Although I agree with the point that once Broadhead was injured and was out for a while, we should have brought in a new striker ASAP. Who?
Not the best of results but we're not out of this yet, but things are looking very tight . A real squeaky bum run-in for us Sunderland fans - just for a change!
great save from the keeper at the end there mind, i was already celebrating. win your home and draw your away they say so i guess a draw not too bad, apart from we feckin NEED the points. best performance under AN so far, missed the line up and the first minute of the stream so took me a few to catch up with who was actually on the pitch...onien had a better 2nd half to be fair to the lad other than that we did all but score so not too upset with that one...build for next season i guess. roberts tormented them so he gets my MotM but they all played a part today with the defence looking far more solid, maybe got better protection from evans and onien.
Me too, I'm just pointing out that the likes of Sheff Wed blew it today. They're away to MKD, Wycombe and Bolton but have to better us to get ahead. They've won one of their last four including a defeat. We're unbeaten in our last five winning three.
That's a safe enough bet - we've screwed automatic so whether we miss them, get knocked out in them or if we win the playoffs then it will still mean we take it to our last game.
Someone has to, it's a mini-league from now on ... ... we're a better team than we were and have Broadhead, McGeady, etc, to come back.
It just shows how things can change. Plymouth were nailed on, then us, then Wigan, then Rotherham, etc. Who knows what happens next.
Roker Report - Player Ratings Anthony Patterson: 7/10 Barely anything to do until he had to pop up with a great reaction save with 10 minutes to go to keep it goalless. Growing into the number one shirt. Carl Winchester: 6/10 Solid defensively but not much in the way of forward forays today, not looked out of place in his more central defensive role. Bailey Wright: 7/10 Marshalled what is still a bit of makeshift defence and leading by example at the back. Did well to move out of the way of a runner late on to let Cirkin cover, as that could easily have led to a penalty. Dennis Cirkin: 7/10 Another good game for Cirkin, has been playing well defensively and is still getting forward to support attacks. Made one good block in a dangerous position late on despite looking a little leggy, then got forward and put in a great cross for Stewart who almost snatched a winner. Luke O’Nien: 6/10 Never really stood out but did put one dangerous cross in that saw Clarke fire just wide and has been a factor in the team looking more solid defensively. Dan Neil: 6/10 Should have done better from the edge of the box early on when set up by Roberts but could only fire over. Didn’t really get going at the right end of the pitch today. Corry Evans: 6/10 Had two good chances to score, one side-footed effort hit the post, and then a volley was well saved by the Lincoln goalkeeper. Got stuck into a few tackles and got a booking for his troubles. Lynden Gooch: 6/10 Linked up well with Roberts at times on the right and mostly kept Lincoln quiet down their left but got away with one after giving away a corner when he let the ball run of play despite it coming off himself. Jack Clarke: 6/10 Not as prominent on the ball today but had a number of good chances that were all fired just wide, good positioning to get himself those opportunities but had to do better with them. Patrick Roberts: 8/10 His best game for the club so far, pretty much everything came through him but poor finishing from team-mates meant his creative play came to nothing. Ross Stewart: 6/10 Hard working display without much reward or any notable chances until right at the death, where he almost buried a header but was kept out by a very good save. A couple of good shouts for penalties too but nothing given despite his protests. Substitutes Jermain Defoe: 6/10 Had one really good opportunity following a quick turn and shot but he didn’t catch the ball properly and it went just wide. Leon Dajaku: 5/10 Came on for Clarke late on and just couldn’t get any change out of the Lincoln right back. Callum Doyle: 6/10 Good to see Doyle return with a brief cameo, didn’t have anything to do defensively but looked brighter on the ball than the last time we saw him. Man of the Match: Patrick Roberts Did his best to make something happen for Sunderland but was let down by very poor finishing by his team-mates. Created a number of chances and was skipping past Lincoln players at will but every chance he made was wasted. Still, he is looking sharper and will be a big asset for the rest of the season if he can keep performances like that up. please log in to view this image Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
This slightly irritates me tbh. I'd rather Evans never played for us again but he was good in midfield, defence and even attack today. He was clearly better than Neil but gets the same score because he's not 'fashionable' as they say. He made contributions in both boxes and was unlucky with a good shot at the end, one of only four attempts on target plus he took a booking for the team. I think Neil can be a top player, and love him when he's on form, but he was very poor today. If Gooch had knocked the ball ten yards over, from that position, he'd have been slated. I doubt he'll get a start against Gillingham especially if Pritchard is fit.
Oxford's next game is away to Plymouth, while we play Gillingham at home, then they play Sunderland. They've won two of the last four, including a defeat. They're nowt special.
