Sunderland secured their second win in three games beating Birmingham City 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, with Jack Clarke starring.
The Black Cats took a first half lead in the early kick-off, with Jobe Bellingham scoring in the 17th minute against his former team.
Ryo Miyoshi scored an equaliser for the Blues in the 30th minute though, with the scores level heading into half time.
Sunderland took an early lead in the second half too, with Dion Sanderson putting the ball in the back of his own net.
Adil Aouchiche then scored his first goal for the club since his move from Lorient in the summer, which was Sunderland’s third and final goal on the day which secured all three points at the Stadium of Light.
Despite not scoring, it was Jack Clarke who starred once again for the hosts.
Black Cats star praised once again
Journalist for the Newcastle Chronicle, James Hunter, gave Clarke an eight out of ten in his player ratings, saying:
“Birmingham looked frightened to death every time he had the ball. He set up Aouchiche for the third goal.”
Clarke continues to shine for Sunderland
Clarke has been Sunderland’s star man this season, following the departure of Amad Diallo back to Manchester United following the end of his loan move.
Diallo took all the plaudits last season, but Clarke was an unsung hero, scoring nine goals and getting eleven assists as they made the play-offs in their first season back in the second tier following promotion.
Despite having a young team, manager Tony Mowbray will be looking to build on last season, and Clarke is going to be the one to lead them in that direction.
He already had as many goals as he had last season with nine, with Sunderland’s current absence of a goal scoring striker meaning Clarke has had to lead the way for goals.
Mowbray will certainly be hoping Clarke can keep up his form and avoid injury until at least January, where they can get an experienced striker at this level to get them scoring goals up front, which can then start pushing them higher up the table.