'Amazing how dominant he was' - Sunderland defender earns special praise
Tony Mowbray reserved ‘special mention’ for Danny Batth after the Sunderland defender’s performance in the 3-0 win over Millwall.
Sunderland and Millwall ended their World Cup break early to reschedule the game, which was originally postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
That proved to be a good decision, for Sunderland at least, who put in a good second-half performance to close to within one point of the play-off positions.
It was a result they certainly had to work for, though, especially against such a physical Millwall side, and Mowbray thought Batth was the key to that.
“Danny Batth needs a special mention, I think,” Mowbray said as part of his post-match analysis.
“Against such a potent team with set plays and how many first contacts they win, it was amazing how dominant he was. I think about 63% of their goals come from set plays and that shows you how important Danny was for us, and how amazing a job he did for us.
"You have to stand up to the [physical] challenge and then do what you're good at. We grew into the game."
The praise for Danny Batth was certainly justified, with the former Stoke man winning 10 of his 12 aerial duels and making an astonishing 20 clearances during the match, as well as four blocks.
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