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- May 8, 2002
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Sunderland’s defensive resilience shines again
The Lads were absolutely immense yesterday and it was especially apparent following the red card.
Villa are no chumps and while they weren’t at their best tactically or individually, the Lads needed to put in an almighty shift to come away with a hard-earned point.
The mentality throughout the team to not only defend resolutely but to score after going a goal down typifies everything that Sunderland are about these days. Huge credit to the coaching staff and the players, and Noah Sadiki in particular deserves a mention at this point — he was seemingly doing the running of two players!
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Tactical flexibility is the key
Régis Le Bris had a difficult task on his hands with Sunderland dropping to ten men so early in a match that was already difficult enough on paper, and the changes he made were eye-catching, bringing off a bitterly disappointed Chris Rigg for Dan Ballard.
It was an indication that Le Bris already had a master plan, as we elected to keep Reinildo’s immediate deputy, Arthur Masuaku, on the bench and switch to a back five. Chemsdine Talbi was surprisingly switched to left back, and a back three of Omar Alderete, Ballard and Nordi Mukiele formed a formidable presence in front of Robin Roefs.
In the end, it worked brilliantly and although we conceded some good chances and a goal from a powerful Matty Cash strike, we kept ourselves in the game, giving ourselves more than a good shout for being the better team over the ninety minutes.
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Wilson Isidor continues his Wearside hot streak
Isidor kept up his fantastic home form with another well-taken poacher’s goal.
He was quick off the mark while the opposition defenders were caught on their heels, stroking one past ‘Dibu’ and sending the stadium into delirium once again. He’s a wonderfully gifted striker and absolutely earned his goal through hard work and quick thinking.
He’ll know that he has work to do to keep the lone striker’s role throughout the season, but if he keeps scoring goals, it’ll be nearly impossible for Le Bris to drop him, and Brian Brobbey and Eliezer Mayenda will have to wait for now!
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The Stadium of Light has yet to be breached!
The Lads continued their unbeaten streak at home and it can’t be overstated how crucial our home form will be this season. Every point earned is a battle in this league, and the stadium is becoming a fortress worthy of hosting them.
The fans and the players are working in harmony to create an environment where these results are made possible, feeding off each other’s noise and performances respectively. I was very impressed by both — the stadium was electric and the mood didn’t drop despite the Villa goal.
Let’s keep the noise up and hopefully the unbeaten streak can continue!
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Reinildo sees red and learns a harsh lesson
I was positively admiring the attributes that Reinildo brings to the team for the first thirty minutes of the game. He brings bite and know-how that’s been honed at Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid and has an unbelievable level of stamina and pace when overlapping on the left.
Unfortunately, as much as I love Reinildo and those attributes, I think he let the team down with a rush of blood to the head. It’s not the first time he’s made a costly disciplinary mistake, bringing down Brentford players multiple times before they were eventually rewarded a penalty a few weeks ago.
We were the better team for the first third of the game and would’ve had a good chance of winning if not for the red card. It’s something he needs to work on for us to have the best chance of picking up points.
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