For the second time in two games, Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland were made to sweat for a result that, for quite a while, never looked like coming.
To think, if Patrick Roberts had not reacted the quickest to Adil Aouchiche’s cross, had Sunderland not shown the resolve to fight back from 2-0 down at Swansea City, the gap between the Black Cats and Championship leaders Sheffield United would have been extended to nine points.
Sunderland would have fallen to fifth, behind Blackburn Rovers.
As it is, Le Bris’ team remain five points adrift of The Blades, and third in table.
It was Roberts on Tuesday, and Jobe Bellingham on Saturday. Arriving late in the penalty area in a manner reminiscent of his older brother, Jobe gleefully powered Chris Rigg’s delivery into the Swansea City net as a 2-1 deficit became a 3-2 lead in the space of just two second-half minutes in Wales.
Regis Le Bris labelled Roberts an ‘example’ to the rest of the Sunderland squad in midweek; the winger showing the character and the resolve to keep going even with 93 minutes on the clock.
This time, it was Bellingham’s turn to be singled out for praise, displaying the qualities Sunderland will need in abundance if they are to build on a run of seven points from a possible nine.
Regis Le Bris hails ‘fantastic’ Jobe Bellingham as Sunderland stun Swansea
“Jobe is a good example [to our other players] and scored a fantastic goal,” Le Bris said at full-time. “He showed this aggressiveness and character that we needed to change the game.
“It was a question of character, resilience and desire. We felt this energy that we wanted to score.”
Bellingham has come on leaps and bounds at Sunderland under Le Bris.
Playing with such a maturity and a confidence that it is easy to forget he is still only 19, the £3 million signing from Birmingham City took his tally to three for the season against Luke Williams’ team.
Back in his favoured midfield role after spending much of 2023/23 as a centre-forward, Bellingham’s ability to time those runs into the penalty box is likely to a weapon Sunderland make much more use of between now and the end of May.
“He’s become a man over the last few months,” Sunderland legend Gary Bennett tells BBC Radio Newcastle. “We talked about how young he was but today, in the middle of the park, I just thought he was outstanding.”
Regis Le Bris hails Sunderland ‘character’ in fightback win
Sunderland have a week off now before Norwich City arrive at the Stadium of Light on December 21st. A third win in four games, meanwhile, would set the Black Cats up very nicely for the Boxing Day trip to fellow high-flyers Blackburn.
“I think we deserved to win, even if we started in the worst way possible,” Le Bris told the media at full-time. “I was confident because I thought we had good qualities a good gameplan. It was a question of character and belief in our qualities, in our way of playing.
“[The way we fought back] was a good sign because, the last five, six, seven games, sometimes we were dominant but we didn’t score or win.
“Today, we showed this character is something we have in our team, and its important for the future.”