Sunderland won 2-0 away at Cardiff City in the Championship on Friday.
On Good Friday, Sunderland made their return to Championship action following a two-week hiatus with a trip to Wales.
The Black Cats travelled to the Welsh capital to take on Cardiff City, the play-off front-runners who began the day five points ahead of Mike Dodds‘ team but just one spot above them in the standings.
Before today, Sunderland had not triumphed in seven games. They ended a record of six straight losses with a 0-0 tie against QPR before halftime.
However, the Black Cats led the game today 2-0 at the break.
Adil Aouchiche scored the first goal from the penalty spot, and then shortly after, Joe Bellingham scored his seventh Championship goal of the year to add the second.
Though it will have suited Dodds and Sunderland, who secured a remarkable and much needed victory on the road, the second half proved to be fairly uninteresting.
Jobe Bellingham scores for Sunderland vs Cardiff City
This season, Sunderland has had competition for the no. 9 spot.
Luis Hemir, Nasariya Rusyn, and Mason Burstow are the three strikers the team signed last summer; however, none of them have made much of an impression.
Probably the most exciting of the three, Rusyn is now sidelined by injury, thus Dodds will start Bellingham up front in today’s match.
The 18-year-old has taken the lead multiple times this season, and with displays such as the one against Cardiff, a growing number of people are beginning to believe that Bellingham is at his best at position nine.
During the match against Cardiff, journalist Phil Smith of the Sunderland Echo tweeted:
Jobe Bellingham can ease Kristjaan Speakman striker issues
Kristjaan Speakman has come under scrutiny in the past few weeks.
In addition to lacking a striker—Speakman revealed that the team attempted to sign two—Sunderland is also devoid of experience. The club lost out on a great opportunity to add a striker in January.
Bellingham is one of the team’s more seasoned players, having gained the majority of his experience this year.
If Speakman decides to stick with being a striker, though, the former Birmingham City player might be able to assist with at least one of his Sunderland transfer concerns come summertime.
However, a lot will rely on who becomes Sunderland’s next manager.
Given that Bellingham is currently the Englishman’s best option up front, Dodds might be likely to stick with him for the duration of the season.
And Bellingham will undoubtedly entice the next manager to keep him as a striker if he keeps up his impressive play and displays typical poacher traits like he did with his goal tonight.
In addition to having the physicality to fill that job, he has demonstrated a knack for scoring this season.
Bellingham may still be able to help Sunderland, even though new strikers are expected to join in the summer.
See more updates on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
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