Sunderland fans were treated to an away win on Saturday, and a massive one at that, with the Black Cats beating West Brom 1-0 in the Championship.
Sunderland’s fortunes have been somewhat mixed since the turn of the year. Especially in the last couple of months and the last several weeks, Regis Le Bris’ side have been in patchy form to say the least.
Before the international break just gone, Sunderland were battered 3-0 at Coventry City in a game that left fans with a really sour taste going into the two week break.
But the break has seemingly done the Black Cats a world of good with back-to-back wins following the restart; Le Bris watched his side beat Millwall 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last weekend, then Sunderland beat West Brom 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Trai Hume scored direct from a free-kick to seal the win and consolidate Sunderland’s spot in the top six. They remain in 4th place of the Championship table but boast a 15 point lead over Bristol City in 6th.
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Sunderland fans chant Enzo Le Fee’s name after West Brom win
The win over West Brom also saw the return of January signing Enzo Le Fee. Sunderland signed Le Fee on loan from Roma during the January transfer window and immediately he looked a cut above the rest, until a muscle injury brought his fine form to a crashing halt in February.
But the Frenchman made his return at The Hawthorns, coming on with 20 minutes left to play and carrying on like he’d never been away. Le Fee helped see out what was a monumental win on the road for Sunderland and their travelling fans, who were in full voice throughout the game and after full-time too.
Speaking on Sunderland Echo’s official YouTube channel after the game, journalist James Copley revealed how the Sunderland fans were chanting Le Fee’s name, and they could even be heard in the background of the video.
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Sunderland star is bound to make way for Enzo Le Fee now
It’s clear that Sunderland fans love Le Fee, and it’s clear to see why. He’s a player with quality well above Championship level and he showed that again against West Brom, albeit playing just 20 minutes of the game.
He’s back just in time for the final run in with six games left to play, though expect Le Bris to be cautious with the Roma loan man given that he’s just returned from injury and that Sunderland are now close to confirming their spot in the play-offs anyway.
Speaking ahead of the West Brom game, pundit Nick Barnes predicted that Chris Rigg will make way for Le Fee at Sunderland and that certainly seems likely to happen, with Le Bris needing to shoehorn Le Fee into the XI somehow, and with Rigg having not been at his best in recent weeks.
Sunderland return to action away at Norwich City on Tuesday.