One Sunderland star received high praise after a number of first-team stars featured in yesterday’s U21 clash with Leeds United.
Sunderland U21s made it five away wins on the bounce as they enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Leeds United to take them up to fifth place in the PL2 Division 1.
While the Whites are sat ten points below Sunderland, the Black Cats were handed a further advantage with the inclusion of a number of senior players.
Nathan Bishop, Nectarios Triantis, Timothee Pembele, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusyn all started the match at the LNER Community Stadium, having been named on the bench for the first team’s victory over Stoke City at the weekend.
It was the Ukrainian striker who bagged a brace to confirm the win over Leeds, just weeks after netting his first goal for the club against Preston North End.
Rusyn was replaced by Mason Burstow against Stoke, and has since found himself back in the U21 side to get some minutes under his belt.
His performance for the U21s may well have caught the eye of Michael Beale though, with journalist Andy Tomlinson claiming he was a ‘constant danger’ yesterday.
After giving him a nine rating, the Roker Report writer said: “Ran the Leeds right back ragged, never stopped running and was a constant danger. Scored two well taken goals and the only disappointment was that he didn’t complete his hat-trick.”
Should Nazariy Rusyn be starting for the first team?
It’s been a frustrating start to life in England for Nazariy Rusyn, who has only managed six starts in the Championship.
The 25-year-old has put on some promising displays for Sunderland, though his confidence was likely knocked when he was dropped after netting against Preston.
Mason Burstow’s goal against Stoke may force him to settle for a place on the bench for now, though it seems pretty clear to me that he is the best of Sunderland’s striker options right now.
Rusyn is very lively and looks to make a positive impact both on and off the ball.
While Burstow made some good runs against the Potters, he looked very poor on the ball until he scored a goal that he couldn’t really miss.
Rusyn will have spent his first year on Wearside settling in and learning the new language, while he will hope that next season he can really push on and solidify his place in the team.