A surprising 3 points: 5 reflections on West Brom v Sunderland
Sunderland returned to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, as they claimed a surprising 1-0 victory over play-off chasing West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
Pierre Ekwah scored the only goal of the game just before the half-time interval, after Albion striker, Brandon Thomas-Asante, was sent off for two yellow card offences only four minutes earlier.
Here are the key talking points:
A SURPRISING THREE POINTS
You only have to look at both sides’ recent form to look at how surprising this win was for Mike Dodds’ side.
Carlos Corberan’s men, sitting in fifth place in the league, were unbeaten in their previous 10 matches, scoring 23 goals in that run, and have only lost once at home since the turn of the year.
Meanwhile, the Black Cats’ season has fizzled out and had only won once since February 10, so the full-time result was another shock to the division on a weekend where all of the league’s top three failed to win.
Yet here, the Baggies’ attacking threat was nullified by a Sunderland side that have now kept three clean sheets on the spin and built upon their impressive defensive display at Elland Road on Tuesday night, with a similar one here.
THE KEY MOMENT
42 minutes were on the clock when Thomas-Asante lunged in on Jack Clarke.
The referee, Matt Donohue, duly gave a yellow card to the striker, but only one minute later, Thomas-Asante was back in the spotlight as his challenge on Dan Ballard resulted in the referee giving him his marching orders.
That was, undoubtedly, the decisive moment in the contest, as after the incident, the Black Cats were in complete control.
Dodds’ side did well in their defensive-five shape to limit the number of chances that the Baggies had throughout the game, but without their leading scorer, Albion struggled to really test Anthony Patterson.
EKWAH STEALS THE SHOW
There have been many questions of Ekwah this season, but as the Black Cats’ form has begun to pick back up over recent weeks, fans have seen a more consistent performance level from the Frenchman.
A sublime half-volley from Callum Styles’ corner capped off another superb afternoon for the midfielder, as his first-half injury-time strike proved to be the decisive goal.
Throughout the 90, though, Ekwah was effortless within possession and eased around the Hawthorns turf with a midfield freedom that fans haven’t seen too much this season.
A MILESTONE BROKEN
For a few moments in this campaign, part of the Sunderland fanbase were looking down the table, rather than up.
During the latter days of Michael Beale’s reign and the start of Dodds’ third time in charge, relegation was dubbed as a slim chance for the Black Cats, but the mass number of sides below them and a recent up-turn in form has meant that they have eased any relegation fears.
Saturday’s win over West Brom, though, has confirmed their Championship survival and secured that they will be in the second-tier next season.
BACK TO THE RETRO RANGE
Friday’s announcement of hummel being Sunderland’s new Technical Kit Partner created a lot of anticipation from the fanbase, as the multi-million-pound agreement “rekindles an iconic alliance first born in 1988”.
And fans were given their first taste of the new hummel range on Saturday, as the players arrived in retro 1992 FA Cup final walk-out jackets; part of the new range, with a 1993-94 third shirt that has never been on sale previously, which will be released to supporters on Monday (15th April).
The club’s new kits for the 2024-25 season won’t be released until the summer before they return for pre-season, but if the early retro range is anything to go by, the kits will be snapped up by supporters.
