Regis Le Bris will be anticipating a response from his Sunderland troops today in what could be a fiery midday Championship contest against near neighbours Middlesbrough.
Michael Carrick’s men, much like the Black Cats, will harbour promotion hopes of their own, but have started this season slower than the hosts with only two league wins picked up from five.
Whereas, Le Bris’ oufit have four victories next to their name so far and will be confident about challenging near the top all season long for a spot up to the Premier League, despite unexpectedly coming up short against Plymouth Argyle last time out in a 3-2 defeat.
Daniel Ballard might well found he’s out of the Sunderland lineup for today’s relatively local affair at the Stadium of Light, owing to the fact he did hobble off injured at Home Park at the end of the 90 minutes after a dire showing.
Ballard's performance vs Plymouth
While the suggestion is that Ballard will be fit to feature, it might well be time for Le Bris to change up his centre-back options anyway, as the former Arsenal youth product struggled in Devon.
Ballard would unfortunately start Sunderland’s downfall on their travels by accidentally scoring an own goal to give Wayne Rooney’s Pilgrims a lifeline back into the game at 1-1, before two further goals for the home side allowed Plymouth to make an unbelievable 3-2 win a reality.
The 24-year-old’s nightmarish afternoon didn’t end at the embarrassing own goal, however, with Ballard also giving away the penalty that allowed Ryan Hardie to level proceedings for his side by clumsily clattering into the striker, before Joe Edwards then bagged a last-gasp winner to pile on the misery.
He did win nine duels in the contest away from just being an unlucky presence but the damage had already been done, with Sunderland Echo journalist Phil Smith handing out a low 5/10 rating to Ballard in his post-match musings, stating that the 6 foot 2 defender will definitely feel ‘frustrated’ with his display.
Le Bris might gift Chris Mepham his debut in Ballard’s place, with the Black Cats snapping up the Welsh defender on loan late into the transfer window, whilst Eliezer Mayenda will also fear for his starting spot after a forgettable offering at Home Park from the young striker.
Mayenda's performance vs Plymouth
Mayenda did have two goals and two assists in the league next to his name going into this clash, but never really looked like scoring or creating an opening for a teammate versus Plymouth.
From his lacklustre 79 minutes on the pitch, the promising 19-year-old would only muster up a poor 18 touches of the ball, with the Plymouth defenders very rarely feeling threatened by the teenager when he powered forward.
Stat
Mayenda
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
Big chances missed
1
Touches
18
Accurate passes
4/6 (67%)
Total duels won
4/11
Glancing at the table above, it was a quiet day at the office from the Sunderland number 12, to say the least, with Mayenda only managing four accurate passes when played into the contest.
In truth, the still-raw attacker was isolated for large patches of the game and did shine on occasion with one big chance missed, but Le Bris could well feel a tweak up top is necessary to get the better of Carrick’s Boro this lunchtime.
Mayenda would end up receiving the same 5/10 rating as Ballard by Smith, who labelled his time on the pitch as ‘relatively quiet.’
Wilson Isidor could be gifted his first start for his new club in the 19-year-old’s place, therefore, having been substituted on at Home Park.
Or, Nazariy Rusyn will be lucky and emerge out from the periphery under Le Bris to lead the line, having scored against Boro last campaign at the Riverside Stadium.
Whatever does happen later today, the alarm bells won’t be sounding just yet, as Sunderland strive to get back to winning ways after getting their first hiccup under their new French boss out of the way.
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