Kevin Phillips: Sunderland star was ‘awesome’ in Coventry win
Sunderland managed to turn their poor form around and impressed Kevin Phillips with their Championship playoff semi-final win over Coventry City.
Heading into the first leg of their clash with the Sky Blues, the Black Cats had lost five games in a row, including a 1-0 defeat to QPR, which came even though R’s boss Marti Cifuentes had been placed on gardening leave.
But Sunderland were back to their counter-attacking best against Frank Lampard’s men, with goals from Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda securing a 2-1 win at the CBS Arena.
Coventry controlled possession, but the Mackems proved their clinical nature as well as their solidity at the back.
Phillips wowed by Dan Ballard’s performance as Sunderland beat Coventry
Ballard was one of the stars of the show as the Stadium of Light club successfully defeated the Sky Blues in the West Midlands, ensuring Lampard’s men could rarely threaten the Sunderland goal.
| Dan Ballard stats vs Coventry | [FotMob] |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Clearances | 20 |
| Ground duels won | 2/2 |
| Aerial duels won | 10/10 |
| Pass accuracy % | 62 |
| Goals | 0 |
Speaking on talkSPORT [10 May, 09.28am], Kevin Phillips said: “Every player stepped up. Individuals like Dan Ballard was awesome at the back, brought back into the team. Everyone to a man was excellent.”
Sunderland showed exceptional character in win over Coventry
The Black Cats have played exceptionally well for large parts of the season and were thoroughly deserving of their fourth-place finish in the Championship.
Regis Le Bris’ men came out of the blocks exceptionally well at the start of the campaign, and looked capable of troubling the likes of Leeds United, Burnley, and Sheffield United for an automatic promotion spot.
However, the Mackems soon fell away from top-two contention, but always looked set to book their spot in this season’s Championship playoffs.
In recent weeks, though, the Stadium of Light club have not displayed the sort of form which has secured their top-six spot, as their last win of the regular season arrived on 5 April.
But despite previously enduring a six-game winless streak, the Black Cats put in a fantastic defensive performance at the CBS Arena and will enjoy holding a one-goal advantage ahead of their home leg in the playoff semi-finals.