Sunderland loanee suffers 8-0 thrashing for new club as fellow Black Cats marks first start with assist
Sunderland loanee Pierre Ekwah was on the wrong end of an 8-0 trouncing for new club St. Etienne on Friday evening.
The midfielder completed a deadline day move to the Ligue 1 outfit last month, and has been a regular fixture in St. Etienne's starting XI ever since, completing 180 minutes of action so far. But while Ekwah's debut ended in a 1-0 win over LOSC Lille , his second outing represented a historically bad result for his new side.
Sign up to our Sunderland AFC newsletterSign upSorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later.Submitting...St. Etienne were 6-0 to down OGC Nice by half-time - the first time a Ligue 1 side have conceded that many in the first half of a contest since the turn of the millennium - and the final scoreline was the Loire's club's heaviest top flight defeat since 1951. Many supporters left the stadium before the second half had even kicked off.
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Speaking after the game , St. Etienne manager Olivier Dall'Oglio said: "The feeling is one of shame. We are not proud at all in terms of what we produced. When you forget the basics against a good team, you're punished."
Dall'Oglio went on to say that he "understood" the exodus of away supporters at half-time, and apologised for his side, before continuing: "I can't explain [the performance]. They [the players] can't either. We knew our season would be difficult. I am angry, although I won't show it today. I will first seek explanations."
Elsewhere, in better news for another Sunderland loanee, Luis Hemir Semedo was on hand to provide an assist for Juventus' Next Gen team in their 1-1 Serie C draw against Trapani this weekend. The striker was another deadline day departure from Wearside, and made his full debut for Juve on Sunday evening after having previously made two cameo appearances from the bench. Things started slowly for the Turin giants, with their Sicilian opponents taking a first half lead, but Hemir was pivotal to their eventual comeback.
Shortly after the break, veteran forward Simone Guerra latched onto an "excellent" pass from the Black Cats loanee - as described by Juve's official website - before netting an equaliser that ultimately led to a sharing of the spoils.
