Luke O’Nien has been praised for the ‘lovely’ thing he did in the second half of Sunderland’s defeat to Millwall.
Sunderland suffered their first loss in four games at the weekend, as they were narrowly beaten by Millwall.
The Black Cats dominated possession across 90 minutes on home turf, but it only took one shot on target for The Lions to claim all three points.
It leaves Sunderland in 13th place in the Championship, while it is the sixth game since the start of March in which they have failed to score.
Mike Dodds had already been handed a blow before the game, with Dan Neil ruled out for the rest of the season. However, with one midfielder sidelined, another one returned to the team.
Corry Evans made his long awaited return to first team action at the weekend, replacing Callum Styles with only nine minutes remaining.
The 33-year-old hasn’t featured for the senior team since Sunderland’s win over Middlesbrough in January 2023.
A number of setbacks have kept Evans out for a total of 15 months, leading to a standing ovation from supporters as he stepped foot on the pitch on Saturday afternoon.
A ‘lovely’ gesture from Luke O’Nien
Luke O’Nien has also been hailed for what he did when Evans was brought on, immediately returning the captains armband to him.
Responding to a video of Evans’ substitution, journalist James Copley wrote: “Lovely to see Luke O’Nien handing him the armband straight away.”
Is Captain Corry what we have been missing?
O’Nien has taken the captains armband for most of the 15 months that Corry Evans has been sidelined, and has mostly done a brilliant job.
The defender is an excellent leader and has been superb at guiding a lot of these youngsters through a tough period, especially as one of the very few experienced players remaining in the squad.
Having Evans back as captain is a huge relief though and just adds that extra bit of experience and leadership that we are missing, while it allows O’Nien to concentrate on his job at the back.
If Evans can pick up more minutes in the final two games then I think we will see the positive impact he can have on the squad if he stays this summer, though that remains to be seen.
The only way we can allow the veteran to leave the club is if we bring in someone to replace him, but I really don’t think we would benefit from allowing him to leave for free.
If we already have the option of a further year, then I see no harm in exercising it.