Dan Ballard hails “perfect start” after scoring on his Premier League debut as Sunderland beat West Ham

Dan Ballard marked his Premier League debut with a goal and a clean sheet as Sunderland stunned West Ham United 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.

The centre-back powered home Sunderland’s second of the afternoon before Wilson Isidor added a third, completing a dream return to the top flight for the Black Cats after eight years away. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Ballard described the occasion as unforgettable.

After the game, the former Arsenal centre-back said about Sunderland’s win at the Stadium of Light: “It was the perfect start. A clean sheet and a goal on my Premier League debut. It's amazing for this club to be back in this league. What a performance.

“We had this game in our minds for the last six weeks, and we executed the game plan really well. We've had lots of new signings and it's created competition, but there is quality in this team – that's the reason why we got promoted.”

The Northern Ireland international said Sunderland had been working hard to unlock West Ham’s defence under Graham Potter from set-pieces – and their preparation paid off with the centre-back netting the Black Cats’ second of a memorable afternoon.

“I felt confident and thought I'd get a goal today. It was a fantastic ball in. We had done lots of work in the last few days to try and unlock them from a set piece and that was the case. I didn't think the Coventry game would get topped but this was very close. The place was rocking.”

Sunderland’s victory was sealed by second-half strikes from Eliezer Mayenda, Ballard and Isidor, sending the Stadium of Light into raptures and underlining Régis Le Bris’ ambition for the new season. The win was also the Wearsiders’ first in the Premier League since May 2017, and their first at home in over eight years.

What did Régis Le Bris say after Sunderland vs West Ham?

Head coach Régis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s players after their 3-0 victory over West Ham United but warned that humility and togetherness must remain central to their Premier League campaign.

The Black Cats returned to the top flight in style on Saturday, with second-half goals from Eliezer Mayenda, Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor sealing their first Premier League win in over eight years.

Le Bris was delighted with the way his players responded to half-time instructions after a challenging first half and praised their ability to execute the gameplan. He also revealed that captain Granit Xhaka addressed the squad post-match to stress the importance of staying united.

“I'm happy for the fans and the players and the club,” Le Bris said. “We had different phases of pre-season and we spoke about the layers we needed to add. It was obvious that it starts from the foundations – we showed that the team is working well.

He adde: “They were hard to beat in a mid to low block. The first half was a bit more difficult but during the second half we felt we could get opportunities through regains in the middle and that we could score through counter attacks.

“We didn't change many important things at half time. We spoke a bit about their goalkeeper restarts and our high press, we went for man for man and they found two or three opportunities with long balls. So it was really important to be strong in duels. We made just two or three little decisions, and it made a difference.”

Le Bris was also keen to highlight that Sunderland’s three goals came from players who were already at the club last season, despite a summer of heavy recruitment. “It's really important for two reasons, they showed they can step up [first and foremost],” he said.

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“We'll see later, but today it was the case. And it's really important because they keep the identity of the club and the way we worked last season. We built this strength about togetherness, the way we work as a team. The players worked well as a team and they showed that again today.”

The Frenchman added that while the opening-day victory was a proud moment for everyone connected to the club, Sunderland would remain focused on the long campaign ahead.

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