That's what this Sunderland team can do 

01/04/2025 01:00 AM

Sunderland have slipped up in some games recently, but the 2-1 defeat of Sheffield United was an example of us at our very best.

The top-of-the-table clash between Sunderland and Sheffield United is a game that many were looking forward to. Both sides were flying despite recent wobbles. On paper, it looked like our toughest game since welcoming Leeds back in October and it was important that we did back then and start strong.

Thankfully we did and, despite some Luke O'Nien chaos, we got the job done in the first half and saw out the second half incredibly well. This alone was a plus given our tendency to concede goals late on, and do it against a team with the second best away record in the division.

We as fans can be overly critical of one or two poor displays. For large parts of the Blackburn and Stoke games we were poor, there's no denying that, but we should know by now that this group of players have something special about them.

I was a bit anxious going into this one, but I was also confident that we could get a result against a Sheffield United side who have wobbled of late. Our win means they are now three without a win, whilst we are now on a run of just one defeat in seven.

One of the most relieved players in that dressing room at full time was surely Eliezer Mayenda. The grief he was given after the missed opportunities between Christmas and New Year verged on embarrassing, and the 19-year-old now has seven goals and assists in what is his first proper season in English football. The touch to set himself up was perfect and he kept his composure, rewarding RLB for keeping faith in him.

Wilson Isidor got the 'he's not a proper striker' treatment on social media before Christmas. He is the real deal, he went through a barren spell which all players do (Erling Haaland, for example), and now he's bagged two in three and looks back to his best.

The problem with football fans is that there is no in-between. It's either 'we're f****** terrible' or 'we're class' and Sunderland fans have been guilty of this a lot this season. Yes, we could have more points, but every team in the sport drops points, why should it be a disaster when it happens to us?

I've said this countless times and I'll keep on banging this particular drum until I rip through the skin of it. We have a very talented group of players who graft for each other, their boss, and their supporters. The win against Sheffield United is exactly what they are capable of and do you know why?

We've played this sort of football numerous times this season and it's working. We're two points off the automatic promotion spots and still unbeaten at home with over half of our games at the SoL this year done and dusted. Beating teams above us is a sign to the rest of the league that despite the blips along the road, we deserve to be where we are.