be interesting to see i think the club said he preferred playing CH but ever way looks like he could be a decent player. and didn't look like just a bairn, looked like he's already built for men's football
cheers again RTB... (apologies, forgot so quick edit) really trying hard not to judge beale yet so will leave him out of it...mainly. first half much as i expected, two quite similar teams pretty much cancelling each other out, both missed a good chance each so i was looking forward to the 2nd half...not sure what was said to our lads but i believe it was something like 'stand off them and let them score and we will make a game of it in the last 10 minutes' . boro have not been 'great' this season but they do the simple things well, ie: running through the back line and playing the ball to them, they do not over-complicate moves cos basically it is a simple game. jobe/ekwah, both slowly turning into a rodwell style midfielder in 'how to be on a pitch during a game and offer nowt', i really want to see the central midfield moving faster, passing the ball better, recieving the ball better. 'that' free kick, pretty much 50/50 with two lads trying to get the ball but the deciding factor was greenwood hanging onto dan neil shirt even after he went down, bad call from the ref that one although to be fair i thought he had a good game overall, could have handed a few warnings out along the way but pretty much fair to both teams i thought. 10 mins into the 2nd half i was looking along the line to see if we had any lads warming up to come on as we did not get going at all, the subs were too late for me but at least rusyn showed why he should be the main striker, did everything he usually does, he runs, hassles, heads, holds up, even running back to win the ball in his own half and when he finds himself in space with the ball he goes for goal, none of this p1ss-farting around passy passy rubbish, you get the chance you hit it. clarke caused problems and never really got good support in the middle so gets my MotM with dan neil close by, for doing the work of three men at times and a special mention to hjelde, looked as if he has been part of the squad all season, good moving and passing especially considering he has had no time with the rest of the team.
I'm sat here furious, the commentators didn't mention it either. Clear foul by Greenwood who got away with murder all day.
Seems to have an affinity for both attacking and defending to be fair so could do either. Good debut that in a tough game.
This post match stuff is painful to watch like. So unprofessional. 3 blokes sat on a settee dressed like they're off to nandos straight after and a bloke doing interviews that's clearly taking the piss.
Anthony Patterson: 6/10 No chance with the goal but made a good block early on following a Boro break, got lucky at one point when two players closed him down. Trai Hume: 7/10 Made a number of important blocks after moving into the middle for cover and got forward quite a bit in the first half, put a couple of good crosses in and forced the home goalkeeper into a save. Dan Ballard: 5/10 I thought he looked a bit leggy today and struggled with matching Greenwood’s runs in behind, battled well but not at his best. Flicked one header just wide from a Clarke free kick. Luke O’Nien (C): 6/10 Coped a little bit better than Ballard with runners and made one vital interception to stop a dangerous ball getting through to a striker. Made one good lung bursting run up the pitch in the first half. Leo Hjelde: 6/10 Not the worst debut and showed some promise, looks like he has a bit of pace and might be comfortable on the ball but very clearly rusty after playing so little this season. Dan Neil: 5/10 Played a great ball to Clarke in the build up to Rusyn’s goal but not his best game, struggled to impose himself and couldn’t stop Boro playing balls in behind. Pierre Ekwah: 5/10 Like Neil he struggled to impose himself, was better in the first half but the game was bypassing him in the second half until the substitutes came on. Abdoullah Ba: 6/10 Had two great chances in the first half, the first he had no support but really should have taken the shot on his left and the second was a sitter but side footed the shot rather than put his foot through it. Also played a nice ball for Hume to get a shot on target but disappeared after the break as the team sat back. Jobe Bellingham: 4/10 Made a good run off the ball to give Rusyn the room to get his equaliser and wriggled into space in the 18-yard box to set up Clarke ahead of Ba’s chance but was nowhere to be seen for most of the game and often telegraphed his turns, allowing Boro to steal the ball from him. Jack Clarke: 7/10 Really struggled to get him into the game, which was a waste as he had the beating of Ayling all game. Had one chance himself in the first half which forced the goalkeeper into a save, laid a chance on a plate for Ba, got an assist for our goal following a sprint up the pitch and was generally a menace to Boro, just not involved nearly enough. Mason Burstow: 3/10 Played a nice ball to Ba in behind in the first half but that’s all he did, was completely anonymous and made no other impact on the game. Substitutes Nazariy Rusyn: 7/10 Made a massive difference when he came on thanks to his willing running and closing down, something that we didn’t get from Burstow. Not his best shot for the equaliser but who cares? Patrick Roberts: 6/10 Good to see him back and made some threatening runs but not overly involved. Jenson Seelt: N/A Wasn’t on long enough to make an impact. Man of the Match: Trai Hume Made some vital blocks in the first half after he stepped inside to cover for the centre backs, defended well at right back and was quick to get forward in the first half. That disappeared in the second half as the team sat back but looked far more comfortable on his normal side. please log in to view this image Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gary Bennett on BBC Radio Newcastle At times, I think Sunderland's midfield were just strolling through the game. They need a little bit more from Pierre Ekwah. Jobe Bellingham was the same. Sunderland's Nazariy Rusyn has shown confidence to take a shot from there. I think the Boro goalkeeper should have got to it.
O'Nien getting a 6 is a joke. Could've been out of sight for Boro if he wasn't there. And i'm not his biggest fan at all.
My thoughts on that, well they've probably been echoed already as I haven't checked, but I'll go ahead anyway. Good first half, poor 30 mins 2nd, then the confidence came back after Rusyn's goal (who is clearly going to score more if he actually starts) Ref was awful for both sides (moreso for us) especially for the decision that gave them the free kick for their goal. Actually thought Beale did a good job in changing things after conceding, and once we got the equaliser only 1 team was gonna get the winner. From what I've seen (Coventry and Mags aside) we're clearly working on protecting our goal first, and then trying to combine that solidity with our attacking play, as opposed to our gung-ho approach under Mowbray. In terms of attacking, that's going to take time to put into place but we're showing signs of things coming together. Ba's miss is obviously playing on people's minds, that said I feel he's becoming a much more potent player for us, and the decision making will come with experience.
Good point against a good team. Should have been at least 1up at half time. Hjelde looked good on debut
Wasn't sure if it was just me but I thought the same. He didn't have the best start to the season but I think it's 5 out of the last 6 games he's been our best CB stats wise and one of our best performers in general. Seems to be doing well under Beale. https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/16/Show/England-Sunderland
Feels like Rusyn isn't getting enough credit for the finish (don't mean on here), maybe I'm remembering it wrong but wasn't it a well hit shot into the bottom corner? Seems to be being played down as a speculative punt.
