ANALYSIS: How Sunderland's Jack Diamond fared as loan club Harrogate Town lose at Hartlepool United

Diamond is currently in his second spell on-loan at the North Yorkshire side after Sunderland head coach Lee Johnson deemed the 21-year-old surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light earlier this season.

The winger burst onto the scene for the Black Cats in their 4-0 win over Lincoln City in December last year, scoring what would prove to be his only league goal of the season as he struggled to live up to those early expectations.

A product of the club’s academy system, Diamond featured in Sunderland’s opening-day win over Wigan Athletic but was limited to appearances in the Carabao Cup after that.

As a result, Diamond was sent out on loan to link back up with Simon Weaver after enjoying a successful spell with the Sulphurites during the 2019-20 campaign, where he scored Harrogate’s third in their National League promotion final win over Notts County at Wembley.

And Diamond made his return to the North East at the weekend as Harrogate went up against Pools at Victoria Park but it was a mixed bag for the winger who was inconsistent across the 90-plus minutes.

Diamond featured on the left wing of an attacking front four for Weaver's side, including former Lincoln City man Jack Muldoon, ex-Middlesbrough prospect Luke Armstrong and George Thomson.

But Diamond was called upon more for his defensive duties in the opening exchanges, forced to track the marauding runs of former Newcastle full-back Jamie Sterry and ex-Sunderland man Luke Molyneux.

It wasn't until the 20th minute when Diamond showed his ability, quickly latching onto a slip from Sterry to drive Harrogate up the field, beating two defenders and playing a nice ball out wide for Thomson.

Moments later Diamond showed why there is such hype around his potential, and why Pools boss Dave Challinor described him as Harrogate’s ‘biggest threat’ after the game, shifting the ball beautifully with his right foot onto his left to create space before firing in an excellent first time strike low across Pools keeper Jonathan Mitchell into the far corner. Unfortunately for Diamond and Harrogate the goal was chalked off for an offside.

The 21-year-old quickly became the visitors biggest threat, picking up the ball and driving at Pools’ back line on a number of occasions, even if somewhat unconventional at times, and played a hand in the opening goal by laying a ball into the on-rushing Lewis Page, with his cross eventually being turned home by Thomson.

But after a bright spell Diamond displayed some of his inconsistencies, first losing the ball in a dangerous area after trying to trick his way beyond three Hartlepool players instead of relieving the pressure from his team, before missing a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 before the break.

Armstrong picked out the winger unmarked at the back post but rather than shooting first time with his left foot, Diamond elected to bring the ball back onto his right which allowed Mitchell to narrow the angle and make a big save.

It would prove to be the turning point in the game as Hartlepool made it to half time just two goals behind and were able to change their system after the break which nullified Diamond’s impact on the game.

As a result, he was left questioning who to pick up down Pools’ right with two quick-fire goals both coming from that side of the field.

After falling behind in the game, a clearly frustrated Diamond began running down blind alleys with a lack of support from his teammates and was outmuscled by the likes of Luke Hendrie and Gavan Holohan on a couple of occasions.

But with Harrogate chasing an equaliser, Diamond again showed flashes of his ability with a brilliant solo run before drawing a foul to give his side an opportunity to load the penalty area.

A late blocked shot was as close as he came to finding an equaliser himself before giving away a needless foul after losing possession cheaply in his own half.

Much like his time on Wearside to date, Diamond showed glimpses of his ability at Victoria Park, but if he is to be a success at the Stadium of Light he will need to maintain those levels of ability throughout an entire 90 minutes and across a number of games throughout a season.

It is still relatively early in Diamond’s second loan spell with Harrogate and, clearly, he is a favourite of Weaver’s having featured in 10 games since his arrival.

With two goals in that time Diamond has already eclipsed last season’s total, but watchful eyes from Wearside will be keen to see how the rest of his time pans out in League Two.

Despite their defeat on Saturday, Harrogate appear to have all the tools at their disposal to have a crack at promotion into League One this season meaning Diamond is not a million miles away from competing at the level Sunderland currently find themselves at.

There is still plenty of hope for Diamond, he is still young and the ability is visible in spells. But consistency is key and if he is to fulfil his potential on Wearside, he needs that ability to start coming through on a more regular basis.

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