Hardly had anything to do in the first half and barely touched the ball. Looks physically imposing but really hard to make a judgement from that performance. Misplaced the odd kick in the second half but his distribution recovered and he played some decent balls Was called into action in the second half once or twice but coped well. 7 placeholder image
Hardly had anything to do in the first half and barely touched the ball. Looks physically imposing but really hard to make a judgement from that performance. Misplaced the odd kick in the second half but his distribution recovered and he played some decent balls Was called into action in the second half once or twice but coped well. 7 | Getty Images

'Exciting' - James Copley's Sunderland player ratings as Cats faced South Shields - including three 9s

James Copley
By James Copley

Sunderland AFC writer; Sunderland Echo

Published 13th Jul 2024, 14:24 GMT
Updated 13th Jul 2024, 15:02 GMT

Sunderland faced South Shields in the first of two pre-season friendlies today - here’s how James Copley rated Régis Le Bris’ players after the game.

The Black Cats thrashed South Shields at the 1st Cloud Arena with plenty of first-team interest and food for thought for new head coach Régis Le Bris to mull over.

Sunderland’s new head coach took charge of his first game since his summer arrival from French club Lorient with the Black Cats 5-0 up by half-time with a poor South Shields side providing little resistance. The scores stayed the same in the second half despite multiple changes for both sides.

Here, we take a look at how James Copley rated Sunderland’s players against South Shields:

Looked lively and managed to get on the scoresheet. Another exciting player with bags of quality. The Frenchman aways seems to have time on the ball and showed some great feet during the clash. He is an exciting proposition and it will be fascinating to see whether Le Bris can get a tune out of him. 8

9. Adil Aouchiche

Looked lively and managed to get on the scoresheet. Another exciting player with bags of quality. The Frenchman aways seems to have time on the ball and showed some great feet during the clash. He is an exciting proposition and it will be fascinating to see whether Le Bris can get a tune out of him. 8 | Frank Reid

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Looked very bright during the opening 10 minutes, hitting the bar with a good effort and then nearly catching the keeper out from distance with a lob. Full of running down Sunderland’s left-hand side. One of Sunderland’s stand-out performers on the day. 9

10. Romaine Mundle

Looked very bright during the opening 10 minutes, hitting the bar with a good effort and then nearly catching the keeper out from distance with a lob. Full of running down Sunderland’s left-hand side. One of Sunderland’s stand-out performers on the day. 9 Photo: Frank Reid

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Did well to win the ball in the penalty area and set up Rigg for Sunderland’s third of the game. Then won and scored a penalty for Sunderland’s fourth. Was replaced by Hemir at half-time. 8

11. Eliezer Mayenda

Did well to win the ball in the penalty area and set up Rigg for Sunderland’s third of the game. Then won and scored a penalty for Sunderland’s fourth. Was replaced by Hemir at half-time. 8 Photo: Frank Reid

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Played right-back when brought on and showed some good touches. 6

12. Tom Lavery

Played right-back when brought on and showed some good touches. 6 Photo: Ben Cuthbertson

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