After Sunderland’s 2-0 victory over Preston to start 2024, there were many topics of discussion at the Stadium of Light.
In front of the Sky cameras, the Black Cats took all three points thanks to goals in the first half from Alex Pritchard and Nazariy Rusyn, who scored his first goal for the team. Some of the moments you might have missed are listed below:
Pritchard overcame a holiday illness to be brought back to Sunderland’s starting lineup. Although the playmaker’s goal in the tenth minute gave Sunderland the lead, the Preston players felt they should have been given a throw-in instead because it seemed like the ball had rolled off Jack Clarke before the call was made in favor of Sunderland.
“That’s difficult for the referee to see, but it probably comes from Clarke’s heel,” ex-Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth remarked in the Sky Sports studio. “After that, there are more than 20 seconds of playback. “Would that have returned to the throw-in had it been the Premier League?”
Luke O’Nien’s ingenious action
Just before the half, Clarke scored Sunderland’s second goal after dribbling past Ali McCann, who had been given a playing advantage by referee Oliver Langford for a foul on the Preston player, and Jordan Storey. Clarke then set up Rusyn with a low cross from the left.
After thanking the wideman directly for his assist, Rusyn walked to Luke O’Nien to push the Ukrainian forward into the Roker End so he could accept the plaudits. In addition, Clarke praised goalkeeper Anthony Patterson for his rapid throwout to initiate the attack and acknowledged Patterson’s contribution to the goal.
Beale and Rusyn’s halftime conversation
Even though Beale has only been in charge of Sunderland for four games, the head coach is aware of the strikers’ lack of faith in the team.
Beale phoned Rusyn before exclaiming, “Naz, you scored,” with a smile on his face as the players came off the dressing room, captured on the club’s Access All Areas camera. Supporters of Sunderland will be hoping that Rusyn’s goal is only the beginning for the Ukrainian.
Newcastle vociferations
Sunderland’s next match is a major Wear-Tyne rivalry against Newcastle at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. The matchup will mark the teams’ first meeting in over eight years, and supporters were already thinking about it during the Preston match, with Roker End supporters yelling, “Stand up if you hate the Mags.”
Breaks for the man of the match award
After scoring his first goal of the year, Pritchard was named Sky’s man of the match. In his past six Sunderland outings, which only include three starts, the playmaker has also provided three assists.
The trophy seemed to shatter in Pritchard’s hands as he was leaving the field after accepting the man-of-the-match award and speaking with Jack Clarke in the post-match interview. More significantly, with fewer than six months remaining on his deal, Sunderland needs to decide whether to keep the 30-year-old on staff.
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