Preston win hands Sunderland perfect derby foundations

Michael Beale will have been keen to enjoy a much better afternoon than he did on his Wearside bow against Coventry City before Christmas and he got just that with one of Sunderland’s more efficient performances of the season and certainly in recent weeks.

Alex Pritchard fired the Black Cats into an early lead before Nazariy Rusyn ended a 344-day wait for Sunderland since a striker permanently contracted to the club scored in a league game after Ross Stewart’s opener in January 2023’s Wear-Tees derby against Middlesbrough.

It capped what has been a productive festive week for Beale with seven points from nine ahead of a hugely anticipated meeting with Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Cup.

We Are Sunderland look at some of the key talking points from the win over Preston:

Pritchard rewarded with a start and does not disappoint

Having made such a strong impact from the bench in 2023’s final game at Rotherham United, Pritchard was handed just a seventh start of the season in what was yet another change of personnel in the attacking areas for Sunderland and Beale.

Pritchard had been the subject of some fairly vocal backing from the away contingent at the New York Stadium as supporters chanted for the midfielder’s introduction pretty much from the restart in the second half. And with good reason, too. The 30-year-old, despite his relative lack of game time this season, with less than 1,000 minutes to his name through the first half of the campaign, is still the club’s leader when it comes to assists with five. Three of those have come in his last five appearances over the course of the last month and, to all intents and purposes, he was heavily involved in Jack Clarke’s equaliser against Rotherham without being credit with the outright assist.

As We Are Sunderland referenced in Friday’s draw with Rotherham, Pritchard has found himself in that rather unwanted position of being a significantly impactful player from the bench without necessarily having that same kind of impact as a starter – albeit just six starts this season is a difficult sample size to give fair assessment.

But, purely based over the course of the last month, Pritchard was warranted in being handed a starting berth. His introduction from the bench in Tony Mowbray’s final game in charge against Millwall helped Sunderland turn the tide as they came away from the capital with a point. He followed that up with a brilliant cameo in the win over West Bromwich Albion laying on both goals for Dan Ballard and Dan Neil – the second and exquisite through ball crafted with the outside of his foot to cut through the Albion defence. That gave Pritchard a start against Leeds United where he again rewarded Mike Dodds by teeing up Jobe Bellingham for the only goal of the game with a clever header from the edge of the area.

After keeping his spot for the defat at Bristol City, Pritchard missed Beale’s first game in charge through illness and has subsequently found himself having to build his way back into contention again. The heavy fixture schedule throughout the festive period will have helped his cause but, equally, Sunderland’s need to be more ruthless in the final third naturally lends itself to Pritchard’s inclusion. Only Clarke (5.9) and Patrick Roberts (3.7) had a higher expected assists (xA) tally than Pritchard (3.4) ahead of the game on New Year’s Day. That despite the two wingers featuring a considerable amount more than Pritchard.

And with Roberts missing out against Preston, the onus was on Pritchard to be Sunderland’s creator. Yet the midfielder had other ideas as after just 10 minutes he gave Sunderland the lead with a fabulous strike from distance. Pritchard’s guile had already seen him pick up those tiny pockets of space in behind Rusyn, having almost been the assist of the assist when Clarke curled just wide in the early stages from Jobe’s ball after Pritchard had won back possession in a dangerous area.

It was that pocket of space which allowed him to open the scoring when drifting in behind Preston’s two holding midfielders for Pierre Ekwah to cleverly flick a ball though. Pritchard still had it all to do though as he drove towards the edge of the area before unleashing a wonderful strike which swung away from the outstretched Freddie Woodman. It was Pritchard’s first goal of the season and his first since scoring against Preston in the club’s final league game last season.

Pritchard’s threat quickly meant Preston could not put their entire focus into stopping Clarke, as so many others have attempted this season. His fluctuation with Jobe, as one took over the No.10 role and the other drifted towards the right in Roberts’ absence, was effective and also released some of the burden on Ekwah and Neil who could be much more measured and controlled in their game without having an emphasis to support the attack regularly – Ekwah seeing more of the ball than anybody else on the field in the first half with Pritchard having the most touches of Sunderland’s front four in the opening 45 minutes.

Preston would have struggled to produce a more lacklustre performance in the second half which meant Sunderland erred a little more in the way of containment after the break, with Pritchard sitting a little deeper than we saw in the first half. And yet it was Pritchard who still became a key outlet when drifting over to the right – something which became even more effective with the introduction of Timothee Pembele in the final 20 minutes. Beale’s side were able to get over the finishing line with relatively little trouble and although Pritchard was denied what would have been just a fourth full 90 minutes of the season when being brought off with five minutes to go, the midfielder demonstrated just why he still has a key role to play for Sunderland this season and why he could be set for a significant part to play in the weekend’s Wear-Tyne derby in the FA Cup.

Nazariy Rusyn ends Sunderland’s long, long wait for a striker to score

Pritchard’s involvement wasn’t the only change Beale made to his attack as, at the fourth time of asking, the new head coach fielded an out-and-out striker with Rusyn being handed another opportunity after Mason Burstow’s substitute appearance at Rotherham.

Rusyn was Sunderland’s high profile signing, if you like, in the summer – at least in terms of the club’s finances when joining from Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk on transfer deadline day. The 25-year-old had to wait until the dying embers against Cardiff City in September to be handed his debut by Mowbray, one of just nine appearances and only four as a starter. The last of those came in the defeat at Plymouth Argyle where he was withdrawn at half-time following a difficult opening 45 minutes.

Rusyn has fallen into the same bracket as Sunderland’s three other striking additions in the summer with all three to have taken the dugout this season not quite able to put their entire trust in them which has led to significant juxtaposition at the top end of the pitch. Rusyn’s best display came in the opening stages of the win over Birmingham City in November when he was unfortunate not to have opened his account for the club – albeit he was credited with the assist for Jobe’s opening goal.

Immediately here, however, there was more of an impetus to Sunderland with Rusyn operating through the middle. Even just his presence allowed Pritchard to occupy the space in behind him more efficiently, with Pritchard looking to play the ball into the feet of Rusyn quickly when in possession. It just allowed Sunderland to move up the field a little more swiftly and with a little more energy than we had seen in recent games.

The biggest barometer for Rusyn’s success, much like Burstow, Eliezer Mayenda and Luis Semedo, will be his end product in front of goal – particularly in the games where his presence in the final third is not as effective as we saw here. Can he be that striker who will start to get on the end of things and be in the right place at the right time even if he is largely uninvolved?

The answer was yes as at long, long last a Sunderland striker found the back of the net when Rusyn slid in to convert Clarke’s low cross on the stroke of half-time. The Ukrainian had just 12 touches in the first half, only one in the Preston penalty area, but crucially it was that one which was vital. Rusyn took the applause of his team-mates and the Sunderland supporters in the Roker End with the collective sigh of relief palpable across Wearside as a near year-long run for a contracted Sunderland striker to score a goal came to an end.

This was Beale’s fourth game in charge and it was a fourth different approach he has made already in terms of how he has set his team up in the attacking third but it certainly looked the most balanced and organised. Different games will be different challenges and tactics to combat, but this was as fluent as Sunderland have looked in the final third for some time and just the second time in the last 10 games they have scored more than one goal.

Rusyn’s goal will, naturally, take all of the plaudits but the 25-year-old displayed why he is likely the most equipped option for Beale in attack in the second half of the season. There was no lack of confidence despite his lack of game time or suggestions of any missed opportunities playing on his mind with one particular driving run in the first half a highlight. With Clarke available to him on the left, Rusyn backed himself to take on Liam Lindsey and go it alone – something he would have managed but for Lindsey’s obstruction which resulted in the Preston centre-back going into the book.

Rusyn’s afternoon lasted until the 75th minute where he went off to a standing ovation and a newfound hope that he can be the answer, finally, to Sunderland’s attacking problems. There’s a long way to go for the Ukrainian, after what has undoubtedly been a difficult start. There will be games where he will need to provide more of the hard yards off the ball. But a goal at any time will only improve his confidence and he now, without question, has the 

A welcome return for Aji Alese

Coming into the side for his first start since March 2023, Michael Beale thrust Aji Alese back into the action despite just 45 minutes of football for Sunderland U21s after missing the first-half of the season with a long-term thigh problem. His last competitive appearance for the Black Cats came from the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Luton Town in the play-off semi-final, replacing Alex Pritchard just before the hour mark at Kenilworth Road. His inclusion in the matchday squad at Rotherham United was a boost for Sunderland, his return to the starting XI a further shot in the arm.

Injury to Niall Huggins may have forced Beale’s hand somewhat, but it was interesting to see Alese preferred to summer signing Timothee Pembele who looked bright when he came on against the Millers on Friday night. The Wearesider’s head coach tinkered with his approach, with Alese coming into left-back, turning in an impressive 69 minutes of action on his return and a standing ovation when replaced by Pembele. Perhaps with one eye on the Derby next week and the threat of Anthony Gordon in mind or simply to deal with the threat of Liam Millar, Beale shifted Trai Hume over to right-back, getting important minutes into Alese’s legs ahead of a potential match up against Miggy Almiron.

Sunderland have missed the natural balance of a left-footer in recent games and his early forays into the Preston North end half caused the visitors problems, freeing up Jack Clarke in one vs one situations. Alese was deeper in comparison to his Sunderland team-mate Hume on the opposite flank, offering more cover when the Black Cats attacked. A good performance and hard to believe that was his first start since March 4th.

Change in shape and midfield overloads

Sunderland have changed their shape on a number of occasions over the festive period and they’ve been the dominant side in just about every game. Transforming their dominance in games into three points remains the biggest task for Beale, but he got that spot on today. Back in a 4-2-3-1, Nazariy Rusyn was the latest striker to be handed the opportunity to lead the line, and has looked the most complete since Beale’s arrival. A willing runner and not afraid to put himself about, his buzzing alongside Alex Pritchard caused problems, despite the Ukrainian having just 12 touches in the first-half.

The latter of the duo was given a license to roam from the right-hand side, causing havoc for the visitors. Thoroughly deserving of his goal, he’s making himself the first name on the Black Cats team-sheet with his form at the moment. Jobe was back in the number 10 position, the most advanced of Sunderland’s midfield and his presence again caused problems, allowing Rusyn and Pritchard to find pockets of space.

Preston looked bereft of ideas going forward, Liam Millar their best outlet, but the hosts stifled the away sides approach. The movement of the midfield and forward Sunderland lines left Ryan Lowe’s side scratching their heads in terms of who to pick up. Trai Hume’s runs from right-back, into central midfield areas created a further overload, allowing Sunderland to play through the phases. It’s little tweaks to their style of play, like inverted full-backs and overloads in central areas that could be the difference between a strong second-half of the season and an inconsistent repeat of their first 25 games.

Delivering on Michael Beale’s early need for improvement

Seven points from a possible 12 available to him since taking over at the Stadium of Light, Beale’s side have been steady over the festive period, if nothing spectacular. The new Black Cats boss has spoken about his side needing to be more ruthless in the final third and less picky when it comes to shots on goal. Speaking after the draw with Rotherham, Beale said: “You can put a striker on the pitch but if the striker is not going to take a shot and walk the ball into the net like we do at times - I want us to be less fussy and more spiteful in the final third. I think at times we look like we're going to score an unbelievable team goal, tippy-tappy into the goal but we've scored tonight and it's taken a deflection and gone in.”

Alex Pritchard handed the Sunderland head coach a perfect start when his 25-yard effort rifled into the bottom right-hand corner, leaving Freddie Woodman with no hope of keeping it out. There may have been some fortune around Clarke’s equaliser against the Millers but Pritchard’s worldie of a strike after just ten minutes a clear sign of the Black Cats taking on board the advice of their new head coach. Pritchard seemed intent on showing his red and white team-mates how it was done with another long range effort moments later, this time Woodman gathering at the second attempt.

The second-half was a flatter affair, with Preston improving on their first-half performance – not that it could have been much worse. But Sunderland defended well and limited the visitors to very little in terms of shots on goal. Beale has spoken about improvement in the boxes and he certainly got that today, albeit his side created little in the second 45. The Black Cats played a lot deeper in the second-half, again, maybe with one eye on the Derby in a couple of days time. They invited pressure but stood up to the task in hand.