Sunderland beat Stoke City 3-1 in the Championship this afternoon.
Sunderland went into a testing game against Stoke City in the Championship this afternoon, made more so after a week of social media backlash aimed at boss Michael Beale.
Fans were left unhappy with his tenure so far after a dismal 1-0 defeat against Hull City at the Stadium of Light last week, but today’s game was a different story.
The scoreline might have flattered the Black Cats who could’ve conceded three themselves, but they got the win thanks to goals from Mason Burstow in the first half, and Abdoullah Ba and Pierre Ekwah after the break.
Phil Smith hails Pierre Ekwah finish
Ekwah has been a talking point for a few weeks now.
The Frenchman has clear ability and on his day, he’s one of the best midfielders in the league.
But he’s too often inconsistent; he can sometimes be lax in the middle of the pitch and sloppy in possession, but today he was steady.
And when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box in the second half, Ekwah made no mistake; he rifled the ball home for his third Championship goal of the season, and much to the delight of journalist Phil Smith.
He posted on X:
More of the same required
Sunderland have been quite one-dimensional this season.
They still rely heavily on Jack Clarke and his goals and creativity, but today, Ba showed that he too can be the man for Sunderland, and Ekwah’s goal also proves that the Black Cats have scorers across the pitch.
And with the striker situation still looking quite perilous for Sunderland, Beale needs players like Ba and Ekwah to continue to chip in with the goals.
Ekwah has all the traits of a well-rounded midfielder; he’s physical, can move with the ball, has a range of passing, and he can finish very well too, but now he needs to do it on a more regular basis.
If Beale can make a regular scorer out of Ekwah then it’ll take a huge strain off his shoulders and off the side in general.
Up next for the Black Cats is a trip to Middlesbrough next weekend; Beale remains a man under huge scrutiny despite today’s win and so a defeat here could spell bad news for the 43-year-old, but another win would do his cause a world of good.