SUNDERLAND claimed their fifth draw in a row last night as they were held to a goalless shutout with West Brom.
Wilson Isidor had a goal ruled out for offside during a closely-fought affair at the Stadium of Light, with former Sunderland striker Josh Maja failing to convert West Brom’s best opportunity in the first half.
What were the main talking points from the game on Wearside?
WATSON IS MORE THAN READY
Eighteen-year-old Tommy Watson is the latest youngster to roll off the Academy of Light production line, with the forward having made his first senior start in the goalless draw with Preston at the start of the month.
Watson was back in the starting line-up for last weekend’s draw with Millwall at the Den, and retained his place on the left of Sunderland’s attack last night.
The teenager was unable to unlock the West Brom defence, but still managed to produce a mature, composed display in which he used the ball effectively and linked up well with those around him.
Romaine Mundle is Sunderland’s first-choice option on the left, and Regis Le Bris will be hoping the winger’s injury absence comes to an end soon. For now, though, Watson has shown he is ready to step in to help plug the gap.
MEPHAM HAS BECOME A KEY PLAYER
Chris Mepham didn’t feature in the opening five games of the Championship season, with Dan Ballard, Luke O’Nien and Aji Alese combining to fill the central-defensive positions.
The Bournemouth loanee got his chance in mid-September though, when Alese and Ballard both became unavailable because of injury, and has started every game since.
Tellingly, Mepham kept his place in the starting side last night even though Alese was back available, partnering Ballard at the heart of the back four as O’Nien shuffled across to right-back and Trai Hume was moved to the left.
The 27-year-old was Sunderland’s standout defensive performer as they kept their third clean sheet in the space of five games, and can now claim to be the first-choice option at centre-half. Even if all the Black Cats’ defenders were to be fit, Le Bris would surely be keeping Mepham in the team.
THE GOALS HAVE DRIED UP
While Sunderland have been keeping things tight in their last few games, they have started to struggle in the final third.
They have now failed to score in three of their last five games, with their main striker, Wilson Isidor, having only found the net in one of his last five outings.
While Isidor has done extremely well since moving from Zenit St Petersburg in the summer, he was originally signed as a wide player rather than a central striker. Eliezer Mayenda started the season effectively as a ‘number nine’, but was struggling to get a game while on loan at Hibernian last season, and while Aaron Connolly has impressed since joining as a free agent, scoring in the draw at Millwall, he remains a player who has played very little football in the last couple of seasons.
There was always a chance Sunderland’s failure to sign a proven striker in the final week of the transfer window could hurt them, and at the moment, Le Bris could probably do with another attacking option he could try.
It could also be argued that Sunderland are missing Jack Clarke, who turned so many tight matches in their favour last season. Last night’s game was exactly the kind of finely-balanced affair where one moment of magic from Clarke might have made all the difference.
LE BRIS IS SLOW WITH HIS SUBS
Should Le Bris have been more willing to turn to his substitutes’ bench in the last couple of games?
On Saturday, as Sunderland were trying to hold on at the Den, the Black Cats only made one substitution all game, handing a senior debut to Milan Aleksic, who came on for Aaron Connolly.
Last night, Le Bris made two changes in the 68th minute, with Alese replacing O’Nien in the backline and Mayenda coming on for Watson.
However, Connolly still finished the game as an unused substitute, and Le Bris is clearly extremely reluctant to turn to Adil Aouchiche, whose return to the first-team squad has not seen him get onto the field, or Nazariy Rusyn, who has not featured in a senior game since October 1.
Should the Sunderland boss be more willing to change things in the latter stages of a game? His side had run out of ideas long before the final whistle blew last night, yet he still did not make any alterations in the final 20 minutes.
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