{"id":802909,"date":"2026-03-04T07:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/802909\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T07:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:09:16","slug":"2-up-2-down-sunderland-see-off-leeds-for-a-precious-away-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/802909\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland See Off Leeds For A Precious Away Victory!"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAWAY THE PODCAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you heard about Haway The Podcast<\/strong>, the official Roker Report Podcast? We\u2019d love you to check it out and give it a listen!<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to basics and back to our best<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a classic but the performance against Leeds showcased a lot of Sunderland\u2019s best attributes under R\u00e9gis Le Bris.<\/p>\n

The team was organised, focused and put their bodies on the line, and whilst they didn\u2019t create too much, they didn\u2019t need to because they got the job done without having to stretch themselves.<\/p>\n

Considering how much was made about the Elland Road atmosphere and how good Leeds are under the lights, you have to credit Sunderland\u2019s resilience and mental toughness and to come back from a run of disappointing results in the league with two goals and two encouraging results on the road was the perfect response.<\/p>\n

New and old coming to the fore!<\/p>\n

The starting eleven featured a few enforced changes and the side was arguably the least experienced we\u2019ve seen since our return to the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Not one player looked out of place, with the stalwarts as committed as ever and the two faces making their full debuts at this level \u2014 Melker Ellborg and Luke O\u2019Nien \u2014 slotting in perfectly too.<\/p>\n

Whereas we all knew O\u2019Nien could do it, the goalkeeper was an unknown quantity yet he couldn\u2019t have asked for a better night. So far so good for Ellborg, who on first showing seems composed and good with his feet \u2014 and could turn out to be another excellent find from relative obscurity.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that he wasn\u2019t even a regular at Malmo, so for him to seem so mature was hugely encouraging, and he\u2019ll have certainty appreciated the efforts of those in front of him that worked so hard to make his life relatively easy.<\/p>\n

The treatment table remains occupied<\/p>\n

Although the lads coming in as a result of the absences have done well, the squad is now getting stretched to breaking point.<\/p>\n

Losing Robin Roefs would\u2019ve hampered many other sides but whilst we seemed to navigate that loss, we can\u2019t catch a break, with Bertrand Traor\u00e8 the latest to get another knock and at a time when his presence would\u2019ve been very handy.<\/p>\n

The Lads are class and I\u2019m loving how the season is shaping up!<\/p>\n

\"LEEDS,<\/a><\/p>\n

LEEDS, ENGLAND – MARCH 3: Melker Ellborg, goalkeeper of Sunderland and Granit Xhaka of Sunderland celebrate after the Premier League match between Leeds United and Sunderland at Elland Road on March 3, 2026 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Richard Sellers\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Elland Road is a tough place to go \u2014 especially with something of a patchwork starting eleven \u2014 but that was an extremely impressive performance.<\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t too dangerous in the final third but our defensive display was absolutely enough to get all three points. Each and every player put their all into that win and its made even better with it getting us to the forty point mark.<\/p>\n

Now I hope we can build and push on.<\/p>\n

Luke O\u2019Nien and Melker Elborg impress<\/p>\n

Being thrown into the mix for your Premier League debut is something I imagine would be rather daunting, but they fitted in in seamlessly.<\/p>\n

Elborg looked a but nervous to begin with but he shook it off quickly and earned his clean sheet, whilst O\u2019Nien continued his run of \u2018player of the match\u2019 awards and was very deserving of it.<\/p>\n

I loved watching his celebrations at the end, too. Legend.<\/p>\n

Nilson Angulo catches the eye<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed his contribution.<\/p>\n

I thought he was positive on the ball and used it well when he got it, but also used his energy and pace to defend diligently when it was needed. This sort of game doesn\u2019t strike me as Angulo\u2019s forte, but he\u2019ll clearly do what\u2019s needed in order to help the team.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s starting to show us what he can do and I hope he can push on now.<\/p>\n

Tough luck for Bertrand Traor\u00e9<\/p>\n

I could\u2019ve easily gone for four positives but I thought this was worth a mention.<\/p>\n

I really like Traor\u00e8 and in the games just before AFCON, he was starting to show his class so I was looking forward to him coming back into the fold. Sadly, he didn\u2019t look very comfortable at all when coming back off.<\/p>\n

I hope it\u2019s nothing serious.<\/p>\n

Sunderland\u2019s approach works!<\/p>\n

That plan to frustrate, block, hold up and just make it so very difficult for Leeds to get anything out of the game was nervy but nevertheless, what a superb three points.<\/p>\n

What a battling performance, and we\u2019ve got the forty points \u2014 now to kick on.<\/p>\n

The red and white army deliver again<\/p>\n

When watching the match on TV, our fans could be heard loudly and clearly.<\/p>\n

They dug in just like the team in order to carry us over the line, and could be heard on TNT all through the game.<\/p>\n

It was also lovely to see Granit Xhaka give Luke O\u2019Nien his award. Full of praise, and great respect for each other.<\/p>\n

Some strange applications of the rules<\/p>\n

As neutrals (which we\u2019re not!), there\u2019s a lot wrong with the rules that referees have allowed to creep into the game.<\/p>\n

Pulling and pushing, headlocks, playacting, diving, time wasting, towels, twelve minutes of added time\u2026we did tonight what many teams do to us.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not pretty and it\u2019s not good for the purists, but we don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

A poor but successful penalty from Habib Diarra<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what goes on on the training ground, but Diarra\u2019s penalty was very poor.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to put the ball down the middle, the at least blast it!<\/p>\n

He was a lucky boy, and why did Enzo Le F\u00e9e not take it? All good in the end, but gosh, it was \u2018heart in the mouth\u2019 stuff.<\/p>\n

\"LEEDS,<\/a><\/p>\n

LEEDS, ENGLAND – MARCH 3: Habib Diarra of Sunderland scores the opening goal from the penalty spot and celebrates with his team during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Sunderland at Elland Road on March 3, 2026 in Leeds, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Horrocks\/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) Sunderland AFC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

What a defensive display!<\/p>\n

That was proper old-school, \u2018backs against the wall\u2019 work by the defence and our backup keeper, and they were as much the reason we won that as the penalty taker.<\/p>\n

A masterclass, and Luke O\u2019Nien won \u2018player of the match\u2019 after everyone said he was the potential weak link before a ball was kicked.<\/p>\n

Sunderland finally get some VAR assistance<\/p>\n

If that handball hadn\u2019t been given, I would potentially have driven to Stockley Park and bulldozed the portakabin level, but one of the most blatant handballs was finally given.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had so much bad luck of late and to win that penalty and convert it sort of makes up for some of it.<\/p>\n

Leeds will be seething but we played our strategy to a tee, and the only stat that matters is goals \u2014 just ask Coventry City.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve hit the target we wanted to and we can now set a new one \u2014 as Granit Xhaka said so eloquently at the end.<\/p>\n

This hoodoo of bad results has been ended with four points from two challenging away games, and the Lads have done an amazing job to achieve that.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re putting a good run of form together at the right time and the Mags \u2014 who are now four points behind us albeit with a game to catch up \u2014 are coming soon.<\/p>\n

Incredible. There\u2019s nothing this team can\u2019t achieve.<\/p>\n

A tale of two goalkeepers<\/p>\n

Melker Ellborg did very little wrong, and conversely, the Geordie reject at the other end should\u2019ve done far better with Habib Diarra\u2019s spot kick.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m chuffed that Ellborg got a clean sheet and I\u2019m also over the moon an ex-Mag was involved in the winner.<\/p>\n

Nearly two weeks\u2019 rest now and we kick on again \u2014 with a wee FA Cup tie in there to give the fringe players some time on the park. Sweet!<\/p>\n

Luke O\u2019Nien \u2013 what a legend!<\/p>\n

To have his first Premier League start as captain of Sunderland on the day. He was as competitive as ever at right back and effectively neutralised the dangerous Gudmudsson. With the debutant goalkeeper Ellborg looking very promising and not at all out of place, the defence was excellent, with very few shots getting through to test the Swede. That was important, as it restricted Leeds to very few chances.<\/p>\n

At 66 minutes, the game suddenly livened up, with what looked like a great headed goal by Rodon, and, to be honest, my heart sank. It was given as an offside by VAR, and very quickly we were up at the other end, and after a clear handball by Ampadu, the referee again used VAR, but to award a penalty to us. Diarra stepped in in place of Le F\u00e9e; his shot was unconvincing, but the ball ended up in the net. Our first shot on target, but it shows that even though we are missing ten players, the uncompromising fight and team spirit of this group were still very evident.<\/p>\n

In a generally scrappy game, Leeds had a lot of \u201cpossession without purpose\u201d. I felt in the first half hour the Sunderland midfield did not really get going, and were not affecting the game as they should. After 30 minutes we started pressing higher up the pitch, and threatened more. In the end it did not matter, as the defence was outstanding, with Ballard and Aldrete as solid and effective as ever.<\/p>\n

There were a couple of players, such as Sadiki and Le F\u00e9e, who had quieter games than usual, but it would be churlish to pick on them on a night when we won at Elland Road. This was a solid team performance, for our third away win of the season, which takes us to the magic 40 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HAWAY THE PODCAST! Have you heard about Haway The Podcast, the official Roker Report Podcast? We\u2019d love you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,391,12457,16,15],"class_list":["post-802909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-leeds","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-leeds","tag-opinion","tag-roker-roundtable","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116169655424252144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}