Ricardo Alvarez was on form during the FA Cup fourth round replay against Fulham and that didn’t go unnoticed by captain John O’Shea.
Ricardo Alvarez was on form during the FA Cup fourth round replay against Fulham and that didn’t go unnoticed by captain John O’Shea.
Alvarez landed at Sunderland in September from Nerazzurri, but instead of showing the promise that he came with, he struggled with injuries and so the Argentine international has only played a bit part for Sunderland so far.
Tuesday night was just his fourth appearance for the Black Cats but he showed that he could play and score when he grabbed Sunderland’s second goal.
O’Shea was pleased with what he saw and told < a href=http://www.safc.com>SAFC.com ‘I was saying to Ricky in the first half and second half, ‘Don’t worry if there’s one or two men on you.
‘With his ability, he can ghost past players and I’ve seen him do it many times in training.
‘That finish, too, had very little back-lift. I don’t think the keeper even saw it before it hit the net.
‘Hopefully now we can keep Ricky fit and strong.’
O’Shea was also pleased with the performance of Danny Graham who showed the type of touches and play that got him noticed by the Black Cats in the first place.
The 29-year-old has struggled to say the least since he joined the club two years ago, he has spent time out on loan to Hull, Middlesbrough and Wolves.
But since coming back from Wolves, Graham has shown that he is well capable of playing in the Sunderland side judging by the four substitute appearances he has made so far.
O’Shea believes he has an important role to play this term, he added: ‘His attitude has been exemplary and he is a fantastic lad in the dressing room.’
‘He is putting the manager under a lot of pressure to start in the team and that’s what we need from everybody.
‘If we can do that, the competition increases and hopefully you get better performances.’
