In soaking conditions on Saturday at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland proved two very important points:
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Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman, and Florent Ghisolfi have provided Régis Le Bris with a squad that is absolutely capable of succeeding in the Premier League.
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The cerebral and slightly enigmatic French coach has the tactical insight to make the very best use of the players now at his disposal.
After going two-nil down after 15 minutes to an established, high-flying Premier League side, most newly-promoted teams would have been expected to ship another few goals and succumb to a chastening defeat.
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Not this Sunderland team – driven by the unbending determination of Granit Xhaka and the creativity of Enzo Le Fée, they fought their way back into the match, starting the second half by clawing themselves level with Bertrand Traoré’s superbly worked equaliser.
After 63 minutes, with the match finely balanced, the introductions of Brian Brobbey, Romaine Mundle, and Trai Hume were not simply like-for-like changes. Brobbey replaced Wilson Isidor and immediately brought his physical presence to bear on a tiring Bournemouth defence, and he rightly gained the plaudits for his match-winning contribution.
But, arguably, it was the two survivors of the promotion-winning side who made a bigger impact by containing a dangerous Cherries attack.
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Mundle replaced Chemsdine Talbi in what could have been considered a straightforward replacement. It was far from that.
Romaine Mundle’s value lies as much in the defensive work that he does as the undeniably brilliant ability he has to attack, by driving in and creating chances or unleashing strikes.
Trai Hume was a casualty as Le Bris moved to a more aggressive four at the back. The young Northern Irishman replaced goalscorer Bertrand Traoré, who had delivered his best performance in red and white to date.
If Hume had taken his omission badly, it certainly did not show in his performance. He marauded up and down the right wing, putting pressure on the Bournemouth defenders and delivering dangerous crosses. At the other end, he provided much-needed support to Nordi Mukiele, who had endured a difficult afternoon against the talismanic Antoine Semenyo. And there was the trademark seismic sliding tackle that strikes fear into the most robust of attackers, followed by the roar of H-u-u-u-m-m-e from the crowd.
There have been comments from some on social media that Hume isn’t good enough for the Premier League and doesn’t merit a place in the starting XI – now would be a very good time for those making those comments to review their opinions. Brobbey’s goal changed the outcome of the game – but it was Hume’s introduction, as a wing-back supplementing Mukiele and in midfield springing attacks with Xhaka and Le Fée, that changed the momentum just as Bournemouth were trying to wrestle back control. However good Mukiele and Geertruida may be defensively, they have yet to show the attacking threat that the boy from Ballymena brings.
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Such was Hume’s impact that Semenyo eventually changed to the opposite wing – only to find his contribution nullified by the experienced Reinildo, who delivered probably his best performance to date, superbly backed up by the returning Mundle.
Régis Le Bris is facing big challenges this week, at Anfield and the Etihad, which would be daunting enough for any manager, let alone one experiencing his first season in the Premier League. He goes into those games with a squad of players who have provided him with the confidence that they can succeed in whatever tactical formation he chooses.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
