Sunderland beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Sunderland boss Jack Ross has told the Chronicle that he was impressed with defender Jimmy Dunne’s performance against Bristol Rovers.
The Black Cats built on the midweek win over Gillingham to go on the road and pick up another three points on Saturday afternoon.
Luke O’Nien bundled the opener home from close range, before Aiden McGeady whipped a superb free kick into the top corner to give Sunderland a 2-0 lead.
That’s how it finished as Sunderland coasted to all three points, meaning they’re now just two points off the automatic promotion spots.
Three points and a clean sheet on the road is always perfect, and one player stepped up in the face of major criticism in recent weeks.
Defender Jimmy Dunne hasn’t exactly impressed since his January loan move from Burnley, with the Irishman yet to really find his feet on Wearside.
In fact, fans slated his performance against Gillingham in midweek, but he was praised by manager Ross on Saturday evening.
Ross suggested that his young players will learn to deal with the criticism, and praised Dunne for so many headed clearances to keep Rovers at bay.
“There have been different players who have been criticised at different times,” said Ross. “We have got a lot of young players and this is a whole new learning experience for them.”
“Bristol put a lot of balls forward, a lot of balls into the box, and we knew that. We wanted more of a physical presence in the penalty area and I would guess Jimmy made double figures in terms of headed clearances,” he added.
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