Sunderland gave their Premier League promotion hopes a huge boost with a 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
The Black Cats were not at their best throughout the match but Wilson Isidor and Man of the Match Eliezer Mayenda coolly finished off counterattacks to hand them the victory.
Regis Le Bris’ team have often been unlucky not to win on multiple occasions in recent weeks so it’s about time they got over the line without playing well.
One man had a particularly tough game and many Sunderland fans have not held back in their criticism of him.
Sunderland fans react to Luke O’Nien’s performance vs Sheffield United
Luke O’Nien is a fan favourite at the Stadium of Light because he has been a consistent performer over multiple seasons.
However, the 30-year-old really struggled in Wednesday’s game. He gave away a penalty for shirt-pulling, which Anthony Patterson saved, and later scored an own goal.
It’s an understatement to say that Black Cats supporters were not impressed by his performance, as several displayed on X.
“So why wasn’t a natural use of his left foot used? Weird,” one fan said about O’Nien’s own goal. Another added: “Does O’Nien know what team he’s playing for today?”
A supporter wrote: “O’Nien needs to move out of defence.” One commented: “Luke O’Nien is an awful footballer. Every time I watch him I’m just confused.”
“He’s too old and slow. We need someone younger,” another Sunderland fan posted. “Looks like O’Nien’s 100th appearance is as bad as his 1st,” a Tweet read.
Sunderland’s best centre-back partnership doesn’t involve Luke O’Nien
O’Nien should not be written off after one poor performance – even if it wasn’t his first in a Sunderland shirt.
The Englishman is still a valuable member of Le Bris’ squad and should play many more games throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
However, one reasonable takeaway from the Sheffield United match is that he is not part of Sunderland’s best backline.
The first-choice centre-back partnership when everyone is available should be Chris Mepham and Dan Ballard, with full-backs Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume on either side.