Talking Points: Points shared, but an opportunity missed for Sunderland at Turf Moor

Yesterday at 01:00 AM

A thoroughly crazy game of association football unfolded on Friday night, with missed chances, goalkeeping capers, and Wilson Isidor front and centre again! Phil West looks at the game's main stories

'Fortress Turf Moor' remains intact…just!

Ahead of this game, the common consensus seemed to be that we would have to conjure up something special in order to do the 2024/2025 league double over the Clarets, and personally, I would've gladly taken a point ahead of kick off.

Burnley's defensive spitefulness is well known. It's almost on par with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side of 2004/2005, and Scott Parker's side had every right to feel confident about their chances of at least shutting us out or perhaps even snatching a win.

As it was, both sides had to settle for a point that keeps them firmly in the race for the top two (although that doesn't tell half of the story) but perhaps hands a slight psychological edge to Sheffield United and Leeds United respectively as this most fascinating of Championship campaigns continues to throw up plot twists all over the place.

In a full-blooded affair during which we gave as good as we got and often matched the hosts stride for stride, we demonstrated that we're maturing and continuing to evolve into a side that truly belongs in the upper reaches of the league.

The class and industry of the likes of Josh Brownhill and Jaidon Anthony was matched by the guile of Jobe (who turned in another monstrous performance and whose composure is almost scary at times) and the determination of Dan Neil, and in the end, it's probably fair to say that a draw was the right outcome.

Wilson, Wilson, Wilson

Cards on the table: I love the guy and this game won't change that.

It was an utterly mad ninety minutes for the on-loan forward, and ten years from now, if you ask your Alexa device to define 'Classic Wilson Isidor', this game will be flagged up.

From charging down James Trafford in the first half to missing a superb opportunity in the second after a brilliant pass from Enzo Le Fée, to missing two penalties (neither of which should've been awarded, on a side note) after all kinds of theatrics from Trafford, this was a game that encapsulated Isidor's Sunderland career more perfectly than any other.

Yes, the two misses were poor and there's a strong argument to suggest that he should've been relieved of spot kick duties for the second attempt, but had he converted it, we would've hailed his strength of character and his willingness to step up for a second time.

On such fine margins do games often swing, and the Frenchman will doubtless be hurting after this, but I won't throw him under any buses and nor, I suspect, will the majority of our fans. It was also great to see his teammates rally round him in the aftermath of the game, which illustrated our iron-clad team spirit once again.

He's a class act and he'll be back. Of that there's absolutely no doubt.

A promising debut for Enzo Le Fée

The inclusion of the Roma loanee in Friday night's starting eleven was a major talking point, and after a week of hype and expectation following his arrival from Italy, Le Fée showed plenty of positive signs and gave everyone reason to believe that he'll be a high-class addition to our ranks.

Deployed on the wing to accommodate Chris Rigg, Le Fée showed plenty of class on the ball, with some neat passes and an audacious ball played through for Wilson Isidor, which the French striker should've buried. He also paid due care and attention to his defensive duties, and grafted as hard as any other player in a Sunderland shirt.

I get a sense that as he settles into English football and his influence grows, Le Fée will force his teammates to play up to his level, and that's exactly what we need.

He's clearly here to play a major role for us, and although he grew tired later in the game, this was a very encouraging debut for our marquee January signing.

Dennis Cirkin eventually recovers from a shaky start

In the early stages at Turf Moor, Cirkin looked decidedly edgy when faced with the lively Jaidon Anthony, but after weathering some early pressure, he eventually settled into the game and began to exert himself more as we started to get a handle on the Clarets' attacking threats.

Cirkin's recent form has been a cause for concern in some quarters but to my mind, he's an absolutely valuable member of our team and you'd like to think he can begin to rebuild and eventually recapture his best form after a tough winter.

Leo Hjelde may be slowly edging himself into the first team picture, but Cirkin needs to take real heart from how he handled the occasion and use it to drive himself on during our upcoming games.

And finally…

I'll keep this brief as it's not really Sunderland-related, but in a heartwarming development, Friday evening saw Tony Mowbray make his return to football as West Bromwich Albion's new head coach.

A class act; a true gentleman, and one of football's good guys, it's great to see Mogga back in the game he loves, and he'll doubtless be greeted warmly by our fans when we make the trip to The Hawthorns later in the season.

Best wishes, and good luck, Tony!