Pierre Ekwah's importance to Sunderland as ex-West Ham man produces excellent performance against Luton

For someone playing with such assurance and whose name was being chanted by the home fans, it was easy to forget this was only Pierre Ekwah’s second start at the Stadium of Light.

The 21-year-old had hardly played any senior football before moving to Wearside from West Ham in January, yet has suddenly become a key asset as Sunderland aim to win promotion through the play-offs.

Tony Mowbray’s side will take a 2-1 lead to Luton in Tuesday’s second leg, where Ekwah will have another big part to play against a powerful and experienced Championship team.

The 21-year-old certainly rose to the challenge here, though, producing an all-round midfield performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 46,060.

Since Ekwah’s arrival at Sunderland, head coach Tony Mowbray has been urging the midfielder to make the most of his physical attributes, as well as his talent in possession.

And in the last few weeks, during four consecutive starts, the Black Cats boss has admitted he now can’t leave the midfielder out.

In the first leg against Luton, Ekwah made five interceptions (according to Wyscout), often preventing the ball from reaching the visitors’ potent strike partnership of Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo.

Ekwah’s presence in the engine room has also relieved the pressure on Dan Neil, who has been exposed at times this season after moving into the holding midfield role.

With a lack of recognised central defenders and attacking wing-backs either side of them, both midfielders had to be aware of their defensive responsibilities, with Ekwah winning four of his five defensive duels and Neil winning five of seven.

Ekwah’s energy and ability to make forward runs with the ball also helped relieve some pressure when Sunderland looked to transition from defence to attack.

In possession, the midfielder completed 34 of 37 passes, often looking to play the ball forward with offensive players ahead of him.

It will probably be tougher to repeat that with Luton trying to overcome a first-leg deficit at Kenilworth Road, yet Ekwah’s previous starts for Sunderland include away wins at Cardiff, West Brom and Preston, as well as a goalless draw at Burnley.

This performance was another reminder of the 21-year-old’s exciting potential.