The Sunderland goalkeeper praised his side’s response, belief and Brian Brobbey’s impact after the Palace win

Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs admitted a clean sheet would have been the perfect birthday present, but insisted the result mattered far more after the Black Cats came from behind to beat Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light.

Roefs played his part in a composed display as Sunderland recovered from an early setback to secure all three points, continuing their strong home form in the Premier League. “Before the game, I said I wanted a clean sheet and a win. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the clean sheet, but I guess the win is more important,” Roefs said. “I’m just so happy with the guys, the way they responded to Palace scoring the first goal. By the end of the game, we were the better team and deserved all three points.”

The goalkeeper reserved particular praise for match-winner Brian Brobbey, who netted his fourth league goal of the season with a powerful second-half finish. The performance was watched by Netherlands assistant manager Erwin Koeman, adding further intrigue to Brobbey’s display.

“That is not up to me,” Roefs said when asked about Brobbey’s international prospects. “But it was good that he scored with the Dutch assistant coach here to see it. I cannot say whether he will get back in the squad. All I will say is Brian is so important to us right now. He is just so good at holding the ball up. He is such a great outlet for the team, and now he is starting to score goals. It is true if you are scoring goals in the Premier League, you are going to be talked about, but he was getting noticed when he was scoring regularly for Ajax. And now he is proving he can score goals at an even higher level.”

Roefs also highlighted the physical challenge Brobbey poses for defenders, describing the striker as one of the most difficult opponents to face. “You see it out on the pitch every game, I don’t think there can be any defender happy to come up against him. He must be a nightmare to play against because of that strength and physical prowess.”

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The victory continued Sunderland’s impressive momentum under Régis Le Bris, with the Black Cats refusing to ease off despite sitting comfortably clear of the relegation zone. “There was never any chance of us taking the foot off the gas despite our position,” Roefs said. “In the dressing room, the message is we just keep on going. Especially at home, we know how good we are, and it is up to us to keep pushing.”

With Sunderland edging closer to the 40-point mark, Roefs insisted the ambition inside the dressing room has always extended beyond mere survival. “Yes, we feel we can do something really special, but even at the start of the season, everyone was really positive. No one was talking about just doing enough to stay up. Our ambition was not just to survive. All of us wanted more, so every game we play, we aim to win.

“We show every game, we can make it difficult for every opponent. We went behind today, but still showed that belief we could hit back and win. It is not just at home, we have done that in away games too. We know the qualities in this team. Maybe the first ten or 15 minutes weren’t so great for us, and they had a few chances, but by the end we created a lot and could have won by more.”

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