How Charlie Wyke is bringing so much more than goals to Sunderland in their push for promotion from League One

While it was the midfielder who netted the crucial third for Sunderland in their win over Oxford United, his goal owed much to the work of Charlie Wyke

The striker had shown persistence to win back possession before then switching the play to Power with a fine pass – one which any creative midfielder would have been proud of.

This was another game where Wyke showed there is so much more to his game than goals as he continues to form a key cog in a Sunderland side gearing-up for a late promotion push.

Wyke has now gone three League One games without a goal, his longest drought (these things are relative, of course) since the turn of the year.

And while he will no doubt be keen to hit the goal trail again in the coming weeks – his last goal coming in the win at Accrington Stanly – the 28-year-old remains a vital part of the Black Cats’ promotion push even when not scoring.

Against the U’s, he once again proved a good foil for those around him with his off-the-ball work.

Wyke’s movement and physicality means he often tends to occupy defenders, creating space for those around him. The likes of Lynden Gooch, Aiden McGeady and Jordan Jones all benefitted from this on Saturday as they exploited the space which Wyke had helped to create by making clever runs and attracting the attention of the visiting centre backs.

That work came to the fore even more when Ross Stewart was introduced – and the fact the January signing enjoyed a couple of early chances following his introduction was in no small part due to the fact that Oxford’s defenders were keeping such a close eye on Wyke, creating space for others.

As ever, Wyke was imperious in the air and scarcely gave away possession in the advanced areas. His distribution – such as the pass that led to Power’s goal – is also be coming a key attribute of his.

These small assets of Wyke’s game can often go unnoticed, but are as important as his goals in games of such a tight nature and will no doubt prove key in the final weeks of the campaign.

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