“He was absolutely outstanding” – Sunderland fan pundit heaps praise on midfielder after Championship return | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland began life back in the Championship with a 1-1 draw against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

A Jack Clarke goal gave the hosts a lead they deserved in an impressive first-half display, and whilst the Sky Blues improved after the break, it appeared Alex Neil’s men were set for the points until a fantastic individual effort from Viktor Gyökeres drew the visitors level.

That’s how it would end and even though the late goal was frustrating, there were positives to take, with Black Cats fan pundit Jack Austwicke telling FLW that there were two standouts from the game.

“I was impressed by quite a few players on Sunday against Coventry. I thought Dan Ballard played really well, he was very commanding in defence – it was a solid debut for him.

“Also, Alex Pritchard, he obviously got Sky Sports man of the match, and deservedly so, he was absolutely outstanding. You can tell he’s a man who has played in the Championship and even the Premier League before. He was a standout again, he’s a brilliant, brilliant player.”

Neil’s men are back in action this weekend when they travel to take on Bristol City.

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The verdict

It was interesting to see how Sunderland would do back in the Championship and whilst that’s only one game, it showed they have enough to be competitive.

As Jack says, Pritchard was the standout performer, impressing with his quality on the ball and you would expect him to be a key performer this season, with Ballard also showing his worth.

So, it was a good opening day for Sunderland in terms of the performance and it’s now about building on that moving forward.