Sunderland goalscorer Dan Ballard had his say on the performance in a short message to the fans.
The Black Cats cemented their 4th placed spot in the Championship with a recent 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light against Norwich City.
It was a tightly-contested game, full of controversy, with Borja Sainz being at the epicentre of such events in the first half, and Sunderland went into the break down by a goal.
However, Sunderland wasted no time to get back on level terms as Dan Ballard cannoned home a header from Eliezer Mayenda’s brilliant cross from the right flank, and they finally got ahead through Jobe Bellingham’s brilliant goal after intricately cutting onto his favoured right foot in a congested Norwich City box.
Whilst they got it over the line in the end, it wasn’t Sunderland’s most assured performance of the season, and goalscorer Ballard has had his say on the showing from Regis Le Bris’ side.
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Dan Ballard believes Sunderland performance vs Norwich City ‘wasn’t amazing’
Despite picking up all three points in a game that required clear determination to come back from a goal down, Sunderland centre-back Ballard was still not entirely content with the showing of his side.
Following the game, he left a short message to the Sunderland fans, via SAFC on X, where he said: “I hope they enjoyed the result, even if the performance wasn’t amazing.”
It was a win for the Black Cats that ensured that Le Bris had maintained an unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light ever since he took over the club, with it also being three victories in Sunderland’s last four.
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Dan Ballard honesty will be crucial for maintaining high levels
Whilst Sunderland still came away with the win, there was no hiding the fact that Le Bris’ side weren’t quite at the peak of their powers, and that is something that could almost prove to be beneficial due to the fact that they were still able to come away with all three points.
The realisation that a side is still able to notch a win when not playing at their best is a sign of a dangerous side that is certainly going places, and Sunderland are no exception to that.
It is also crucial that the likes of Ballard and Le Bris are fully aware of his sides’ strengths, and how they arguably weren’t quite fully utilised against Norwich City, as this will give the Frenchman an opportunity to push his side further beyond what they showed against the Canaries, rather than being complacent.