Cats bringing crowd factor back to SOL
| Published date | 13 September 2021 |
| Publication title | Evening Chronicle |
Equally importantly, it means Sunderland have picked up where they left off before the international break, with no disruption to their momentum.
And once again a crowd of almost 30,000 left the Stadium of Light in good spirits, after watching their team win again to maintain its 100 percent home record.
That 'crowd factor' is crucial for Sunderland, as anyone who has spent a significant period of time following the club's fortunes will know.
Because when the team is performing well, results are good, and there is an air of positivity at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland are a force to be reckoned with in any division.
That was the story of the Peter Reid years, under Roy Keane in the mid-2000s, under Sam Allardyce for half-a-season in the mid-2010s, and most recently in Jack Ross's first season in charge in 2018-19.
At other times, when things have been going wrong - sometimes badly wrong - it has felt like managers and players have been trying to push water uphill.
This time, the club appears to be heading the right way.
Lee Johnson has assembled a squad that combines youth - including several graduates of Sunderland's academy - with experience, and that blend is producing results.
Dan Neil, who is one of those academy graduates, has taken League One by storm in his breakthrough season. He is playing as well as any midfielder in the division this season, and he is still a teenager who has yet to make 20 senior career appearances.
His stunning opener against Accrington was his first goal in senior football, but it will surely be the first of many.
Carl Winchester, who scored the second goal just before the hour, was Johnson's first signing in January and his arrival from Forest Green barely caused a ripple, yet eight months later he has morphed into both a crowd favourite and a right-back.
Ross Stewart has excelled up front since Charlie Wyke departed over the summer. Luke O'Nien is thriving in his natural midfield role.
Tom Flanagan has not always been popular with the fans, but this season he has formed a...
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