Sunderland boss Michael Beale has heaped praise on one player in particular after the draw against Middlesbrough.
Sunderland headed to the Riverside Stadium off the back of a comfortable 3-1 win over Stoke City, while they sought revenge for the 4-0 hammering in the reverse fixture back in October.
Despite a promising first half display, the Black Cats were far from the best in the second and it came as no surprise when Middlesbrough eventually opened the scoring – despite wrongly being awarded a free-kick against Dan Neil in the build-up.
Michael Beale’s side looked set for another defeat until Jack Clarke and Nazariy Rusyn worked up a little bit of magic to gift the visitors a point.
While it was another underwhelming performance for the most part, Beale has admitted he was still left very impressed by Leo Hjelde.
The defender completed a move from Leeds United last week and was thrown straight into the starting line-up.
Speaking after the game, Beale said: “I thought he did fantastic.
“Someone who’s just come in and has only known the players for three or four days.
We know he’s played in this league. We know that he’s played in the Premier League as well for Leeds, so there was no doubt putting him in.
“I thought he showed what he can bring to the club today. Obviously he can play left back. He’s more comfortable left -sided centre -half, but I think he’s a player at 20 that we’ve done very well to recruit.
“I thought as a debut and a 90 minutes, I thought he goes away with a big pat on the back.”
Should Jenson Seelt be in the starting line-up?
It was definitely a promising debut for Leo Hjelde, while Sunderland actually looked pretty strong in defence overall.
While the Black Cats have really struggled in the final third recently, their backline appears to have firmed up since the 3-0 loss to Coventry City in Beale’s first game in charge.
It does feel very harsh on Jenson Seelt that he has returned to the bench, though he is likely to earn his place back in the team if Luke O’Nien or Dan Ballard receive another booking and a suspension as a result.
O’Nien’s potential absence could be dangerous for the captain, with the Dutchman likely to provide a good shout for a regular place in the squad if he can keep up his performances.