Leeds United loanee Charlie Cresswell suffers miserable return to action in Millwall loss to Sunderland
Charlie Cresswell had a day to forget as the Leeds United loanee was beaten 3-0 on his fifth-straight Millwall start by Sunderland on Saturday.
The young Whites defender has been restored to the Lions line-up to kickstart his loan spell in South London, but in the first Championship match back since the start of the World Cup this weekend (3 December) he didn’t have a good game in the heavy loss.
Lee Sobot reported for the Yorkshire Evening Post that Cresswell, along with fellow United loanee Jamie Shackleton who came on as a substitute, “were dealt blows” in the return to league action.
Sunderland’s Alex Pritchard took advantage of a heavy touch from the 20-year-old to essentially play a one-two with the unwitting United youngster, on his way to setting up Amad Diallo’s opener in the 53rd minute.
And Cresswell’s miserable afternoon was capped off in stoppage time, as he misjudged the flight of a long ball forward in the 93rd minute, which bounced straight over him to allow Ellis Simms to run clear and slot in a third.
Rough
Unfortunately, having a calamitous day in defence doesn’t the loanee look too dissimilar to his first-team colleagues from most of this season.
A fairly strong campaign at The Den, either side of period out of the team following a formation change from Gary Rowett, has raised hopes that Cresswell may be ready to help out in Jesse Marsch’s senior side sooner rather than later.
His day in the the North-East won’t have put paid to those hopes, but it also won’t have particularly strengthened them either.
But it is an unavoidable experience in professional football for even the greatest players so his response will be important.
If he can bounce back strongly it will be another test passed on his expected journey to the first-team squad, where a lack of organisation at the back has seen seven goals conceded in the previous two matches.
As long has he stays in the side he is gaining regular experience in a tough league, which should put him in a good position development-wise.
In other Leeds United news, a former Premier League midfielder leapt to the defence of a Whites star who came in for some high profile criticism.