Jones wins the plaudits from Chelsea

Mar 17 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

KENWYNE Jones has been described as the Premier League’s most potent threat by the man charged with combating him at the weekend.

Chelsea captain John Terry was given the task of marking Sunderland’s top scorer at the Stadium of Light on Saturday and although it was the England defender who broke his scoring drought in the Blues’ 1-0 win, it was Jones who was the talk of the visiting dressing room afterwards.

“He was fantastic and I have played against him twice now,” enthused Terry of Jones. “He is a very good player, very hard working and probably the best in the air in the entire Premier League. He really is that good. All the lads are talking about him afterwards, how well he did and how impressive he was.”

Twice in the latter stages of the game Jones’ prodigious leap created good chances for him. But the 6ft 2in Trinidad and Tobago international failed to take either and has now gone 10 games without scoring. Nevertheless Terry, who scored his first goal in 65 Chelsea appearances at the Stadium of Light, recognised the importance of the £6m signing from Southampton.

“If Sunderland can stay up and keep hold of him they have a fantastic chance of kicking on,” he said.

The man hoping to regain the England captaincy in this month’s friendly against France was also complimentary about Jones’ Black Cats team-mates.

“Sunderland’s a very tough place to come,” he said. “They are a very good side, very hard working, very honest and gave us a good battle.” Sunderland defender Nyron Nosworthy, meanwhile, thought his team had set a standard for their remaining games. “The performance gives everyone a lift even though we have lost,” he said. “The crowd were pleased we tried and really pushed for a goal. We were not in awe of them, and even though we have come away with another defeat we can take the positives from it.

“That is the way we need to play in our last eight games. We need to be positive and brave.”