Thanks for the hat-trick – but ball will be £45!
LEE Johnson joked Ross Stewart will have to pay £45 to keep the match ball after the Scottish striker hit a hat-trick during Sunderland’s 5-0 thumping of Sheffield Wednesday.
The former Ross County man ended his first year on Wearside in style, his goals helping the Black Cats to the top of the table.
Callum Doyle and substitute Benji Kimpioka also found the net but Stewart’s ruthless display against the porous Owls’ defence meant he was the star of the show.
Johnson heaped praise on players such as Alex Pritchard, Elliot Embleton and Lynden Gooch but teased his star forward.
He said: “We talked a lot at the start of the season about Pritchard and Embleton and I knew they could play together.
“They are two great footballers and great football brains and they are technicians.
“The key was the physical conditioning of Pritchard, that was a renovation project, but we would not have had Pritchard unless it was a renovation project - he would not have dropped down to League One.
“I am delighted with him, I am delighted with Embleton, I am delighted with Gooch and Ross Stewart taking home the match ball - although unfortunately we are going to have to charge him for it because we cannot just be giving balls away.
“We will try and do it at a cost for him but it is still 45 quid!”
The victory extended Sunderland’s unbeaten run to nine games and means they go into the New Year as League One leaders - albeit second-placed Rotherham and third-placed Wigan can overtake them if they win their games in hand.
Johnson added: “It was really pleasing after a really difficult run of games - physically the boys have really dug in because the pitches are heavy at this time of the year.
“We did not start well, I thought they were the better side in the first ten minutes and actually the first goal came against the run of play a little bit.
“However, we recognised the high line - that was the key.
“When you have Stewart and Leon Dajaku and they are able to run off the back of people, playing a high line is very dangerous against a team like ours.
“I thought our counter-attack was very, very dangerous, our defending was outstanding but in terms of control we did not quite have as much as we normally do.”
More than 34,500 fans turned out to watch the game, the Black Cats’ highest attendance of the season, and Johnson added: “It was a really special night for the players to feel that kind of love in the room. We want that as much as possible.”