Sunderland beat Brentford 2-1 on Saturday afternoon courtesy of goals from Wilson Isidor and Enzo Le Fée.
The Black Cats came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory over their visitors at the Stadium of Light, with Le Fée converting a penalty in the 82nd minute and his compatriot coming off the bench to head home a stoppage time winner.
Isidor’s goal capped off a special week for the striker; the 25-year-old celebrated his birthday on Wednesday and then the birth of his daughter on Friday, linking up with his teammates shortly after. For Le Fée, Saturday represented his first Premier League start of the new campaign, and Roefs was quick to hail the duo in a post-match interview on Wearside.
What has Robin Roefs said about Sunderland teammates Wilson Isidor and Enzo Le Fée?
Speaking to The Echo about Isidor after the final whistle, the Dutch stopper said: “Performing the way he does with all that's going on in his life... and I think, I could imagine he didn't sleep too much last night.
“But, yeah, it's big for us that he comes in. He always does. He comes in, brings the energy. Always dangerous when he's in the box. So, yeah, really happy with him.”
On Le Fée, Roefs added: “I haven't seen it [the penalty] back, but the moment Enzo steps behind it, you know he's going to score. I think he showed already against Burnley what he's capable of. If he has the ball at his feet, he's such a great player, I think. And also his mentality with defending is really good. His attitude, I think, coming from the bench - you wish for people and players like this.”
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Prior to Sunderland’s late comeback, Roefs had produced a vital moment of his own, saving a second half penalty from Brentford forward Kevin Schade with a smart stop low to his right-hand side.
Referee Anthony Taylor had awarded the spot kick after Reinildo was deemed to have bundled Nathan Collins to the ground in his own box, but Roefs admitted that he and his teammates felt a certain amount of confusion as to why the decision had been made.
Reflecting on the incident, he said: “There was [a delay before the kick was taken]. I think not every one of our team agreed really with the penalty. I haven't seen it back, but obviously, yeah, they tried to delay it, but also I think it was like they really didn't understand it.”
Saturday’s result means that Sunderland head into the first international break of the season having taken six points from their opening three top flight fixtures. It is also just the second time in the club’s history that they have won both of their first two home matches in a Premier League campaign.
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