Listening to Rooney on Sky does not fill you with any kind of confidence that he can get Birmingham up the table
i kept clear of my 'refs call' as i think he actually did a decent job for the best part of the game but unfortunately the bits we remember are the ones no one could understand, bacuna had a couple of little fouls before the hack on roberts so i await an explanation from him about that, can understand roberts frustration but if the ref lets bacuna off with those fouls then he has to simply have a word with roberts rather than hoying his name in the book. surprised to see ruddy still going strong, good keeper and showed some good distribution for them, took that shot straight on the cheek and ear and stood straight up and had a bit of a laugh about it with other players...how often do we see defenders drop when they head a ball out now, proper old player is ruddy.
https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/20...rmingham-bellingham-nets-against-his-old-team Anthony Patterson: 7/10 Some of his kicking was suspect today but his handling was good, no chance for the Birmingham equaliser and made a really good save late on. Trai Hume: 6/10 Really good desire to chase a deep cross from Roberts for the second goal and floated a great header over the keeper. Made one great tackle really early on but didn’t look particularly comfortable defensively on the left-hand side today. Nectar Triantis: 5/10 Looked a bit taken aback by the pace of the game, was at sea at times during the first half but grew into the game and was involved in the winner, although in the end it was credited as an own goal but he put himself in there to force the goal. Jenson Seelt: 5/10 Didn’t look quite as nervy as Triantis and looked like the sheer pace of the game was also a bit much but he also grew into the game. Niall Huggins: 9/10 His best overall game in a Sunderland shirt today, covered so much ground up and down the right-hand side. Made some important interceptions to bail out Triantis and Seelt in the first half while they were adjusting, notably clearing a ball off the line, and even had a chance to score himself but saw his shot blocked. Dan Neil: 7/10 Was good going forward in the first half but left us a little exposed defensively, sat in more with Ekwah after the break and we controlled the game more as a result. Pierre Ekwah: 5/10 Looked way off his usual best today, some sloppy passing and bad decision making. Still had spells where he shone but surprisingly erratic and not good timing to have an off day with two debutant centre-backs. Patrick Roberts: 6/10 Started really well and had lots of room down the right, picked out Clarke well, who found Huggins but his shot was blocked. Got kicked out of the game by Bacuna and struggled to have the same impact after that but did swing in a deep cross for the second goal. Jobe Bellingham: 7/10 Right place at the right time for his goal, steering in Rusyn’s flick and almost got another from a corner but hit his shot into the ground and saw it come back off the post into the goalkeeper’s arms. Showed good feet and awareness throughout and seemed to enjoy playing against his former club. Jack Clarke: 7/10 Picked out Huggins for his chance in the first half but was started quite quietly, with most play coming down the right but grew into the game and provided a goal on a plate for Aouchiche. Nazariy Rusyn: 8/10 Comfortably the best game of his short Sunderland career, only thing missing was a goal. Constantly on the move, good at finding his team-mates, including a clever near post flick on for the first goal for his first assist for the club. Hit the post in the first half and had our first chance of the game after bursting forward and hitting a shot wide. Substitutes Abdoullah Ba: 6/10 Lost possession a few times too many trying quick turns but also caused Brum plenty of problems. Eliezer Mayenda: 7/10 Came on for his debut and looked like just the player Mowbray keeps hyping up. Very lively and came close to scoring when a rocket of a shot hit Ruddy. Adil Aouchiche: 7/10 Got his first goal in a Sunderland shirt by getting on the end of Clarke’s cross and helped us keep possession as the game wore down. Mason Burstow: 6/10 Was only on for a few minutes but looked a lot more direct today and got a couple of dangerous shots off. Man of the Match: Niall Huggins Excellent fullback display by Huggins today, never stopped running up and down the line. Got the better of his man defensively, read the game well to bail out Triantis and Seelt when they were struggling in the first half and provided plenty of thrust going forward too. May have made himself a first choice fullback, even without Cirkin’s injury. please log in to view this image Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Disagree with the two CBs getting 5's, they were obviously a bit shaky but i thought they got into the game more and more as it went on. 6 for me.
Shocking those ratings mind. Both of the CB’s had a much better game than Neil. Hume was very good again anarl. Triantis won 100% of his aerial and ground duels, made 7 clearances and made a few interceptions. He was rusty but he was nowhere near as bad as they’ve made out. Neil and Ekwah were piss poor and only one of them gets the flak, as expected.
Harsh on Seelt and Triantis, how do you give them and Ekwah the same rating? Positive that lot don't watch the games.
They watch, they’re just biased. Ratings are obviously subjective which is why I don’t really take too much notice but they’re still generally an indicator to an extent of how someone’s performed. Both FotMob and Whoscored collate data for ratings instead of just what they assume when they watch the match like RR and had Neil as our worst player by quite a bit today.
Sack Mowbray as that is 7 from 9 now…lol. Wise to keep Rusyn to a hour. Long season but the lad is coming on good. As with others on here Huggins and Hume had great games. When you you two center backs making their debuts it was important that the two guys in front of them protected them. Ekwah was off today and Neil I have seen him play better games. This put extra pressure to me on Seelt and Triantis. Overall pleased for them as they grew into the game. That Mayenda is going to be some player. Good day for new players to get minutes. Well done Tony and the lads!!!
Two things there 1, I bet he was dying to itch his lug. 2, That looked like a shot he wanted to go in so his Tonali would come up, but it hit his dish instead.
Think we arel being harsh on Ekwah, it wasnt his usual high standard but hex was playing with a few players around him who that could be said of, Neil, Jobe, and Roberts were also poor over the time they had on the pitch and made life difficult for Ekwah to cope with the Birmingham press when often receiving the ball in tight situations.
I think with Ekwah he made more than his share of bad passes especially long balls, but did a lot of good stuff too. Much like a ref the bad stuff tends to stick out more than the good and can cloud your judgement. I didn't think Neil played badly at the time but looking at his stats it's hard to deny it was a poor game by his standards.
Ive been reading alot of negative comments about Ekwah on social media. Fans need to remember he's a young lad playing his first full season of first team football. Hes obviously going to blow hot and cold sometimes while he matures, they should give the lad a break ffs
Fair post. I thought our passing was sloppy for a long period. Neil, Clarke, Jobe, Ekwah all seemed to simply pass to them at times. An off day for a few players to be fair. Not sure about the 2 centre backs ousting ONien. Seelt looked decent, but personally Triantis scared the living daylights out of me. I am not writing him off but he needs a lot of work on that showing. Positionally naieve in my opinion. We have to remember we he comes from of course, this is a level way above where he has been so far in his career.
Hume and Huggins have been criticised as has virtually everyone, mostly justified tbf ... ... but the whole squad is talented ad capable. Once the injury situation is better, the squad gets used to each other and the players are all firing we'll be capable of beating anyone. Just sweating on the Metro getting me to NCL in time for my Edinburgh train at 15.59
Think both Seelt and Triantis grew into the game. Would give them both a 6. And it will have done them the world of good and I expect both will be better for it next time theyre needed. I wouldnt have either of them starting ahead of Ballard and O'Nien yet, but they were the best two centre backs on the pitch today.
It’s what frustrates me the most about our fan base. I get that people have their favourite players but it feels like far too often those favourites get away with making mistakes or having a poor game then the others get dove on when it’s their turn. I’m definitely amongst the over-critical and try to ground myself because you can clearly see we have a lot of talent within the squad but they’re still young and they’ll make mistakes. You can’t say they look like they’ll be world class one game then absolutely hammer them for a poor performance the next. Unfortunately sometimes those mistakes will cost us but that’s football, it’s when the mistakes start coming regularly and we have other options sat there waiting for a chance that people should become frustrated. TM will probably be cursing Speakman under his breathe because he’s given him so many options, sometimes it’s better just having your best Xl plain and obvious so you don’t have a selection headache Also the more I see of these new lads the less I give a sh*te about losing Roberts and Pritchard. Would like an experienced DM though.
