View: Eleanor Dale will be key to success for Sunderland Women
Eleanor Dale has been the standout performer for Sunderland Women this season under the stewardship of Mel Reay.
A slow start to the season was quickly forgotten on Wearside when the Black Cats made it four wins from four against Sheffield United in their last league fixture before the international break.
Dale was on the scoresheet that day, taking her tally up to five for the season in league competition and her form will be key to success this season.
Mel Reay has a cheat code at Sunderland Women with Eleanor Dale
Dale has been arguably the Black Cats’ best player so far this season and her five goals in eight appearances have backed up that argument.
She has been the difference in most of the wins achieved under Reay this campaign and keeping her performances consistent will put the club in good stead to taste success.
According to Sofascore, she averages a goal every 155 minutes which is impressive when taking into account the poor performances in the early stages of the season.
Dale is constantly looking to gain the edge in games with 3.4 shots per game further showcasing the threat that she possesses in and around the box. Perhaps one area that could be improved is the accuracy of her efforts, with only 1.4 of those attempted shots on target.
Goals aren’t the only part of her game either with Dale registering an assist as well. A 65 per cent pass accuracy may not look great on paper, but many of those passes are an attempt to carve out a goalscoring opportunity for her side.
She has excelled off the ball this season as well, with an average of 2.1 interceptions per game. Many of them arrive high up the pitch leading to an opportunity for the Black Cats.
Keeping Dale fit and firing is the main objective for Reay. When you have achieved that, the fundamentals of the side will follow and it could be an excellent campaign for Sunderland Women.
In other Sunderland news, the Black Cats hierarchy would lose a lot of credit if they opt to sell any key players in the upcoming transfer window.
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