Managerless Sunderland got the better of Carlos Corberan’s West Brom yesterday in an enthralling Championship encounter, Dan Neil’s decisive goal late on against the Baggies ensured a 2-1 win was secured with Brandon Thomas-Asante scoring a consolation strike for the visitors shortly after.
As the rumour mill continues to throw up new wild possibilities for the next Black Cats manager, interim boss Mike Dodds would have been pleased that the drama around Tony Mowbray’s exit from the club didn’t unsettle the players out on the Stadium of Light turf from the task at hand.
Daniel Ballard would break the deadlock with a late second-half header, whilst the aforementioned Neil would go on to score a decisive game-clinching goal by dinking an effort over the on-rushing Baggies goalkeeper with the clock ticking down.
Both of the goalscorers were crucial for the Black Cats, but it was an impactful substitute cameo from Alex Pritchard that completely turned the game in Sunderland’s favour.
Despite only being on the pitch for 28 minutes in total, the former Huddersfield Town man stood out as a key performer for the hosts alongside other heroes stealing the headlines.
Alex Pritchard’s game vs West Brom in numbers
If Pritchard hadn’t been introduced into the contest by Dodds, Sunderland might well have continued to struggle going forward and trudged over the line to an unsatisfactory draw or a demoralising loss.
Instead, with the diminutive 30-year-old on the pitch, the game became more comfortable for Sunderland with the 5 foot 7 attacking midfielder managing to constantly find pockets of space to then cut open a determined Baggies back four at will.
As per Sofascore, Pritchard was 100% accurate with all of his passes in the short but sweet cameo with two of those passes ending up assisting Ballard and Neil. The assist for Neil’s goal, in particular, was impressive, a swift and effective counter-attack with Pritchard’s pass parting the West Brom defence before Sunderland’s number 24 slotted the chance away calmly.
Pritchard managed to have such an important impact in the tight contest despite only registering 18 touches of the ball, with Anthony Patterson in goal for the hosts even amassing more touches with 38.
Not one for wasting passes, the 30-year-old was also important for his side when it came to launching into duels as the game got scrappy towards the end – the former Terriers midfielder successfully winning three of his four ground duels, bettering Niall Huggins who played the full 90 minutes at full-back who only won two.
This blistering appearance from off the bench could well be just the boost Pritchard needed, the exciting attacking midfielder finding first-team chances hard to come by this season under the now-departed Mowbray.
Alex Pritchard’s season in numbers
Before the game against West Brom, Pritchard had only managed two assists from his previous 16 appearances this campaign.
Routinely substituted on by Mowbray – the ex-Black Cats boss often praying that his skilful midfielder could conjure up some late magic when opposition legs were tiring – Pritchard will now be hopeful that he can start Sunderland’s next game against Leeds United on Tuesday night.
If he was selected from the start against the Whites, it would be only the fifth time the veteran EFL figure had been given a start this campaign.
A tricky player for opposition defenders to keep tabs on, whoever comes into the Sunderland hot seat to replace Mowbray must surely utilise Pritchard more effectively and give him more minutes based on his exploits against the Baggies.
