could see the tiredness in the lads i thought, had a training session afore the game as well then the heat etc on top of that. need to remember these teams are well into their season and are very sharp and 'tuned' . same 11 for the 90 and managed a wee bit of dominance here and there but had another very good test/work out...nice to get another win and get a look at a couple of the new lads, much better when brought in early. hard to give a good review on them to be honest as plenty of mistakes (been a hard few days for them all) but mainly i was gutted for matt young, excellent performance and to be beaten by a nasty deflection and a penalty was not a reflection on his actual game. hemir is getting in 'those' positions with ease and can use his height and strength, ekwah was quieter but still managed a couple of moments, pritchard was everywhere, ballard seemed to be the 'main man' at the back and held the line well...plenty of play but missed that roberts or clarke movement.
TM certainly did not look his usual happy self to be honest but you have to take everything into consideration...basically i got the impression that ekwah might have stepped slightly out of line and maybe he wanted the lads to hold back on shots, for all it was a hell of a goal, can see him being annoyed that matt did not get the clean sheet he deserved and possibly annoyed at the ref, were a lot of niggly fouls given against both teams and pritchard should have had an early penalty, then the heat and preparation. been a long, hard few days for them all but in general i feel he will be more than happy with the performances.
I dont think its a case of TM not wanting Ekwah to shoot, I reckon its just a general message for him to keep working, The club posted a gopro thing of him in training yesterday and it was great - but one of the noticeable things was when he was standing chatting to somebody one of the coaches shouted "come on Pierre hurry up". I get the impression he's a really nice guy and a good lad, but perhaps so laid back that he's someone they're trying to instil more urgency into. Hence the comments about giving him a slap and previous ones about aggression.
https://www.a-love-supreme.com/single-post/new-mexico-match-report NEW MEXICO MATCH REPORT please log in to view this image Sunderland extended their winning streak in pre-season to four games as they defeated USL Championship side New Mexico United at Isotopes Park. The Black Cats found themselves 2-0 up going into the break, courtesy of goals from Pierre Ekwah and Luis Hemir. Isaac Lihadji made it 3-0 midway through the second half and then a late fight-back from New Mexico finalised the score line at 3-2. New Mexico had the first chance of the game early on when a shot was fired well-over the crossbar from the right hand side outside of the box. Hemir then hit the side-netting after latching onto a pass from Alex Pritchard, from a tight angle. A separate set of chances for Sunderland followed. Lihadji had a shot blocked and the New Mexico keeper had to punch it away after the ball bobbled dangerously around Hemir at close range. Matthew Young was called into action when a mistake by Nectarios Triantis led to a shot on the edge of the penalty area. Young parried it away and then collected the ball. Young made another save shortly after. The New Mexico attacker cutting inside towards the right side of the box, Luke O’Nien headed it back towards the 16-year-old succeeding the initial save, who calmly caught the ball. Pritchard struck the side-netting and not long after had a shot loop over the bar. Young produced a wonderful save to tip a powerful strike over the bar, to keep the score level. Pritchard passed it into Hemir, following some good midfield work by Ekwah. His shot was saved however, and the resulting corner was just inches away. Ekwah’s moment of magic came in the 39th minute, a thunderous shot outside of the box sailed into the top right corner, almost ripping the net off its frame. 1-0 to the Lads. Pritchard earned an assist, he crossed a ball directly onto the head of Hemir (this is becoming common in pre-season) who aptly nodded and scored to double the advantage. This happened in first-half injury time. New Mexico had two shots blocked shortly after the restart for the second half, a free kick and a shot that resulted from a corner. Triantis was unfortunate to not score via a header, which was blocked just ahead of the line. Sunderland would make it three in the 66th minute, an O’Nien cross found Trai Hume on the edge of the right side of the six yard box. Hume passed it into Lihadji, the Frenchman’s initial attempt was blocked but he fired the rebound home. The Albuquerque-based team almost reduced the deficit, a free-kick led to the ball being well-inside the area, but no one could direct it into the net. Milo Garvanian did manage to score for New Mexico two minutes before injury time began, albeit largely from luck. His shot deflected massively by Ballard, causing it to loop over Young and into the goal. The last act of the game was another goal far into added time from a New Mexico penalty. Hume conceded the penalty, a weak push in his defence, and Isaac Zuleta fired it home just right of the middle of the net. Final score: New Mexico United 2-3 Sunderland AFC Sunderland starting XI: Young, Hume, Ballard, Triantis, O’Nien, Neil, Ekwah, Lihadji, Pritchard, Ba, Hemir.
I hope Pritchard stays mind. He looks a totally different player when he has a proper no.9 ahead of him. As he shows when Stewart was fit.
