How Black Cats came by League One’s best new striker
ROSS FROM ROSS MADE BLACK CATS’ DIFFERENCE
SUNDERLAND took a leaf out of Nigel Clough’s book when they were looking for a reliable striker in their long quest to get out of League One.
They went and got one from Ross County – Ross Stewart.
The Scottish Premiership battlers, arguably punching above their weight in the top flight north of the border, have proved a happy source for Burton Albion in recent years.
Jackson Irvine and Liam Boyce both came to Burton from there. They are clearly good at developing players and moving them on for a profit, which helps to keep their heads above water.
Stewart had not pulled up the biggest trees for the Scottish side, although 28 goals in 81 games was decent enough.
But whoever scouted him got it right and Stewart topped the League One scoring charts – jointly with Wigan Athletic’s Will Keane – netting 26 goals as they went up through the playoffs.
It is a clear lesson that a striker who will get you 20 goals-plus in a season gives you a real chance of getting somewhere, although, as Cole Stockton’s tally for Morecambe proves, you need a bit more than just that.
Stockton probably garnered more headlines than Stewart over the season. He scored some spectacular goals.
But there is no doubt in my mind that Stewart was the best striker I saw in the season. He is fit, persistent and awkward.
His is an interesting story. His first step into senior football, with Albion Rovers, in 2016, came about when the supporters’ club and his own father stumped up the £1,500 transfer fee to take him from non-league side Kilwinning Rangers.
He was only there a season when St Mirren came calling – oddly, they signed a goalkeeper called Ross Stewart at the same time.
But he was scoreless in 10 games for St Mirren and loaned out to Alloa Athletic.
Ross County saw something in him, though, and signed him for the 2018-19 season. He scored 11 goals as they were promoted to the Premiership.
He added 11 more in his second season and was on six when Sunderland signed him in the January window of the 2020-21 season. There, he initially played second fiddle to Charlie Wyke, who banged in 31 goals that season. Wyke’s departure for Wigan Athletic opened the door for Stewart and he has responded.
When Burton beat Sunderland 1-0 at the start of the season, it was one of the best games of the season. I noted at the time that Sunderland did not mess about with the ball, they passed it forward quickly, accurately, with urgency.
Ben Garratt was in superb form that night, making a string of good saves, three of them from Stewart, who really looked the business.
It was different at the Stadium Of Light, in February, where Sunderland had 66% possession but were poor with it.
Stewart had a couple of chances but, largely, a quiet game.
Cameron Borthwick-jackson scored his first goal for the club, after 53 minutes, and the Brewers looked in control, delivering one of the gritty away performances which had characterised their Great Escape season.
But three minutes into stoppage time, Stewart escaped beyond the far post and headed an equaliser, his 20th goal of the season.
It was the mark of a top striker. A quiet game, not going your way – but you keep going to the end and, when the one chance presents itself, you save two points for your team.
I am not given to predictions, much, but when Sunderland lined up against Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off final at the weekend, I told a couple of people Stewart might well make a difference and he duly scored the second, clinching goal.
He is 25, only seems to be getting better and if he proves he can make another step up, as he has been doing each time in his career so far, I can see Sunderland doing OK back in the Championship.
However sure the scout was, though, there is still an element of fortune about Stewart being the deciding factor as the Black Cats finally did not fall short in their promotion quest.
How many have we seen come down from Scotland, not work out and end up going back – or have the misfortune to get a serious injury, as Boyce did?
It all fell into place for Stewart and Sunderland and there will be a lot of managers wishing their clubs could have got their hands on a relatively inexpensive gem like him.
It was the mark of a top striker – one chance, in stoppage time, and two points saved for his team