Jobe Bellingham stole the headlines as Sunderland secured a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City, but there was one other player who ‘didn’t put a foot wrong’ all game.
Sunderland travelled to Cardiff City looking to end their abysmal run in the Championship.
Cardiff had emerged as a dark horse for the play-offs, starting the day five points ahead of the Black Cats, but just a place above them in the table.
Sunderland hadn’t won in their previous seven before this Good Friday clash, halting a run of six straight defeats with a 0-0 draw against QPR before the break.
With pressure mounting on Mike Dodds to win a match, the Black Cats returned to their fluent best as Jobe Bellingham starred as a striker while Adil Aouchiche flourished in a number 10 role.
The Frenchman opened the scoring from the spot with Bellingham scoring his seventh Championship goal of the campaign shortly after.
Many ran out of superlatives to describe the 18-year-old’s performance having watched him dominate the Bluebirds, however, there was another player in red and white who stood out.
Trai Hume ‘didn’t put a foot wrong’ vs Cardiff City
Sunderland may have had three different managers this season, but one thing has remained constant – full-back Trai Hume in the starting XI.
While other first-team stars have suffered injuries or hit a rough patch of form, Hume has been ever-present for the Black Cats, starting in every Championship match this term.
The 22-year-old gets fans off their seats with his ferocious tackles and lung-bursting runs down the right or left flank.
Hume started at right-back against Cardiff City, and it was a typically strong performance from the Northern Ireland international, who won four ground duels, three aerial duels and four tackles.
He successfully shut down the threat of Callum O’Dowda, while setting the standard in possession with an 83% pass completion and two accurate long balls placed.
Bellingham’s complete display as a striker drew the most plaudits, but Sunderland Echo journalist Phil Smith also praised the performance of Hume, claiming he ‘didn’t put a foot wrong’ and awarded him an 8/10 match rating.
Smith wrote: “Didn’t put a foot wrong all game. Won his challenges and put some excellent balls into the box. 8”
After standing up to everything for his country in Northern Ireland’s win over Scotland, the tackling machine rose to the occasion in South Wales by putting in an outstanding performance.
The win leaves Sunderland in the middle of the table, 12 above the relegation zone but 13 adrift of the play-offs.