The core Sunderland squad back to winning ways this weekend, and one of their loan stars also bagged a huge win for his temporary club, too.
After back-to-back defeats to Leeds United and Hull City, Sunderland had cause to celebrate once more on Friday night when they triumphed in a tight 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
A brace from Eliezer Mayenda sealed all three points for the Black Cats at Hillsborough, to put Regis Le Bris’ men firmly back on track as they look to lock in a play-off spot as soon as possible.
But, looking away from the club, one Sunderland player out on loan elsewhere picked up a crucial win for his new team, and continued his own good form in the process.
Nathan Bishop bags another win and another clean sheet
Nathan Bishop has had an eventful season, to say the least, and not always for the right reasons either.
The Sunderland outcast was on loan at Wycombe Wanderers at the start of the season but picked up a long-term injury after just three games.
His loan spell there was brought to an end in the January transfer window, before he was quickly shipped off to struggling Cambridge United until the end of the campaign.
But, things are looking up for Cambridge, after back-to-back wins, and Bishop has now kept clean sheets in successive games, too.
Cambridge beat Crawley Town 2-0 on Saturday afternoon, to climb above their relegation rivals and move to within four points of 21st placed Burton Albion with a game in hand.
Throughout the 90 minutes, Bishop made one save, one high claim, one punch, and one clearance on his way to registering the clean sheet.
| Statistics | Nathan Bishop vs Crawley |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Saves | 1 |
| High claims | 1 |
| Punches | 1 |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Pass success | 44% |
| Long ball success | 31% |
| Touches | 34 |
He may be a little concerned that his pass success rate was only 44% from his 27 passes on the day, with a 31% success rate on long balls. But, if it’s a toss up between good passes and three points, we know which one Bishop would take all day.
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Maybe Nathan Bishop can have a future at Sunderland after all
Bishop did not have the best start to life at Cambridge United, with a crushing 4-0 defeat in his second game for his new club.
But, these last couple of games have been a lot more positive, and it’s hoped Bishop has now turned a corner in his career.
If he can keep up this form until the end of the season, not only will he steer Cambridge to safety, but he may also revive his own flailing career at Sunderland, too.
With Anthony Patterson coming under fire of late, Simon Moore a backup at best, and Matty Young perhaps still lacking the necessary experience to step in, we could yet see Le Bris turn to his forgotten man and give Bishop one final chance to make a success of himself on Wearside.