The Sunderland striker reflected on his Bournemouth goal, praised the travelling fans and set his sights firmly on Leeds United
Eliezer Mayenda admitted Sunderland wanted more than a point at Bournemouth - but quickly turned his focus to Leeds United as he outlined the mentality required for the next test.
The Spaniard scored his first goal since the opening day of the season as Sunderland earned a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium, halting a three-game losing run in the process. But while pleased to be back among the goals, Mayenda made clear the squad are not satisfied.
“Good. I think it’s a good point,” he said. “It’s a good point away. Difficult game, difficult stadium, but we got one point today, and I think it’s not enough. We are not happy because we wanted to get three points here, but we got one point, and we have to look forward now to the game on Tuesday. But it’s a good point here.”
Mayenda’s goal came after he reacted quickest to bundle home from close range, having been involved in the initial phase of the move. It marked a welcome return to the starting XI and a personal moment of relief. “Yeah, I think it’s a good goal. Maybe I can’t describe this because it’s like a natural feeling,” he said. “And I’m just very happy for the goal and to be back in the team, to be back in an 11 start. And I think we played as a team a good game. And yes, I’m just very happy for the goal, yeah.”
The forward’s celebration in front of the travelling support underlined what the moment meant “Yes, it’s always better to score in front of the fans,” he said. “Yeah, the fans push me a lot. In every game and when I score in front of the fans, I enjoy it so much And yes, it’s always different when you score in front of the fans. So yeah, I’m very happy.”
The contest itself was hard-fought and stretched at times, with Bournemouth creating chances of their own. Mayenda felt Sunderland’s collective spirit was key to securing a point on the south coast. “Yeah, we work hard. We try to fight in every duel, every ball. And that’s what we did today,” he said. “And even the second half was a little bit difficult, but it was the game expected. So we fight today and we get one point. I said again, it’s not enough, but it’s a good point. We did a good game in terms of fighting and collective spirit, group spirit, and I think it was a good game today.”
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Attention now turns quickly to Tuesday night’s trip to Leeds United - another demanding away fixture with a hostile atmosphere guaranteed. |Yeah, we’re going to prepare the game tomorrow and on Monday,” Mayenda said. “I think it will be a different game, a different game away again. Good atmosphere at Leeds, we know. Then we’ll try to get three points again. One point is not enough, so we play every game to get three points. And at Leeds, against Leeds, we try to get a good game, to play a good game with the same mentality. And if we can, if we could do more, we’ll do it.”
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