Sunderland Coach Praises Steven Pienaar

Image Credit: Reuters

Sunderland head coach David Moyes reserved special praise for Steven Pienaar following the clubs 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in the English Premier League on Sunday.


The former Bafana Bafana captain came off the bench on 37 minutes; replacing the injured John O'Shea.

Pienaar, 34, was only expected to feature in the second-half, but with the Black Cats skipper forced from the field, David Moyes had no choice but to introduce the South African.

The former Everton and Tottenahm Hotspur midfielder enjoyed an excellent game - with some neat touches giving Sunderland plenty of go-forward ball.

"Steven Pienaar was terrific," said Moyes in the aftermath.

He continued: "The fans were brilliant.I hope they understand it’s going to take time and we have some problems at the moment that we’re trying to make better.

“The players who came in today because of injuries did a really good job.

“In the second half I thought [Lynden] Gooch was terrific and Steven Pienaar did brilliantly after coming on; everyone stuck to it.

Christian Stuani scored a brace for Boro before Patrick van Aanholt netted what proved to be a mere consolation.

The game was Pienaar's 200th in the English Premier League - the most by any South African.