Thoughts for the Matchday: Jude Bellingham rejoices after Sunderland wins crucially away from home

The celebration on Wearside last Saturday honored the late, great Shane McGowan, but when the final whistle blew, it was jeers rather than bells at the Stadium of Light that rang out. Boxing Day brought good news to Liam Rosenior’s Hull, as our own Michaelmas Beale was summoned in the hopes of reviving Christmas cheer and getting our discordant footballing choir to sing a few carols.

Although Bradley Dack received an undeserved starting berth, Mick Beale did not wear his Christmas presents, unlike Tony Mowbray and his Boss gilet from the previous season. However, the new manager did bring the sold-out away end one pressie.

Although Beale’s tenure is still in its early stages and our new manager is still assessing the hand he’s been dealt, significant changes were anticipated before our trip to Humberside because of the appalling performance against Coventry. Dack replaced the unimpressive Abdoullah Ba, and Jenson Seelt entered the side to replace the injured Niall Huggins. With the exception of that, we didn’t change.

Jude Bellingham, the newest and most well-known fan in Sunderland, was present, so it was up to the players to deliver the galactico experience at MKM Stadium.

Photo by Ian Hodgson/PA Images via Getty Images

We got off to the first spark of energy we’d grown so used to, but as recent results would show, it would only take an opponent’s goal against the run of play for heads to drop.

Thankfully, we skillfully contained Hull, and Jenson Seelt put himself forward once more for a long-term spot in the starting lineup. Our main source of frustration during the first forty-five minutes of the match was Hull’s well-drilled low block, which seemed to be their go-to tactic this season.

Despite our superiority, we were severely hindered in our attempts to capitalize on our territorial advantage by Dack’s ineffectiveness in the false nine role and the absence of an obvious forward presence. We still had it all to do as the first half ended in a scoreless draw.

The first half of the second half was more open, with both teams coming close in what appeared to be an end-to-end match. It could be argued that both Patrick Roberts and Ozan Tufan for the Tigers should have scored.

We started to reclaim ourselves bit by bit, and we looked much better when Alex Pritchard, who was absent from Saturday’s surrender owing to illness, made his comeback. Jack Clarke, who has been playing a lot this season, came forward as the game appeared to be winding down. He cut in from the left and fired the ball past Ingram, sending the away end in the far corner into raptures.

Beale used some game management to his advantage by inserting Nectar Triantis, who strengthened our defense and helped us secure an extremely important away victory that puts us back in the top six.

Image sourced from Getty Images by Ian Hodgson/PA Images

We would be mired in 16th place with 28 points this season without Jack Clarke’s contributions, which further emphasizes to Kyril Louis Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman how important it is for us to acquire a striker come January in order to have any chance of making the playoffs.

Apart from the natural goal scorer, having a prolific player up top, like Ross Stewart did (at times) last season, gives players like Clarke and Roberts more room to maneuver and create opportunities.

Speaking of January deals, even though I truly like Anthony Patterson, our number one has recently committed a number of extremely dubious mistakes and his distribution has been far from impressive. There is currently a genuine feeling of complacency surrounding Nathan Bishop, who is obviously not preferred, and he would undoubtedly benefit from more intense competition.

Overall, this Boxing Day performance is valuable and will have helped bolster the confidence of a young team that has been lacking it lately.

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