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:

Replaced Mayenda at half time but didn’t offer a great deal, though the striker made some decent runs and put himself about a bit. 6

13. Luis Hemir

Replaced Mayenda at half time but didn’t offer a great deal, though the striker made some decent runs and put himself about a bit. 6 Photo: Frank Reid

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Replaced Ballard at half time and looked pretty assured in defence. Became Sunderland’s captain in the second half after Neil’s withdrawal. 7

14. Ben Crompton

Replaced Ballard at half time and looked pretty assured in defence. Became Sunderland’s captain in the second half after Neil’s withdrawal. 7 Photo: Frank Reid

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Partnered Crompton at centre-back when he was brought on around the 70-minute mark and didn’t look out of place. 6

15. Luke Bell

Partnered Crompton at centre-back when he was brought on around the 70-minute mark and didn’t look out of place. 6 | Photo: Chris Fryatt

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Came on at full-back as Le Bris made several changes on the 70-minute mark, played left-back and was full of running. Looked good going forward. 7

16. Oliver Bainbridge

Came on at full-back as Le Bris made several changes on the 70-minute mark, played left-back and was full of running. Looked good going forward. 7 Photo: Chris Fryatt

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