Sunderland boss Jack Ross has commented on Jack Baldwin’s display.
Sunderland boss Jack Ross has told The Chronicle that he is ‘really pleased’ for defender Jack Baldwin after his performance against Barnsley.
The Black Cats travelled down to Oakwell on Tuesday night for a huge game with Barnsley, just days after a disappointing draw at Wycombe Wanderers.
That left Sunderland four points behind second placed Barnsley, so a win at Oakwell would have really boosted their hopes of automatic promotion.
However, the two sides cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw, with Mamadou Thiam forcing Jon McLaughlin into a first half save, whilst Max Power missed Sunderland’s best chance when through on goal.
A draw doesn’t really help Sunderland in their quest to chase down Barnsley, but at least make it 15 league games unbeaten.
One player who played a key part in the clean sheet was defender Jack Baldwin, who was making a first league appearance in almost a month.
After the game, manager Ross admitted that he took Baldwin ‘out of the firing line’ following criticism from fans, but feels the decision paid dividends as he returned with a strong display last night.
“I was really pleased with him,” said Ross. “I’ve said often enough about the step up for him and the expectation at this club. He’s played a lot of games and a lot of minutes and made a good contribution.”
“We took a sensible decision to take him out of the firing line and I think you saw the benefit of that tonight,” he added.
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