Sunderland were held to a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light by Bristol City despite striking the woodwork twice. The Black Cats picked up a point in the Championship but failed to find that all-important goal. Here are my player ratings from Sunderland’s stalemate with The Robins.
ANTHONY PATTERSON: 6
Anthony Patterson kept a clean sheet, which must be a huge relief after picking the ball out of his net five times on Monday. Bristol City didn’t provide much of a threat in attack, with Sunderland looking the most likely team to carve out an opener. Patterson had one shaky moment when he failed to deal with a ball that was fired across the face of goal. Apart from that, it was a comfortable day at the office for the goalkeeper.
TRAI HUME: 6
As usual, Trai Hume generally put in a good shift and looked solid defensively. He was firm in challenges and always looked like the most likely winner of a 50-50. The Northern-Ireland full-back made a crucial block late in the match to keep the score level. Hume was caught out of position on a couple of occasions, which allowed City to overload. Overall, a decent showing by Hume.
LUKE O’NIEN: 7
The most significant improvement from Sunderland’s hammering to Blackburn earlier in the week definitely came in the heart of defence. Luke O’Nien, like most of the Sunderland team, struggled on Easter Monday. However, he looked comfortable against Bristol City today and dealt well with the loose balls with ease. O’Nien kept the visitors quiet and made some clever passes out of defence to recycle possession rather than waste it.
DAN BALLARD: 7
Again, Dan Ballard can hold his head high for helping the Black Cats to a clean-sheet. He was commanding in the air and won some very important duels. Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti and Nahki Wells caused Sunderland little problems and Ballard played a big part in stopping them. Ballard almost scored in the first-half but his header was unfortunately cleared off the line.
LEO HJELDE: 5
The January arrival from Leeds still seems to be settling into his new red and white stripes and certainly appeared to be the weakest link from a generally sound defensive display. Leo Hjelde struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, which allowed Bristol City to expose Sunderland down the flanks. Hjelde didn’t make any major mistakes but still needs to work on his passing, as he gave the ball away cheaply at times. It could just be a case of a full-back playing outside of his strongest position.
PIERRE EKWAH: 7
Ekwah, particularly in the first-half, had some nice touches of the ball and made some key challenges. He played further forward than Dan Neil, which allowed him the space to try and influence the game from a more advanced role. Ekwah still lacks urgency at times though and seems to think he has more time on the ball than he realistically does.
DAN NEIL: 6
Solid but nothing flash. Neil did the basics well and controlled the game for Sunderland. He protected the back-four, something that Sunderland failed to do at all against Rovers earlier this week. Neil didn’t offer much from an attacking perspective but given the freedom Ekwah was given to progress forward, this probably comes as little surprise.
CHRIS RIGG: 6
Chris Rigg started the game well and his confidence as a footballer for his age is exceptional. Rigg always gets stuck in and offers support defensively. Other than some nice touches, he didn’t create any key chances for Sunderland and couldn’t seem to find the killer ball. Like the majority of the team, Rigg fizzled out in the second interval and was subsequently replaced by Patrick Roberts after 66 minutes.
ADIL AOUCHICHE: 5
The French attacking-midfielder started the game brightly and looked sharp when he was given the ball. However, from that point onwards, Adil Aouchiche was relatively quiet and didn’t really threaten the Bristol City defenders. Aouchciche definitely has quality, as he demonstrated away to Cardiff recently, but he doesn’t have the same impact as someone like Jack Clarke.
JACK CLARKE: 7
Onto Clarke, who looked the most convincing Sunderland attacker and with the number of goal contributions he has provided this season, it probably isn’t a surprise. On his first-start since returning from injury, Clarke played with little fear and was one of the few Sunderland players who looked to make something happen. Despite this, Clarke failed to find the finishing touches to punish Bristol City but should have grabbed an assist if Sunderland knew how to shoot!
JOBE: 6
Jobe probably had Sunderland’s clearest opportunity of the match but wanted too long on the ball, taking a touch when he could have pulled the trigger first-time. He had some positive touches and inter-linked well with Clarke. His height and physical presence in attack is definitely useful, although Jobe lacks the same clinical instinct as a natural goal scorer.
SUBS:
BRADLEY DACK: 6
Replaced Aouchiche after an hour and was denied by the crossbar with a header. Bradley Dack received the ball in good areas but couldn’t beat Max O’Leary.
AJI ALESE: 7
A much-needed return from Aji Alese, given injuries to Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin. Alese offered support down the wing and looked much more comfortable in defence compared to Hjelde. Alese would be a welcome addition to the Sunderland defence moving forward, if he can stay fit!
PATRICK ROBERTS: 6
Roberts came on for Rigg and played the final 25 minutes but didn’t contribute as much as he would have wanted. Roberts looked better than his terrible performance against Blackburn but never seemed like making any impact. More minutes in the tank ahead of our trip to Leeds, though.
OVERALL:
Sunderland were extremely unlucky not to score in the first-half but the performance dropped off massively in the second, whilst still being the better side. Defensively, this was an inspired display but from an attacking perspective it was underwhelming. To keep banging the same drum is frustrating but we are seriously missing a clinical forward. The Black Cats make the trip to Elland Road on Tuesday evening, as Leeds hope to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive.
