'Still felt': Dan Ballard delivers verdict on Sunderland's incredible comeback win over Bournemouth
Brian Brobbey’s winning goal completed a dramatic turnaround for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light
Dan Ballard says Sunderland always believed they could come back to beat Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The Black Cats produced a strong start to the game but were punished for two mistakes as Amine Adli and Tyler Adams put the visitors in a commanding position in the game. Sunderland continued to press in response, however, and got back into the game thanks to a penalty from Enzo Le Fée. Bertrand Traoré and Brian Brobbey completed the comeback in the second half, and Ballard praised his team mates for their response to a frustrating start.
Ballard said: "It was eventful. I actually thought we had a great start to the game, really intense, we were on the front foot but found ourselves 2-0 down. We didn't let our heads drop, and just carried on how we were playing. It was some turnaround.
"I was pretty calm when we were losing, and you could feel that in the team. I still felt like we could win the game, it's shown in the recent results here where we've been really strong.
"That belief carries you a long way. There was some frustration that we were losing but we were knocking on the door and any goal here is noisy! I felt like the fans believes as well today and they helped us. It's always tough seeing out games in this league and Bournemouth have got a lot of quality which they showed today, so I'm delighted with the lads. Great spirit, great result."
The game was Ballard's 100th appearance in a Sunderland shirt following his move from Arsenal in 2022.
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Régis Le Bris on Sunderland's character after Bournemouth win
Head coach Régis Le Bris praised the character of his players after the game as they continued their fine start to the season and preserved the unbeaten home record.
"In this league, especially, you can't control everything," Le Bris said.
"The scenario will go wrong at times. And if you don't have the foundations, the character, the connection within the team, a bad scenario and you give up. And it was the case today, so it started poorly for us. But because of the foundations we created together, it's still possible to think that you can be back in the game.
“And it was the case. So it's really important because the scenario in football is still unpredictable. And when it goes wrong, you still have to stay in the game and to create the next opportunity, one goal. And we don't know how we'll evolve the scenario. And it was the case today.”
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