BALLARD'S POINT TO PROVE

The first Tyne-Wear derby since our 3-0 defeat in the FA Cup is quickly approaching. There is one man who it means more to than most, and he is ready for the game of his life.

Newcastle were the clear favourites in the last derby. Whilst they had been competing in the Champions League only a month prior and finished the campaign 7th in the Premier League, we had been competing to win football games under Michael Beale and eventually finished 16th in the Championship.

The game itself was very one-sided, as expected. They applied immense amounts of pressure from the off and fairly won the game by a three goal deficit. One of our defenders in particular, however, made the headlines more than others, and not for positive reasons.

Scoring an own-goal and giving a penalty away in a three-nil defeat at home against your arch-rivals is about as bad as it gets for a centre half. Dan Ballard has since been at the receiving end of a lot of black and white banter ever since, despite actually playing very well that day!

The lack of control our midfield had in that game put our best defender under so much pressure that he was bound to make a mistake. In fact, my first memory of that game is Dan Neil receiving the ball from kick off, completely unmarked and with a few seconds to decide what to do, before turning to play it to Jobe, only to pass the ball directly into the path of Almiron. From that moment on, it felt like we spent the entire first half trapped inside our own defensive third. Ballard actually won a lot of his battles, preventing Newcastle goals on numerous occasions. The confinement to our own defensive third and barrage of black and white attacks meant a goal was inevitable.

Even just two minutes before his own-goal opened the scoring, he got a vital touch on an Anthony Gordon cross to divert the ball away from an oncoming Joelinton, who would have had a clear shot on goal in the box. A simple one-two then took our entire midfield and Trai Hume completely out of the game, forcing O’Nien to sprint over and cover, only to leave Ballard isolated in the box, with the responsibility of both clearing the cross and marking Isak. He did what he could to divert the ball away, but unfortunately failed to connect with the ball in the way he wanted to, mainly due to how stretched he was at the back. If he hadn’t done this, the ball simply would have fallen to Isak, allowing the Swede to score possibly the easiest goal of his life.

At 2-0 down with only a few minutes to play, we were then trying to score a goal to get back into the game. Hume, his Northern Ireland compatriot, had made a run forward and put a fairly dangerous ball into the box. We then dealt horridly with a defensive clearance from the Mags, putting ourselves under pressure (again) completely unnecessarily. O’Nien dived in and failed to make any kind of contact with the ball or player, leaving Ballard, again, on his own with all the defensive work to do. He clattered into Anthony Gordon, probably a mark of desperation and frustration more than anything else, and Isak scored from the resulting penalty.

Since then, our ferocious number five has been mocked by Newcastle fans for allegedly being their ‘best player’. As previously stated, he actually played incredibly well that day, preventing chance after chance. The two goals in question were not his fault at all. He was left completely unsupported from his team-mates due to the gulf in quality between the two sides at that moment in time.

Fast forward almost two years to the present day (and as far away as possible from the memories I am sorry I have just had to make you re-live) and the confident, brash battler that we know and love is having the season of his life. Defensively faultless, a threat going forward and absolutely brilliant at marking strikers out of the game, so much of our success this season is down to him, and we’ll need him like never before on Sunday.

As a good friend of mine and Sunderland content creator Michael Bowers has commented on, Dan Ballard has been on a mission to become the best centre-half in the world since scoring the winner against Coventry in the play-offs last May.

We’ve seen how much Big Ballard thrives under the pressure of a big game. The stakes don’t get much higher than the Championship play-offs: the one-off opportunity to earn a spot in the Premier League, the biggest league in the world. Ballard stepped in for Chris Mepham and played over 210 minutes across two legs, despite having only played thirty minutes of football since coming off injured back in February. He was arguably man of the match in both legs (even without considering his tie-winning goal) as he battled away against Coventry. We all, of course, can’t forget to mention the thumping header which sent us to Wembley with one second of the 122 minutes to go.

Our opening fixture, at home to West Ham, was a massive game for so many reasons. Starting the season well was perceived as so important so as to get as many points on the board as possible before what we initially viewed as a very tricky December and the affect we still know losing seven players to AFCON could have on our points tally. A win at home to start the season was just what we needed to give us the momentum to pick up the early points that we knew we’d be grateful for come the end of May. This fixture was also being viewed as a relegation six-pointer before a ball was kicked, adding to the stakes. He grabbed that game by the horns and lead the defence to a clean sheet, as well as leaping like a salmon to smash the ball into the back of the net, just as he did against Coventry.

Arsenal at home had just a big of a feeling to it. Finding ourselves fourth in the Premier League against a side who had just won ten games and kept eight clean sheets in a row, something had to give. The slightly later kick-off, remembrance display and our sublime form heading into this fixture gave it an immense feeling. Peter Drury described it as having a ‘blockbuster feel’ and I think that’s spot on. Ballard was faultless at the back and managed to not only score a goal and make an assist, but break their eight-game run without conceding a goal with a volley into the roof of the net against one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He also flicked the ball on beautifully for Brian Brobbey’s late equaliser. Blockbuster.

Let’s not forget the setbacks he has been faced with, too. Despite arguably being our best player against West Ham, he seemingly lost his place after coming-off injured against Burnley. New signings Alderete and Mukiele instantly formed a very strong connection and it appeared that Ballard was back to the bench. After coming on as part of a tactical change in formation at Old Trafford, Ballard proved all of his doubters wrong, no less so than Regis Le Bris. Even after reverting to a four-at-the back system, Dan has made himself un-droppable, as was demonstrated by Hume being placed on the bench instead, with Mukiele being forced to right-back to keep Ballard in the team.

Another key feature of his season has been his capacity to completely take big players out of the game. He got his revenge on Isak by marking him out of the game at Anfield, ensuring that the £150 million signing didn’t get a sniff. Arsenal had clearly placed Mikel Merino up-front with the intention of using him as a target-man (as they so often do, and with success) yet the ex-Gunner Ballard barely let him win a header or even affect the game all night. The Spaniard got an assist for Saka’s goal, but that was as a result of Le Fee losing possession cheaply.

To demonstrate even further how much he, as an individual, can deal with a top striker, we only have to look back at last Saturday. Despite being part of a back five that conceded three, Ballard was tasked with keeping Haaland quiet, and did his job. There aren’t many defenders in the Premier League who can say they have done that, and he has managed it after only one game. The best striker in the world barely got a sniff because of him, and City had to find other ways to break us down...

… and man-marking a striker out of the game is possibly the most important thing we’ll have to do to ensure a result at the weekend. With six goal contributions so far, Nick Woletemade is arguably Newcastle’s most important player. Almost anything they do going forward is as a result of him. The German Giant has been feeding off scraps so far this campaign, yet has still managed to register five goals and an assist. Without him, it’s hard to view them as even being in the top half - my mistake... they’re still in twelfth.

Having been the butt of a lot of Geordie jokes these past two years, Dan Ballard has a massive point to prove. This derby is going to be completely different. Not only has the boy from Stevenage improved massively and shown what a big-game player he can be, but the team around him has came on leaps and bounds. We’re heading into this derby a point ahead of the Dirty Mags, unbeaten at home and under one of the most exciting managers in Europe. A win could take us back into the Champions League places with only a game to go before Christmas (incase you needed any more proof that we are no longer such an inferior side). He is now a leader, an integral member and an undroppable player in a team who are defying the odds that were placed upon them, proving the world wrong and showing the Premier League that were not just here to take part, we’re here to win games.

Dan Ballard, through his heroic antics which dragged us through the play-offs last season, his determination to fight for his spot back and his exceptional start to life in the Premier League, isn’t just ready for another big performance. He has a point to prove, and he’s ready for the game of his life.