One Sunderland man was praised despite the turgid performance away at Coventry City.
Sunderland were defeated by Coventry City in a 3-0 hammering, which saw the Black Cats struggle to get going at the CBS Arena.
The Black Cats were outclassed by Frank Lampard’s Coventry side, who were on top from the first minute onwards, with striker Haji Wright notably causing havoc for the Sunderland defence.
Across the pitch, there was very little to praise in regards to the performance. Sunderland fans criticised Dan Neil, whilst Chris Mepham notably struggled in defence.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris tried to find the positives in Jenson Seelt notching gametime, but other than that there was little to shout about, except for the performance of one man that the Black Cats fans gave praise for.
Sunderland fans praise Eliezer Mayenda as Spaniard noted as only one that ‘looked bothered’
Throughout the tie, Sunderland never really threatened the Coventry City defence to the point that Sky Blues keeper Oliver Dovin had to make just one save throughout the game.
Nonetheless, there was still one player that at least showed ambition and energy, and that man was Eliezer Mayenda, one of the few players that Sunderland fans gave credit following the defeat to Coventry.
Many fans took to X to criticise the side, but Mayenda was regarded as one of the players that actually ‘looked bothered’, according to one. Another suggested that ‘Eli Mayenda aside that was abysmal from top to bottom’, and he was backed up by another that said that the ‘only one SAFC player on that pitch is worth his salt, Mayenda’.
The attacker was hailed for the fact that he ‘tried hard’, a truly rare sighting at the CBS Arena, whilst another believed that ‘Mayenda and Mundle [were] the only two players that look worth their salt recently’.
Eliezer Mayenda was let down by Regis Le Bris tactical set up
When pointing fingers as to who didn’t quite perform at their top level, and was a big part in the 3-0 sweeping aside of Sunderland, one man that certainly can’t be blamed is Mayenda.
Whilst the Spaniard was largely isolated up front, this didn’t come from a lack of efforts from himself, but more the minimal quantity of chances that Sunderland were able to fashion, which resulted from Coventry doubling up on the Black Cats’ danger men.
Ultimately, the lack of chances fashioned came from the tactical set up deployed by Le Bris, with it resulting in inefficiencies across the park in regards to exploiting Coventry, although it was not helped by the uninspired performances by many individuals.