Sunderland made a positive return to action on Saturday, beating Millwall 1-0 in the Championship. But the weekend wasn’t a positive return to action for everyone associated with the club.
Sunderland are back to winning ways beating Millwall 1-0 on Wearside to put behind them the 3-0 defeat at Coventry City that sent them into the March international break.
For Regis Le Bris’ side, it was a hard-fought win against a tough opponent in Alex Neil’s Millwall side, and a win that keeps the Black Cats in 4th place of the Championship table, and now 15 points within the top six.
There were some strong individual performance son Saturday, and some not so too. The Luke O’Nien penalty saga has clouded much of the conversation about Saturday whilst Sunderland fans were unimpressed with Wilson Isidor who seems to have hit a tough patch of form.
Elsewhere on the weekend, there was a real struggle for midfielder Pierre Ekwah. Currently on loan at St Etienne, Ekwah’s side lost 6-1 against PSG in Ligue 1 and are edging closer and closer to Ligue 2 after a run of no wins in 11 games.
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Sunderland’s Pierre Ekwah speaks out after St Etienne 1-6 PSG
After the game, Ekwah addressed the situation, bizarrely suggesting that at home, Etienne ‘are quite good’, despite what was a 6-1 defeat at their home stadium on Saturday, albeit against a very strong PSG outfit. And this isn’t the first time this season that Ekwah has spoken about his struggles at St Etienne.
Speaking after the game, Ekwah told the press: “They had a good start to the second half, which put us in a bit of a bind. We made a few mistakes and we know very well that against Paris Saint-Germain we pay for them dearly, quite simply. There are levers. I think that at home, we are quite good.
“We already have to be more consistent over an entire match. It’s not just the first half, we have to do the first half and the second. On the other hand, we have to be consistent week after week, on the good things we showed today.”
Sunderland’s summer transfer plan for Pierre Ekwah revealed
Ekwah was at one point a very exciting prosect at the Stadium of Light. But his 2023/24 season was a disappointment and his season on loan in Ligue 1 has seemingly panned out to be likewise.
And speaking to Sunderland AFC News earlier in the season, transfer expert Graeme Bailey tipped Ekwah to leave Sunderland this summer, suggesting that he’s simply not a part of the club’s plans going forward.
Bailey said: “It’s up to the player and the club. If the player wants to go then there’s not much Sunderland can do about it. I don’t really think they see him as part of the future, from what I’m told.”
Ekwah’s performances for St Etienne have been criticised in the past and it doesn’t look like matters are getting any more positive, so expect Ekwah to face a very uncertain summer ahead, with another move away from Sunderland – either on loan or permanently – looking very likely right now.
Sunderland return to action against West Brom on Saturday.