Keep Your Head Up, Habib!

Ciaran McKenna says…

In football, mistakes are constant. Some are more consequential than others, but they’re part of both the game itself and a player’s progression, and Diarra just needs to move past it and get onto the next game. He’s been a brilliant addition to the squad with his pace, power and talent — and one error can’t cancel out all the good he has done for the Lads this season. In the moment, Diarra showed real resilience. To be able to make that gut-busting run, that late on and during an end-to-end game just shows how much he’s willing to give, and he also showed great confidence to take it on by himself. Yes, in hindsight, he could’ve picked a corner or even rolled it to his right for Chemsdine Talbi to tap it in, but ultimately it wasn’t a bad effort and he forced a brilliant save. I also appreciated the maturity it took to apologise to the team afterwards, although I’m sure that the other players will have had the same reaction as I and many others have had. The error was compounded by the fact that they went straight down the other end and scored the winner, but we didn’t lose this game because of his one missed opportunity. There were other mistakes made by other players, which will be addressed the same as his. Forget it, move on and make up for it. In times like this, we need to support him. Diarra is a brilliant footballer who’ll have many more brilliant moments in red and white, as long as we allow him to.

Malc Dugdale says…

I’d have to argue against my mate Gair here, despite the fact his birthday is on the way (happy birthday in advance, bud — let’s hope it’s a great one). That wasn’t “horrendous” for me — it was just football, and way more experienced players have done the same and worse. Maybe we’ve gotten so used to ‘Til The End’ going in our favour that when it doesn’t come off, we’re even more gutted. That’s a compliment to the squad, that they’ve taken our expectations to such a level that this was taken like a kick in the family jewels, especially after we’d done so well to come back from two down. With perspective, this was a great chance made by a lung-busting run way into injury time. Diarra made the run and put a shot on target, and it was saved by the Villa goalkeeper when nine times out of ten, a deft little lift over the stopper like that would’ve meant a fourth goal. Even the best make mistakes, though. A matter of weeks ago, we were all rueing the panenka that Enzo Le Fée fluffed, but did that make him any less of a talented young Sunderland footballer? Of course it didn’t. Le Fée has learned and grown from that, and that’s exactly what Diarra will do, and I expect him to do. Chin up, lad. You gave it your best shot, and it didn’t come off. You’ve said your bit to the lads and that’s big of you. You’ll be all the better for the mistakes you make and grow from.

Tom Albrighton says…

I think the message is simple, and really it shouldn’t need to be said. I’ve no doubt that Diarra will be the first to be critical of his mistake and his miscalculation, so any negativity from outside will be of absolutely no use. Mistakes happen. That’s football but what we as fans have to do now is back our player — we were all there when Eliezer Mayenda missed a sitter at Blackburn, and look how that turned out. When you build a team of young, exciting footballers, mistakes are inevitable. To a degree, these mistakes should be welcomed as they show players getting in the right positions and being brave enough to back themselves. Not only this, they create the opportunities for players to learn, grow and for bonds to strengthen as their teammates and fans rally round them. It’s a shame that Diarra made the mistake but his one error of judgement is not the sole reason Sunderland didn’t win a game of football, and he shouldn’t be criticised or chastised as such. In the wake of a phenomenal season built on skill, determination and togetherness, it would be incredibly short-sighted to write Diarra off — after all, he isn’t the first and nor will he be the last player to make an error in a Sunderland shirt. Chin up, and onto the next one, bonny lad.