SUNDERLAND started the new season in style as they claimed a 2-0 win over Cardiff City on the opening day of the campaign.
Luke O’Nien headed the Black Cats into a first-half lead, nodding home from close range after Dennis Cirkin redirected Patrick Roberts’ free-kick back across goal, before Jack Clarke drilled home a clinical second with one minute remaining to make the points safe.
What were the main talking points to emerge from the Cardiff City Stadium?
A GOOD ADDITION
Alan Browne was making his competitive Sunderland debut following his summer move from Preston, and the 29-year-old made a positive first impression.
His ability to get around the pitch stood out as he started on the right-hand side of Sunderland’s midfield, with his athleticism and energy clearly a key part of his game.
He is also a player whose first thought when he receives the ball is to drive forward, with a number of thrusting runs against Cardiff taking the Black Cats up the field.
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Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham tend to be more focused on possession and quick passes, shuffling the ball sideways or backwards in the current, academy-driven style.
Browne is a bit more of a throwback, breaking dynamically upfield, and he already looks like he will offer something different to Sunderland’s midfield mix.
A WELCOME RETURN
Dennis Cirkin was making his first competitive start since the 5-0 thrashing of Southampton at the start of last September. Sunderland have missed him in his absence.
Within the first ten minutes of the game, the left-back was driving up the touchline and looking to link up with Jack Clarke ahead of him, and his breaks down the flank force opponents back and enable Sunderland to get into the opposition half.
Defensively, Cirkin is strong and athletic, and as the opening goal proved, his aerial ability also enables him to pose a threat in the 18-yard box. He nodded the ball back across goal for O’Nien’s opener and perhaps should have done better with a back-post header from a corner that flashed wide of the target in the second half.
Sunderland have tried various options at left-back in the last year – Aji Alese, Leo Hjelde, an out-of-position Trai Hume – but provided Cirkin can stay fit, he should rapidly make the position his own.
STRIKER ISSUES
You might have heard, but Sunderland could do with a new striker. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the current problems at centre-forward were apparent yet again yesterday.
Eliezer Mayenda’s effort and commitment couldn’t be questioned as he led the line before being replaced by Nazariy Rusyn in the closing stages. The French youngster was a willing runner as he closed down Cardiff’s defenders and tried to get involved in the game as often as he could.
He struggled the hold the ball up though, particularly during the ten-minute spell at the start of the second half when Cardiff dominated possession and threatened to overwhelm the Sunderland defence, and when a chance finally came his way in the second half, he blasted the ball at the foot of goalkeeper Ethan Horvath when a greater level of composure was required.
Frankly, it is farcical that Sunderland’s need for a number nine has not been addressed before the start of the season, but the situation will surely be rectified before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. The identity of the new striker could go a long way towards determining Sunderland’s fate as they look to mount a viable push for promotion.
A RARE STRONG START
When was the last time Sunderland won on the opening day of the season outside of League One? You’ll have to have a good memory to come up with the right answer because it was all the way back in 2009, when Darren Bent scored the only goal of the game against Bolton Wanderers.
Since then, Sunderland had played ten opening-day matches outside the third tier and failed to win any of them, so taking all three points on the first day of the season is a notable achievement.
Cardiff are unlikely to be a side challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season – their lack of a cutting edge was definitely apparent – but Sunderland still had to dig in to claim victory and the way in which they limited the Bluebirds to a handful of half-chances at best was impressive.
Tougher tests await, but if Sunderland can follow up yesterday’s win with another victory when they host Sheffield Wednesday in their first home fixture on Sunday, they really will have given themselves an excellent foundation to build from.
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