Sunderland's reliance on ex-Leeds and Tottenham man Jack Clarke assessed after Millwall draw

While Sunderland finished their 1-1 draw against Millwall with 60 per cent possession - Lions keeper Bartosz Bialkowski hadn’t been overly worked in the Lions goal.

Jack Clarke’s penalty 12 minutes from time earned Tony Mowbray’s side a point, yet their two other efforts on target had been comfortable for Bialkowski, with Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah registering shots from distance. At the other end Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson had been alert to keep out two efforts from substitute Tom Bradshaw as Millwall finished the game strong at The Den.

Yet, for the sixth game in a row, Sunderland ended the match with a higher expected goals figure (according to Wyscout) than their opponents - 1.94 to Millwall’s 1.27. That shows the Black Cats were still creating decent chances, with Bradley Dack and Dan Ballard missing efforts from inside the box.

Still, Sunderland’s reliance on Clarke has been clear this season, with the winger scoring 10 of the side’s 29 league goals (34 per cent). That does include five penalties, yet Clarke has won four of them by drawing fouls in the opposition’s penalty area.

In contrast, there are two teams in the top half of the Championship who are more reliant on one player scoring, with Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics netting 14 of Rovers’ 32 league goals (44 per cent) and Southampton’s Adam Armstrong scoring 12 of the Saints’ 31 goals this term (39 per cent).

Despite those stats, Sunderland weren’t simply feeding the ball to Clarke and hoping the winger could make something happen against Millwall. In the second half, Patrick Roberts, who replaced Abdoullah Ba in the 56th minute, received more passes (20) than Clarke (19), while Alex Pritchard received 17 passes in central positions after coming off the bench.

Yet Clarke is the one whose contributions are leading to goals, even if the winger struggled to get the better of Millwall full-back Ryan Leonard, winning six of his 15 offensive duels according to Wyscout. 

Clarke’s persistence paid off in the 78th minute when Leonard went to ground and conceded a penalty. Still, it’s clear Sunderland will have to find other ways to score which don’t just rely on the former Leeds and Tottenham man.