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Sunderland would have left South Yorkshire frustrated with their efforts yesterday evening, the Black Cats unable to cut through a resilient Rotherham United defence regularly as Michael Beale‘s away side had to make do with a share of the points in a 1-1 draw.
On another night, the dogged Millers could have come away from the Championship contest with a victory – the relegation-threatened hosts boasting an xG of 1.71 at the full-time whistle compared to Sunderland’s inferior 0.30, as per Sofascore.
Jack Clarke stepped up to the mark thankfully for Beale and Co late into the second 45 minutes to salvage a draw, the 23-year-old winger scoring again with Sunderland still very much overly reliant on their star man to singlehandedly save them when the going gets tough.
One attacker was, however, notably below-par away from Clarke’s heroics at left wing, Adil Aouchiche hauled off at half-time by Beale after a dismal first-half performance at the New York Stadium.
Adil Aouchiche’s game vs Rotherham in numbers
The Frenchman was surprisingly chosen to lead the line for the visitors to the bemusement of the away supporters watching on at Rotherham, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain man underwhelming up top throughout a forgettable 45-minute spell.
The 21-year-old would fail to register a single shot on Victor Johanssen’s goal, content at just playing the ball around idily and keeping possession rather than grabbing the game by the scruff of its neck as Sunderland’s lone striker.
That was the tale of Sunderland’s entire game in truth, unable to really pose a threat in attack minus Clarke coming to the rescue late on for the fading promotion candidates.
Aouchiche has been unable to kick on and cement a starting spot after scoring against Birmingham City in mid-November, but another goalscorer from that 3-1 win over Wayne Rooney’s Blues – who has since pushed on to become a regular starter – was also poor away at Rotherham.
Jobe Bellingham was nowhere near his creative best against Leam Richardson’s side yesterday evening, trudging off the pitch at full-time with very little to show for his efforts on a rare off-day for the highly regarded teenage talent.
Jobe Bellingham’s game vs Rotherham in numbers
Amassing 55 touches in the contest, Bellingham – like Aouchiche – was unfortunately anonymous with the ball at his feet with a lack of urgency in his overall game all night.
Much like his French teammate, Bellingham failed to register a single effort on goal in the draw – the 18-year-old midfielder showing in previous games this season his knack of finding the back of the net, onto four goals already this campaign but was uncharacteristically goal-shy in this encounter.
Moreover, Bellingham was lackadaisical at points with his approach on the ball with the teenager losing possession 13 times in total to the detriment of his team.
Sunderland’s usually exciting number seven was given a 4/10 rating at full-time by Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson in his post-match thoughts as a result, stating that the Black Cats youngster looks as if he is ‘struggling with the amount of minutes he’s being asked to play’.
If consistent game time is beginning to catch up with the 18-year-old – Bellingham only absent from one second-tier match this campaign – Beale could opt to start the experienced Alex Pritchard over him next game to give the starlet a breather.
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Beale will just have to man-manage Bellingham to the best of his capabilities, ensuring that he nurtures the young midfielder correctly so not to hinder his ongoing progression.
The ex-Rangers manager will have to utilise his full squad in the games to follow, with both Aouchiche and Bellingham now at risk of dropping out from the starting lineup versus Preston North End on New Year’s Day for fresher legs to come in.
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