David Elliott says…
Nilson Angulo catches the eye
Angulo was really lively and caused them a lot of problems.
His closing down is excellent. He’s so quick and he laid on the goal very well indeed.
Jules Ahoka…superb!
Ahoka definitely looks the part — calm, strong and protects the ball well.
I don’t think he gave up possession all game.
Sunderland fail to see it through
We’re unable to close out games at the moment and we do look a bit vulnerable at the back.
Teams seem to finding space in our channels between lines and consequently that allows them to run at us.
Our finishing was poor
Chris Rigg was probably the only one to strike the ball cleanly at goal. Otherwise, we didn’t shoot when the chance was on, shot when we should’ve passed and scuffed very presentable openings.
Maybe someone is in for a right hiding soon.
John Wade says…
A good night for Jules Ahoka
He looks so assured in the middle of the park providing a link between attack and defence. Some good tackles and some good through balls.
We’ve got a hell of a player on our hands there.
Much more positivity in our wing play
Hopefully Nilson Angulo and Malick Fofana have been given instructions to try and beat their man.
We looked far more threatening when we give them the ball facing the full backs and let them run.
Chances created — chances spurned
Much like the Brentford game we created a lot of chances and got some shots in but we aren’t particularly clinical in their box.
It will come, I’m confident.
Two points dropped?
Not closing the game out due to the above cost us a perfect start to the campaign.
We can still remain positive by staying unbeaten, but we should’ve been further ahead in the first half. We also had chances to score in the second half and didn’t take them.
John Wilson says…
Lively movement
What a joy to watch that movement by the Lads.
A breath of fresh air. Running off the ball, flicks, through balls, wingers taking on the full backs, and a very early goal to settle the nerves.
We should have been more than one goal up at half time, but nevertheless, an exciting first half.
A cracking performance from Nilson Angulo
There were a few players who shone, but my pick of the bunch was Angulo.
A proper livewire, who took his man on every chance given. We definitely lost an outlet when he went off.
No case for the Sunderland defence
Despite our attacking prowess, and the standard of opposition, our defence still seems open and unorganized.
It all seemed a little ragged when they were pressed. No drama in this game, but against better opposition, we still haven’t regained the tight defence from last season.
Poor finishing from the Lads
Our finishing was appalling.
For all the possession and shots on target, we should’ve scored a hatful. Yes, the pitch was awful again, but we need more composure and accuracy in the final third.
A point away is always decent, but it was ultimately disappointing given the chances we had.
Malc Dugdale says…
A good night for the kids
Great performances from Timur Tuteriov and Jules Ahoka.
The young lad has the goal he should’ve had in Portugal, and even the TNT commentators were raving about Ahoka.
The future is very bright for the team.
Robin returns!
Roefs kept that from being a loss. No two ways about it and the double save in the second half reminds us how good that lad is.
A point secured in Europe thanks mainly to the Dutch diver
We’ve started but we…won’t finish?
We created loads and couldn’t convert and if we had, we would have won that comfortably.
It bodes well for when Wilson Isidor and Brian Brobbey return. We’ll kick on when all players are back for sure
A flat display from Malick Fofana
Once again, the man who created all the fuss in the summer was OK but not stellar against a team who are nowhere near Premier League quality.
He had great chances to both create and convert and didn’t really shine at all. With players like Jules Ahoka gathering mass plaudits, we have to hope he develops like Brobbey rather than flopping like Simon Adingra.
It’s too early to write him off but some output soon is getting more and more important for the young and apparently hot prospect.
Max Clark says…
Some good forward play
Some of the attacking play was much better tonight.
Angulo looked much more energetic and Diarra makes a huge difference in the side.
Some of the flicks round the corner for us to get onto were positive just lacking that finishing touch again.
Robin Roefs answers any critics
After many questioned whether he had taken a step back compared to his form last season, the last two games have shown he’s still a top quality keeper capable of winning us points with his saves.
Intensity…or a lack thereof?
Defensively, we really lacked it at points.
We were too passive, allowing Poznan to come onto us even when we were in the ascendancy. Whether that’s confidence or what, it’s something that needs to be addressed.
Granit Xhaka’s slump continues
I must admit i’m slight worried about Xhaka’s levels at the moment.
Nothing to do when he has the ball — he’s still the most intelligent player on the pitch and capable of picking a pass and controlling a game with the ball, but without it, he seems to be bypassed far too easily at the moment.
Whether that was due to Noah Sadiki coming out of the side from the off, it’s really concerning me right now.
Owen Sara says…
Jules Ahoka: the new midfield dynamo?
Absolutely effortless again.
Put himself about, did his bit defensively and won second balls. Everything needed for a number six,
Only his sixth senior game but you’d think it was his seventy seventh. He may finally be that dominant box-to-box we’ve been crying out for
Chance creation
We were so much more positive and even from kick off, we were aggressive and on the front foot.
We pressed well and that lead to the first goal. Nilson Angulo was equally as impressive on the right wing and I thought he had an excellent sixty-minute spell.
Old weaknesses exposed
We got our press wrong far too many times and a better team would’ve put three or four past us.
We still seem as shaky at the back as we were against Ipswich and something has definitely gone awry with our defensive shape since last season.
Lack of cutting edge
Despite our chance creation being the best it’s been all season, we were so poor in front of goal.
We had so many chances which we sliced wide or put straight at the goalkeeper. That ultimately cost us again and we’ll be ruing those missed chances.