Sunderland U21s have been encouraged to learn from one ‘brilliant’ player in the senior squad.
Sunderland U21s made it five games without a win as they fell to a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Newcastle United yesterday.
While not the best result for the youngsters, a majority of eyes were on the number of first team players who had been included in the starting line-up.
While Pierre Ekwah, Mason Burstow, Timothee Pembele and Nathan Bishop were all given minutes after their absence against QPR, Bradley Dack and Corry Evans made their comeback from injury.
The latter’s performance was the most intriguing, given that he hasn’t stepped foot on the pitch since he was forced off against Middlesbrough 14 months ago.
Evans quickly caught the eye though, thundering in an absolute ‘belter’ from 30 years out to equalise for the Black Cats.
The midfielder was replaced at half-time and unfortunately Graeme Murty’s side went onto lose the game, while Evans’ impressive display spurred the U21s coach onto compliment his ‘brilliant’ influence on the academy players.
Speaking to Sunderland Echo, Murty said: “It’s brilliant. He’s a proper person and a good athlete. He lives right and he works right and his habits daily are top draw. For him as a role model for young players, he’s been top for them. They need to absorb that to see what it takes everyday to have a proper career and make sure they learn from it.
“As I’ve said to them, it’s no good just observing. They have to partake in the game and participate, and I don’t think enough participated mentally for long enough.”
Can Corry Evans have the same influence on Sunderland’s seniors?
Corry Evans had started 22 games in the Championship prior to his injury last season and had spent a large chunk of it as captain too.
The midfielder’s performances weren’t often appreciated and the little positives he would make would go unnoticed, but it wasn’t until he was out of the team that fans began to wish for him to return.
Sunderland went onto win only two of the following seven games after Evans was sidelined, and while they still reached the play-offs, his absence was particularly noticeable at the key moments.
It has become even more glaringly obvious this time round, with the young players only really having Luke O’Nien to look up to at the moment – and he has been suspended for the past two games.
Players like Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson are having to step up, and they don’t exactly have the experience and leadership that is required of someone you can rely on week in week out.
Graeme Murty clearly believes that Evans had a great impact on his U21s team mentally yesterday, and that makes his potential impact on the senior team in the final month or so of the campaign even more promising.