There are hardly any positives to take from Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat to Stoke City in the FA Cup besides one player’s impressive performance.
Luke O’Nien gave a penalty away in the opening minutes with a mistimed challenge on Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas.
Substitute Milan Aleksic replied in the second half with his very first touch but Dan Neil’s mistake in extra time resulted in the Black Cats’ exit from the competition at the earliest opportunity.
Overall, it was a frustrating afternoon at the mostly empty Stadium of Light. However, one Sunderland player can be proud of his display.
Leo Hjelde’s impressive performance vs Stoke City
Dan Ballard is currently injured, while Chris Mepham was rested for the trip to Burnley on Friday. This meant that Luke O’Nien and Leo Hjelde were the starting central defenders against Stoke.
Of the two, one would have expected O’Nien to look more comfortable, considering he has now played 26 times for Sunderland this season.
It didn’t play out that way at all as he cost the home side dearly with the penalty incident, whereas Hjelde was solid throughout.
The 21-year-old won two of his three attempted tackles and made five clearances and two interceptions. He also won six of his eight duels.
Plus, the Norwegian completed an impressive 75% of his long balls (6/8) and even created two chances. FotMob gave him a rating of 8.1 – higher than any other Sunderland player.
Leo Hjelde earns more playing time under Regis Bris
Especially when you take O’Nien’s poor form into account, Hjelde’s case to be played more often has suddenly become quite strong.
It seems unlikely to happen but Le Bris should start Hjelde alongside Mepham in the next game, assuming Ballard remains sidelined.
Alternatively, with Aji Alese suffering what unfortunately looked like a long-term injury, Hjelde can replace Dennis Cirkin late in games when Sunderland are holding onto leads.
Either way, Hjelde has earned more minutes after standing out – albeit with little competition – in the FA Cup this weekend.