logo
Super Kev praises 'threat' Mayenda before second leg

Super Kev praises 'threat' Mayenda before second leg

BBC News13-05-2025

Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has praised Eliezer Mayenda ahead of the Black Cats' play-off semi-final second leg against Coventry.Regis Le Bris' side host the Sky Blues at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg. 'Super Kev', who scored 130 goals for the Black Cats in six seasons, told BBC Radio Newcastle: "I thought it was outstanding, coming off the back of all the negativity, five defeats, leading into what is a huge, huge campaign in terms of the two games."For them to be able to brush that aside and come to the CBS against a team that is bang in form, really good side, and to put a performance in like that, I was so impressed. "I thought every player to a man stood up to be counted. Everyone brought their A-game and I thought the tactics that Regis Le Bris brought to the game that night was spot on. It's a credit to everyone involved and for me it's more about the players because we all know they're a young squad. "They're the youngest squad in the league. They could have quite easily folded but they showed on the night a lot of maturity and put in a hell of a performance. They're going to need that again."Sunderland finished the regular Championship season out of form, going six games without a win and failing to score a single goal in the final four. Le Bris surprised many by naming two recognised strikers in the starting line-up for the first leg, Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda vindicating their boss's decision by each netting at the CBS Arena. Phillips added: "Between the pair of them they haven't scored a lot of goals lately. On nights like that you want players like that to step up and they both did. "Isidor took his chance. For me, probably the keeper should have done a little bit better but if you don't shoot, you don't have the opportunity to score the goal, and he gets his goal. "Mayenda obviously preys on a mistake from a defender and slots really calmly. He's given them a fantastic opportunity of going through in the tie. I'm delighted to see those boys back on the scoresheet and we're going to need that again."The 20-year-old Spaniard Mayenda seems to have impressed Phillips most. "Isidor only touched the ball eight times in the first half, I think he probably only doubled that in the second half. So to get his goal would have done the world of confidence. I thought Mayenda was a threat all night. He's got pace. He's a handful."You can listen to more from Kevin Phillips on BBC Sounds.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

England beat West Indies by 37 runs to secure T20 series sweep
England beat West Indies by 37 runs to secure T20 series sweep

Reuters

time30 minutes ago

  • Reuters

England beat West Indies by 37 runs to secure T20 series sweep

June 10 (Reuters) - Ben Duckett blasted a whirlwind 84 from 46 balls as England posted their second highest T20 International score of 248 for three before restricting West Indies to 211 for eight to win by 37 runs and sweep the three-game series on Tuesday. West Indies elected to bowl but could not find consistency in line and length on a flat batting wicket and were carted around the Rose Bowl as England smashed 15 sixes in the innings on the way to their imposing score. Opener Jamie Smith contributed 60 from 26 balls for his first T20 international half-century as England reached 135-1 at the midway point of their innings, their highest 10-over score. West Indies were always struggling in their chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals but their total was boosted by a fine unbeaten 79 from 45 balls by Rovman Powell before they ran out of deliveries.

Kane fumes at England decision as Tuchel's side suffer embarrassing defeat
Kane fumes at England decision as Tuchel's side suffer embarrassing defeat

Daily Mirror

time30 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

Kane fumes at England decision as Tuchel's side suffer embarrassing defeat

Harry Kane bemoaned the decision that would've seen England equalise before going down to Senegal as Jude Bellingham's late strike was ruled out by VAR for handball Harry Kane felt England were cruelly denied an equaliser as Jude Bellingham 's late strike was disallowed with the skipper ruthlessly claiming "if you know the rules it's a goal". The Real Madrid man came off the bench and was looking to help rescue the Three Lions as they trailed to Senegal - eventually falling to defeat. He thought he'd found it with a quick touch and finish from close range, setting up a grandstand finish. ‌ However VAR quickly interjected to highlighted a potential handball to the referee, who then went to the screen for a second look. The initial delivery from the corner hit Levi Colwill on the arm before it headed in Bellingham's direction and that was deemed deliberate. ‌ As Bellingham, the goalscorer, didn't handle the ball the interpretation of the rule can be different, which is what Kane may have been hinting at as he claimed England should've had a second goal. He told ITV: "If you know the rules it is not handball. It obviously gets us back in the game at 2-2 and maybe we go on and win the game so it is a big moment but its something to discuss with them after." Bellingham's strike would've given England just over five minutes to find a winning goal at the City Ground in Nottingham. Instead Senegal were able to add a third in stoppage time. Both Ian Wright and Roy Keane agreed that the officials had got the decision wrong. The loss comes after Andorra had run England close, eventually losing 1-0 having been level at the break. The Three Lions were booed at half-time and needed a response, but were again poor with jeers ringing out at the full-time whistle. Kane said on the performance: "Again, not really good enough. I think we had moments but with and without the ball aren't quite clicking, the right passes, the right tempo. One-on-one we're losing those duels, lacking that aggressive nature and we got punished. we're playing against a good side. "We're not going to panic, but for sure we know we need to be better. There's some ideas that are new, we have new players in the team who don't haven't international experience. Its a mixture of things but it is no excuse. We need to find it quick, obviously we won't meet again for a few months but the World Cup is going to come around fast." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

England left battered and booed as Senegal expose the weaknesses Thomas Tuchel must address
England left battered and booed as Senegal expose the weaknesses Thomas Tuchel must address

The Independent

time31 minutes ago

  • The Independent

England left battered and booed as Senegal expose the weaknesses Thomas Tuchel must address

Managing England, as Thomas Tuchel is fast discovering, is harder than it may seem. A chastening week took a turn for the worse, culminating in the boos that followed his first defeat. It is a moot point whether losing to an accomplished Senegal side is actually a better result than only beating Andorra 1-0 but, a year from the World Cup, England looked anything but potential winners. It was a momentous occasion instead for Senegal: when Cheikh Sabaly scored the injury-time third, they celebrated becoming the first African team ever to beat England. They did not merely overcome them. They outclassed them. Out-passed, outrun and outwitted, England encountered opponents who were quicker of foot and mind, cleverer and more coherent. That can't all be attributed to Tuchel, in just the fourth game of his reign, but this was a snapshot of familiar England weaknesses. They lost their way after taking an early lead, lacked control in midfield and looked less than the sum of their parts. They were dismal and dreadful. Rarely a man to keep his emotions under wraps, Tuchel was visibly irritated. His quixotic moves compounded their difficulties. If friendlies offer a chance to experiment, if he needs to get to know his new charges, if there is an element of trial and error, some of the choices that backfired felt odd. Even the most successful arguably illustrated their problems. Dean Henderson was the first goalkeeper to concede in Tuchel's tenure but a string of saves illustrated that England at least have a fine alternative to Jordan Pickford. His best stops came in the opening quarter of an hour, blocking Nicolas Jackson 's shot with his legs and parrying his Crystal Palace teammate Ismaila Sarr 's header. Yet he was overworked, his defence shambolic at times. Tuchel had argued that fielding an all- Chelsea centre-back pairing would help subdue Jackson. They did not, though the debutant Trevoh Chalobah made several timely interventions. Levi Colwill fared worse, while Habib Diarra surged behind left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly for Senegal's second goal. Yet neither was embarrassed quite as much as the senior citizen in the back four. While Kyle Walker 's evening included a guided deep cross that, somehow, Anthony Gordon steered wide from four yards, he offered evidence his 96th cap should be his last. Senegal's equaliser was an indictment of Walker: as Jackson hooked the ball across the penalty area, he was too slow to react as Sarr stole in to finish. It should scarcely be news that Walker has lost his speed. A booking for a late challenge on El Hadji Malick Diouf was a case in point: Walker would have got their quicker if he still had his pace. Tuchel had seemed to ignore Walker's performances in his final few months before leaving Manchester City when selecting him; Trent Alexander-Arnold, left unused on the bench, may wonder how he was deemed an inferior option. In midfield, meanwhile, Conor Gallagher was particularly poor in possession. England's formation strayed dangerously close to a lumpen 4-4-2, making it easier for Senegal to outmanoeuvre them. The exception came when Harry Kane dropped deep; at times he came so deep he materialised behind much of the midfield, doing his impression of a quarterback, an East London Andrea Pirlo, looking to release Gordon, who began with energy and intensity but faded. Kane had started his night in familiar terrain and fashion. Tuchel made 10 changes. One name stayed the same: Kane started again and marked a fourth cap under Tuchel with a fourth goal in that time. A tap-in was testament to his predatory instincts, even if much of the credit belonged to Eberechi Eze, for winning the ball from Lamine Camara, and Gordon, whose shot was parried into Kane's path. A 107th cap took him past Sir Bobby Charlton; Kane now has as many goals as Charlton and Geoff Hurst combined. But England are yet to get goals from many of their other attacking talents under Tuchel. When Kane went off, the German initially played without a specialist striker; a slight, perhaps, for Ivan Toney, who was confined to a late cameo, as Morgan Rogers and Eze operated in central attacking roles, with neither as an out-and-out centre-forward. One substitute thought he had equalised, Jude Bellingham celebrating what seemed a leveller only for his volley to be disallowed because Colwill had handled. Another substitute twice almost brought England level. The Nottingham Forest favourite Morgan Gibbs-White was bright and prominent on home soil as Edouard Mendy made two fine saves, denying him and Bukayo Saka. But no sooner had Gibbs-White come on than England were behind, Diarra shooting through Henderson's legs. And another England replacement inadvertently set up their third goal, Curtis Jones losing the ball and Camara, in redemptive fashion, powering away to find Sabaly. After three wins for England came three goals in a loss. Senegal are much the best side they have faced under Tuchel but they could face far better again next summer. To say this bodes badly is an understatement. The rest of the world are unlikely to be quaking in their boots.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store