Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion played out a frustrating 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, but it was a particularly bad night for one player.
With both sides looking to bounce back from disappointing draws at the weekend, it was Sunderland who looked most likely to make a breakthrough in the midweek game.
However, Regis Le Bris’ team once again lacked a cutting edge, and wasted a number of good opportunities to win the game.
Still, the Sunderland players get some credit for their efforts against West Brom, while a player on the other side of the game had very little to be positive about in more ways than one.
- READ MORE: Sunderland squad must ‘improve’ on one thing ahead of West Brom clash warns Regis Le Bris
Josh Maja gets booed by Sunderland fans
Josh Maja came through the ranks at Sunderland as a youngster, before moving to France to join Bordeaux in 2019. He’s now found his way back to England, but his trip to the Stadium of Light this time was not a happy one.
The striker was largely absent from the game, save for one or two half chances. He was eventually taken off by Carlos Corberan in the 79th minute after failing to make an impact.
According to James Copley on Twitter/X, the Sunderland fans booed and jeered Maja as he left the field of play, and the 25-year-old was met with a hostile reception every time he touched the ball during the game, too.
Sunderland fans are still unhappy with Maja for the way he forced an exit from the club years ago, after what he described as an ‘unfair’ portrayal of events in the Sunderland Til I Die docuseries.
- READ MORE: Regis Le Bris hails ‘impressive’ Sunderland duo after watching them shine in new positions
Prolific striker couldn’t break down Sunderland defence
It was a pretty poor night from all the attackers on the field, to be fair, but Maja really struggled up top for the Baggies, with very little service, and poor finishing when opportunities did come his way.
A lot of credit for that has to go to the defensive duo of Chris Mepham and Dan Ballard, though, who were the two best Sunderland players on the night.
| Statistic | Josh Maja vs Sunderland |
|---|---|
| xG | 0.24 |
| Shots off target | 1 |
| Big chances missed | 1 |
| Touches | 23 |
| Possession lost | 1 |
Maja has been in fine form this season, bagging 10 goals in 17 league games, but he looked a far cry from that player at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland have stifled one of the best strikers in the league, but they will have wanted more from their own forwards on the night to show that cutting edge and take all three points.