Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given reserved special praise for Dan Ballard and Omar Alderete after Sunderland’s resilient draw at Brighton, describing the centre-back pairing as “absolutely immense”.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Given highlighted the defensive performance as a key reason Sunderland came away with a point from what he described as one of the Premier League’s tougher away assignments.
“I’ll go say, as far as a great point actually, Brighton’s a tough place to go. We highlighted these two at the back, I think they were absolutely brilliant today. Strong defensive unit away from home on Ballard and Alderete today were absolutely immense, they really were.”
Sunderland were forced to withstand sustained pressure for long spells, particularly late on, but Given felt Ballard and Alderete dealt calmly with everything Brighton threw at them. “Everything that Brighton threw at them, they were dealing with. You see Ballard scanning, heading balls away. And again, I think these two have played together the last five games together, Kelly.”
The former Newcastle United and Sunderland goalkeeper added: “And it feels like they’re really building up a strong understanding. Again, you see here, Ballard’s back on the line defending, help the keeper if it comes back in again. And again, they’re readjusting, they’re never too far apart.”
Given also pointed to the organisation between the two defenders, stressing how important that communication and spacing is when defending deep away from home. “You see the way they’ve circled them together. Five or six yards apart, you know, organising heading. And I love Dan Ballard, he’s absolutely brilliant in there. He goes and tacks everybody in, head to your granny, what do you really want? He’s absolutely brilliant in that position. It’s the season. It is the season.”
The former Republic of Ireland international added that strong defensive fundamentals are vital for any away performance in the Premier League, particularly with Sunderland missing goalkeeping options on the night. “But again, you know, obviously we have two goalkeepers out tonight (in the studio), but as a goalkeeper, and you’ve got two defenders, you want to hit things, clear things, block things away from home in the Premier League. That’s invaluable, and up to six in the league is just a phenomenal season.”
Le Bris felt Sunderland’s point away at Brighton was a deserved one after his side stood firm during a sustained spell of late pressure from the hosts. Sunderland enjoyed long periods of control despite travelling south without several players due to Africa Cup of Nations call-ups.
Brighton, however, were also missing key figures through injury, suspension and illness, and it was the home side who finished the stronger as the game wore on. While Sunderland were unable to capitalise on their chances earlier in the contest, Le Bris took encouragement from the way his players defended their penalty area to preserve a clean sheet.
“A draw was probably a fair result,” Le Bris said. “The atmosphere in the dressing room was a bit disappointed [that we didn’t win], which was a good sign for the future. We had two parts to the game. Until 65 or 70 minutes, we were dominant, especially for a team playing away from home.
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“We showed good qualities, great character. We were controlling the ball, and we had opportunities to score during this period. But when you don’t score away when you have those opportunities, you can expect that the opponent will push until the end.
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“They did well during the last 20 or 25 minutes. We stayed consistent with our deep block and kept this clean sheet. They crossed a lot, as expected, so we were prepared for that. We have players who are really determined to defend the box and the goal, and they did that. They defended well.”
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