The 20-year-old American made his second straight start for the club in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Boro at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland may have fallen to a 2-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on Sunday afternoon, but one of the clear positives manager David Moyes could take away from the game was the display of youngster Lynden Gooch.
The 20-year-old American attacker was making only his second start for the club after earning his full Premier League debut in last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Manchester City and did not look at all out of place over the course of his 90-minute showing.
Initially starting on the left flank before later moving into a central midfield role, the versatile playmaker was full of energy and endeavour on the day and seemed to be part of any momentum the hosts created, recording two key passes in the process.
| Vs Middlebrough | Total Shots | Ontarget Shots | Key Passes | Total Passes | Passing Accuracy | Total Crosses | Accurate Crosses | Total Dribbles | Completed Dribbles | Total Tackles | Touches | Mins Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynden Gooch | 2 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 89% | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 60 | 90 |
As well as testing Boro’s defence with a handful of early crosses, he managed to complete all three of his attempted dribbles on the afternoon and saw a shot blocked 10 minutes into the second half after winning possession with a strong challenge in the centre of the park and bursting through the middle.
The former US Under-20 international certainly did not shirk his defensive responsibilities during the rest of the match either, making two total tackles, four ball recoveries and an interception, while he also win six out of 12 duels.
His confidence and composure was ultimately emphasised by the fact that he completed 34 of his 38 total passes – three of which were long balls – and was only dispossessed twice in 60 touches despite showing a real willingness to drive things forward.
How long Gooch can keep his place in the Sunderland line-up ahead of Fabio Borini, Wahbi Khazri, Jermain Lens, Steven Pienaar and any potential new signings remains to be seen at this point, but the way in which he has handled his first two top-flight outings certainly suggest that he deserves more chance to showcase his potential over he coming weeks.
The California native, who made his first-team debut for the club in last season’s 6-3 League Cup victory over Exeter City, has quite clearly already won over Moyes with his maturity and has offered the kind of dynamism in the final third that the Black Cats have frequently lacked over recent campaigns.
It is still early days of course, but with some Americans already backing him for a first senior USA call-up, a bright future at both the club and international level hopefully awaits.
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