Michael Beale picked up his second win as Sunderland manager to start 2024 off for the Black Cats in great fashion, the Championship promotion hopefuls comfortably overcoming Preston North End 2-0 at the Stadium of Light.
Beale’s men were clinical in front of goal instead of spurning chances in this encounter, Alex Pritchard’s stunning opener early on setting the pace whilst Nazariy Rusyn looked relieved scoring his first Sunderland strike at the tenth time of asking to secure the three points.
Pritchard coming back into the starting eleven was a masterstroke of a selection decision by Beale, replacing an unfit Patrick Roberts in the lineup and playing the role of a livewire throughout for his team in the win over the Lilywhites.
Alex Pritchard’s game vs Preston in numbers
Although the Sunderland number 21 was put down as a winger when the teamsheet was announced, Pritchard was far more comfortable drifting into pockets of space centrally in the game and exploiting a lack of Preston shirts closing him down.
Drifting into a free part of the Stadium of Light turf allowed the experienced midfielder to open the scoring in the game, the 30-year-old midfielder almost egged on to shoot from distance by the Preston shirts failing to pick him up.
Expertly taken by Pritchard – a wonderful swerving effort tricking Freddie Woodman in the North End net – the goal was surprisingly the former Huddersfield Town’s man first strike of the season.
The attacking midfielder was lively away from just this wondergoal, successful with three dribble attempts in the game – as per Sofascore – when advancing forward alongside getting stuck in when needed with three ground duels won.
This stellar individual display against Ryan Lowe’s Lilywhites means he will more than likely get more first-team opportunities in the weeks to come, an infrequent starting player under the previous managerial reign of Tony Mowbray.
Alex Pritchard vs PNE in numbers | |
|---|---|
Minutes Played | 85 |
Touches | 55 |
Accurate Passes | 32/39 (82%) |
Crosses | 0/5 |
Shots on target | 2 |
Dribbles | 3/5 |
Duels Won | 3/6 |
Possession Lost | 16x |
Stats via Sofascore. | |
One player who has been a colossus all season shone also in the 2-0 win, Pritchard’s standout display stealing the headlines but Pierre Ekwah was equally important in helping the Black Cats comfortably beat the visitors from Lancashire.
Pierre Ekwah’s performance vs Preston in numbers
Ekwah might not have had an audacious strike up his sleeve in the game, but the current Nottingham Forest transfer target was solid and dictated play from a holding position.
Amassing 71 touches in the game, the Black Cats number 39 only misplaced five passes in total with one of those accurate passes going down as an assist for Pritchard’s sensational strike.
The 21-year-old showcased his defensive capabilities in the contest as well, winning six of his seven ground duels to thwart the Lilywhites venturing forward and to help his side keep a clean sheet.
It led to football journalist Andy Tomlinson of the Roker Report handing out an 8/10 rating to Ekwah in his post-match thoughts, stating that the ex-West Ham United youngster was a ‘big presence’ all over the pitch in the 2-0 win.
Sunderland sit pretty in sixth spot now after that assured victory on their own patch, with a mouth-watering Tyne-Wear Derby up next for Beale’s Black Cats in Cup action as a New Year treat.
