Sunderland beat 10-man West Brom 1-0 in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Sunderland headed to The Hawthorns on Saturday where they were looking to rain on West Brom’s top six parade.
The Baggies had lost just one in 13 before Sunderland, who went into half-time 1-0 in front.
It came after West Brom’s Brandon Thomas-Asante received a second yellow card, with Pierre Ekwah then scoring his fifth goal of the season shortly before the break.
The second half was uneventful, but Sunderland proved solid once again to keep West Brom at bay, and eventually claim an impressive three points on the road.
Sunderland finishing 2023/24 strong
The Black Cats remain in 13th after the win at West Brom.
And it’s a second win over the Baggies for Dodds this season, whose side have now lost just one of their last six in the Championship.
Sunderland have also kept five clean sheets in those six, so things are certainly starting to improve for the Wearsiders after what’s been a tough season overall.
And Ekwah deserves praise for his goal.
He wasn’t having an overly standout game before he scored in the 47th minute, but he took his goal exceptionally well.
Michael Graham verdict on ‘quality’ Pierre Ekwah goal
Journalist Michael Graham was quick to praise Ekwah’s casual, yet impressive finish against West Brom.
Ekwah allowed the ball to drop to him inside the West Brom box and as everyone moved one way, Ekwah’s delicate touch sent the ball the other way and into the back of the net.
Graham posted on X:
Pierre Ekwah getting back to his best
Ekwah has certainly been a talking point among Sunderland fans this season.
The former West Ham man has even been labelled the Championship’s most disappointing player this time round, after his impressive start to life at Sunderland last year.
But against Bristol City in particular, and with his goal today proving vital for Sunderland, Ekwah looks like he’s steadily getting back to his levels in the 2022/23 campaign.
There’s still room for improvement and often times question marks over his work rate off the ball.
But Ekwah is very much an all round player with a lot of attributes to build and develop, and when he’s at his best, he’s unstoppable.
Next season, whoever the manager is will surely look towards Ekwah to really step up and to step up with the goals too.
He’s shown this season that he can be a quite clinical in and around the box.
There’s a sense that, with the right coaching and in the right set up, Ekwah could become a top quality star.