Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs has impressed during his first few weeks on Wearside
Former Sunderland icon Marco Gabbiadini has heaped praise on goalkeeper Robin Roefs for his early form on Wearside following an eye-catching display against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
The Dutch stopper joined the Black Cats from NEC Nijmegen over the summer, and has wasted little time in endearing himself to supporters. He kept a clean sheet on his Premier League debut against West Ham last month, produced a vital penalty stop against Brentford just prior to the international break, and put in a man of the match display to ensure that Regis Le Bris’ side picked up a point at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
And in the aftermath of that battling performance in South London, Gabbiadini has been quick to hail Roefs for his impact of late.
What has Marco Gabbiadini said about Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs?
Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, the pundit said: “Palace, I think, are one of the form teams in the Premier League from last season into this season. They've had a cup win recently and a win at Wembley in the Charity Shield, so a team that's sort of on the up, you would say. They're always going to be one of those teams that will sell their better players, but they seem to replace them and, you know, they've got some good players. So I thought that was a great result.
“You know, you can't ask for any more - a tight game, but you wouldn't say Palace had too much time on top. Now, they did have some chances and the goalkeeper [Roefs] did very well. But, you know, I think he really impressed me.
“I think they were all saves that I think if he'd have conceded off any of those goals, he would have been disappointed. I'm not taking anything away, I do think they were all really good saves, strong saves.
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“He's very still. If you watch him, he's not one of these keepers that's skipping about and jumping about when the ball is in motion. When it's going into a striker, he's always very still. So then he can make his move when he's ready, when he sees what body angle the striker's got or where he thinks the ball's going to go. And he makes good reaction saves. Great start for him, obviously, off the back of that penalty save two weeks ago.
“And I think defensively the team are pretty solid. The chance in the first half that was a one-on-one with the keeper, and Reofs got out to him very quickly, put it wide. That was a little concern that he was just wide open right through the middle of the field. That was the only real lapse in concentration in the game, really. The rest of it was maybe just a bit of pressure.”
“But, look, fantastic start to the season. The fans must be absolutely delighted with how it's going. And with all these new faces having to respond to a new manager, a new voice, as they say nowadays, they've all attributed themselves really well.”
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