Following on from a positive playoff finish last season in the Championship, Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats coming unstuck at Kenilworth Road in the semi-final second leg versus Luton Town to lose 3-2 on aggregate, Sunderland currently find themselves competing for the same coveted positions again after 15 second tier matches played.
Mowbray’s men have experienced up-and-down form of late in the division, wins versus recent Premier League sides Watford and Norwich City at home have been dampened somewhat by defeats to Stoke City and Middlesbrough with the latter exposing the Black Cats’ defensive frailties in a dreadful 4-0 defeat.
Last time out away at Swansea City, the Tyne and Wear-based outfit were left frustrated from their trip to Wales – registering 25 shots on goal and accumulating 71% possession versus the ten-man Swans, only for the game to end as a 0-0 stalemate.
It could lead to Mowbray chopping and changing his starting eleven for his side’s contest against Birmingham City this Saturday lunchtime, with new recruit in attack Nazariy Rusyn fearing the worst.
Rusyn’s performance vs Swansea
Joining Sunderland from his native Ukraine, featuring for FC Zorya Luhansk before a move to the EFL presented itself this September, Rusyn has underwhelmed in a Black Cats strip to date.
Scoring an impressive 21 goals from 49 appearances for his former employers, the 5 foot 10 forward was also previously on the Dynamo Kyiv books early into his career before joining Sunderland recently.
He hasn’t been able to translate this blistering goalscoring form he managed for his former Ukrainian employers to the demands of the Championship, netting zero times for Sunderland from seven games with his performance versus Swansea bemusing.
Playing for 56 minutes – 26 of those up against a Swans side missing a man – Rusyn only mustered up one off-target attempt on goal, per Sofascore, with the 25-year-old pedestrian-like throughout the encounter in Wales.
Rusyn’s game v Swansea in numbers | |
|---|---|
Minutes Played | 56 |
Touches | 11 |
Pass Success | 6/8 (75%) |
Shots | 1 |
Expected Goals (xG) | 0.38 |
Duels Won | 100% |
Key Passes | 0 |
Dribble Attempts | 0 |
Stats via Sofascore. | |
He would touch the ball 11 times in total before being put out of his misery by his manager when Luis Semedo replaced him just shy of the hour mark.
It sums up Rusyn’s time in England to date, anonymous up top when he should be the forward player the Black Cats are relying on to kickstart a winning run.
Rusyn’s general performances
Used mainly as a late impact substitute so far at Sunderland, a rare start for Rusyn last match and the subsequent performance he offered up won’t have his manager scrambling to accommodate him in future first-team plans.
Offering up a weak 0.4 shots on goal per game when utilised sparingly so far via Sofascore, the misfiring striker could do with a sustained period in the team to learn the ropes of what’s required of him in the hustle and bustle of a new, challenging league.
Still, for the visit of Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City to the Stadium of Light, Mowbray could be forced into switching up who starts as his lone striker with Luis Semedo and young Chelsea loanee Mason Burstow other potential options – the latter assisting Jack Clarke’s eighth-minute strike away at Sheffield Wednesday in a 3-0 victory back in late September.
Sunderland will just pray that Rusyn starts firing goals in soon for the second-tier outfit, or the club could run the risk of the ex Dynamo Kyiv man flopping completely. For now, perhaps some more cameos from the bench could do the trick.
