea but if that is the route they take i am happy to support the lad after these two games. officials, pretty solid, a couple of 'moans and twists' but that is standard in a game, can see why the penalty was not gived as looked like james was pulling his leg back rather than going through onien, fair enough with the yellow cards and pretty consistent which is all we ask really. another excellent performance from the back line, when onien 'behaves' himself he is sound...seelt had a good game as well i think, looked part of the team tonight and very unlucky not to be on the score sheet. ba did not look interested tonight, lousy choices and in no great rush and probably down to the tactics but jobe had a quiet one. my MotM has to go to pritchard, ran his bollox off chasing down, created most of the good chances and got a deserved standin govation when he came off.
Tactically possibly the best I’ve seen since promotion, didn’t know we had that in our lockers. But the heart showed tonight man, just such a likeable team that makes me proud to watch. Still don’t think Dodds should get it full time but what a week for him, absolutely incredible performance in those two games, buzzing man
His team selection had balls and spoke volumes about him. He is the type that will make decisions that he thinks is right for the tactics and opposition not what people would expect! If it went wrong he would have got pelters for a couple them selections so big man to make the decisions he did!
That was genuinely an incredible tactical setup. Their front 4 are probably all in the top 20 players in the league and they barely did anything. Held them to 0.5xG which is very good compared to what we were giving up to teams at the bottom of the league.
Great performance. Watching with husband who is a Leeds/Newcastle fan. Brilliant. And Luke O’nien was outstanding.
Great result and excellent defensive performance - wish we'd attacked Gray more after his yellow though. Other teams are ruthless in situations like that.
A reminder that Dodds set us up like that after probably two days working with the team after West Brom. Outstanding.
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland 1-0 Leeds - Tactical masterclass from Mike Dodds! Sunderland’s faultless gameplan ensured they took a massive three points off promotion contenders Leeds United. Here’s how Andy rated the Lads! Anthony Patterson: 8/10 Never looked in trouble any time Leeds were around the box, other than a few wayward clearances but was his usual, calm sense all night. Made a superb tip over the crossbar early on from a floated cross, which ended up being his only real save of note. Niall Huggins: 8/10 Defended well on both sides of the pitch and always available when we pushed forward, had a shot deflected just wide. Dan Ballard: 8/10 Great display all evening, didn’t let anything get past him and timed his tackles brilliantly. Luke O’Nien (C): 8/10 Like Ballard he defended great, won the ball whenever it came near our box, was usually a good outlet in getting out of the Leeds’ press. Arguably should have had a penalty too after he was booted in the box by Dan James. Trai Hume: 8/10 Looked much more comfortable in a more traditional wide defender role but still helped us retain possession. Made some really good tackles too. Dan Neil: 8/10 Covered so much of the pitch, constantly closing Leeds down and used his quick feet to start counter attacks, notably in the build up to the goal. Jenson Seelt: 8/10 Played on the left of a back three and did well, stuck his long legs out to win some tackles, used the ball well - with one burst into midfield and a lovely ball down the line to Ba - and almost got a goal with a header that was superbly stopped by the visiting goalkeeper. Abdoullah Ba: 6/10 Worked hard for the team down the right and kept Spence from attacking but very sloppy on the ball and made the wrong choice when in good positions. Alex Pritchard: 8/10 His set pieces were always a threat, routinely finding a Sunderland player in the box and eventually got an assist, albeit a touch lucky one when a loose ball hit his head and found it’s way to Jobe. Jack Clarke: 8/10 Had the beating of Gray all game but not used as much in the second half, still switched on and made a great defensive effort to get back and prevent a counter when it looked like he was beaten. Jobe Bellingham: 8/10 A really disciplined display by Jobe playing just in front of the back four, was freed up following the withdrawal of Seelt and popped up with the winner. Substitutes Patrick Roberts: 6/10 A few lively runs down the right that helped us defensively by relieving pressure. Pierre Ekwah: 6/10 Came on in midfield and helped shield the defence as we held out for the win. Bradley Dack: N/A Very late substitute for the tiring Pritchard. Man of the Match: Alex Pritchard This could have gone to literally any of the starting XI, such was the team effort tonight but I’m going to give it to Pritchard. His set pieces were far better than we’ve seen this season, usually finding a team-mate, got an assist for the goal and some of his clever passes around corners often got us out of a hole and onto the counter-attack. please log in to view this image
****ing delighted with that. Tactical masterclass from Doddsy, got it spot on. The lads on the pitch were magnificent
In terms of defensive ability he’s our best. Someone’s running at us he is the man you want defending 1v1 he’s absolutely quality.
