Sunderland could've beat Norwich if one star was axed from the game quicker

Sunderland could’ve beat Norwich if one star was axed from the game quicker

Sunderland are still yet to pick up a single point since Mike Dodds took back the reins as interim Black Cats boss, with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Norwich City just another crushing blow in a shambolic season.

Josh Sargent would break Sunderland hearts in the final ten minutes at Carrow Road, the clinical American striker powering home with ice in his veins after a long ball into the Black Cats’ box had caused widespread panic.

Now onto 16 defeats in the Championship, Dodds’ side are crying out for an attacker of Sargent’s ilk to lead the line at the Stadium of Light with this striker in particular letting the abysmal Black Cats down on their travels yesterday.

Luis Semedo’s performance vs Sunderland in numbers

Young Portuguese summer recruit Luis Semedo would be handed just his second start of the season against the Canaries, a personnel decision by Dodds that just didn’t work when viewing the 20-year-old’s lacklustre showing.

The former Benfica prodigy would only muster up 12 touches of the ball from his 66 minutes on the Carrow Road turf, cutting an isolated figure in Norfolk as a result.

Unable to register a single shot on Angus Gunn’s goal also, Semedo was unsurprisingly hauled off by Dodds for other attackers to get their moment to shine late on in the second half.

Semedo’s numbers vs Norwich

Minutes played

66

Touches

12

Shots on goal

0

Successful dribbles

0

Accurate passes

7/8

Duels won

3/4

Stats by Sofascore

It wasn’t a real surprise to see Semedo’s poor performance receive scathing criticism in the aftermath of the 1-0 defeat therefore, with BBC Sport Tyne and Wear pundit Gary Bennett laying into the out-of-sorts striker on commentary duties.

He stated that Semedo looked “lost”against David Wagner’s hosts, Bennett was also unimpressed by the youngster’s commitment to the cause – further lambasting the 20-year-old for “just jogging about” at points.

Dodds, in retrospect, might well have kept the ex-Benfica sensation on the pitch for far too long to the overall detriment of his side.

Instead, if the interim Black Cats boss had just introduced Nazariy Rusyn into the contest quicker, Sunderland could have unsettled Norwich a lot more and stood more of a chance at picking up a big three points.

Nazariy Rusyn’s performance vs Norwich in numbers

Rusyn was far more dangerous going forward from his short cameo against Norwich than Semedo managed from a forgettable 66 minutes, managing to fire two on-target efforts at Gunn’s net from only 24 minutes played.

One of those opportunities would go down as a big chance missed, the Ukrainian attacker far more of a nuisance for Norwich to contain than the passive Semedo.

Over the course of a full match, Rusyn might well have been too tricky for the Canaries to thwart with Dodds then staring at more points on the board than another unwelcome zero.

Winning 100% of his duels at Carrow Road too, the 25-year-old could well be in line to start Sunderland’s next Championship clash against Leicester City to try and unsettle the Foxes who are faltering at the top of the division.

The Black Cats are experiencing a far worse wobble than Enzo Maresca’s league leaders, however, with Dodds just trying to piece together currently what his best XI is.

Looking at the 1-0 defeat on the road at Norwich, Semedo should be axed for Rusyn to lead the line on Tuesday night in one change Dodds will consider.