Fighting on the pitch - both stets of supporters on the pitch squaring up - didn't last long but not good.
did what was needed i guess although we did it the 'sunderland way' and made it look as difficult as possible. none of the play-off teams will fancy playing each other as they are all on good runs, hopefully we have all players fit and our quality finally shows through. my MotM goes to evans, thought he had a very good game covering the defence and possibly starting to show more of his quality as well recently, pritchard a slow but steady first start for a while, stewart once again got no help from the officials even when held around the neck and pulled back, its no wonder he is dropping deeper all the time.
Could have been the last time but now its 3 steps to Championship we could not have asked for more. OaU
7 points off auto, the two bad runs and the 'took far too long' managerial change made a massive difference...if not for RK throwing his hat in the ring and the club had appointed AN 2 weeks sooner eh? still, thats football and it could still have been far worse.
Roker Report - Player Ratings: Anthony Patterson: 6/10 Was closed down a couple of times and calmly passed his way out of trouble, that was pretty much all he had to do today. Bailey Wright: 6/10 Had a good battle with Stockton all game, not great distribution but solid defensively. Danny Batth: 6/10 Won everything in the air but not overly tested. Luke O’Nien: 6/10 Really put a tireless shift in and did a good job defensively but does not look uncomfortable on his left foot. Lynden Gooch: 6/10 Didn’t have the opportunity to create anything from the right but didn’t let anything get past him down the right. Corry Evans: 7/10 Very comfortable in the middle of the park, always looked like he had plenty of time on the ball, got an assist for his pass to Broadhead and made one important clearance late on. Elliot Embleton: 6/10 Hard-working effort in the middle of the pitch but not the same creative output as he has been recently. Patrick Roberts: 6/10 Did a job at left wing-back for a lot of the game before switching to the right in the second half. Had a chance late on but Carson was out quick to smother his effort. Alex Pritchard: 6/10 Played a couple of clever balls around the opposition box in the second half but most of his game today was closing down the opposition. Nathan Broadhead: 7/10 Showed the one bit of quality today when he dropped his shoulder, got in behind, and then coolly buried the finish. Unfortunately went off with what looked like another hamstring injury. Ross Stewart: 6/10 Worked hard up top but not on top form right now and it shows, a bit casual in possession and looks tired. Substitutes Jack Clarke: 6/10 Came on early for the injured Broadhead and did OK, played more centrally, and made some good runs but typically no end product. Jay Matete: 6/10 He looked very sharp when he came on and won the ball often. Dan Neil: 6/10 Came on late for Pritchard, with no real chance to make an impression. Man of the Match: Corry Evans Set up Nathan Broadhead for the opener, made a really important blocked clearance late on as Morecambe had a flurry and was very comfortable in midfield. One of his better displays in a Sunderland shirt. please log in to view this image Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
I feel a lot less confident this time than I did last time we were in the play offs, can’t actually see us getting past Wednesday to be honest.
agree, just said the same to me dad. mind, he said "aye, that's when you normally win" so.....fingers ****in crossed!