Sunderland 0-2 Preston North End
Sunderland were made to rue a costly 20-minute spell at the start of the second period as Preston North End left Wearside with all three points this afternoon.
With little to separate the sides at half-time, Alex Neil’s men stepped it up a notch in the second 45 as inform striker Sean Maguire headed home a free-kick with 50 minutes played.
Sunderland’s afternoon then went from bad to worse as Jake Clarke-Salter was dismissed for a second yellow card nine minutes later before Callum Robinson punished the hosts further with another headed finish to secure the points.
TRIO COME IN
Chris Coleman made three changes to the side that lost at Queens Park Rangers last Saturday. Lee Camp came in to replace the suspended Jason Steele between the sticks while Clarke-Salter started following the conclusion of his suspension to form part of back five. At the other end, Josh Maja was recalled to the starting line-up in place of on loan striker Ashley Fletcher who dropped to the bench.
SNOW ALL AROUND
Snowstorms and ice-cool winds set the scene at the Stadium of Light ahead of kick-off as Sunderland looked to close the gap on 21st place Barnsley ahead of kick-off. The Black Cats knew going into the game that the Tykes had been beaten by Millwall in the lunch-time match, meaning victory would see the lads close the gap to just two points. Ha’wayyy!
SWEDE OPENING
Sunderland were assured in the opening minutes. Not prepared to take any chances as they got to grips with the artic conditions that swirled around the SOL. With 15 minutes played, the match almost sparked into life as Joel Asoro was swept through by Ovie Ejaria’s stabbed ball. The Swede was strong as he fended off the challenge, but Chris Maxwell did well to narrow the angle as Asoro was forced to settle for a corner. From the resultant set-piece, Preston almost executed the perfect counter-attack, but Camp showed he didn’t have cold feet as he rushed off his line to deny Sean Maguire from the edge of the box.
NOTHING IN IT
Very little continued to separate the sides as the first 45 wore on, with the match crying out for someone, somewhere, to stand up and take control of it. Stand up, Ejaria. The on-loan Liverpool midfielder orchestrated a fine Sunderland move on the half-hour mark, sweeping the ball from right to left after a neat one-two with Asoro. Oviedo made up good ground down the left to latch onto Ejaria’s ball and the Costa Rican did well to force a low stop from Maxwell as Maja looked to pounce on any rebound. Adam Matthews then attempted to bend an effort into the far corner with the outside of his right boot but Maxwell gathered as the two sides went in goalless at the midway interval.
ALL TO DO
That swiftly changed at the start of the second 45. Just five minutes in, in fact, as Preston gained full control of the fixture. Maguire was the man who guided his diving header home off a free-kick from the right to net his fifth goal in as many games. And from there Sunderland’s afternoon turned from bad to worse as Clarke-Salter was dismissed for a second-bookable offence on 59 minutes after the defender hauled his man back on the halfway line.
TWO BEHIND
Preston seized their chance as Sunderland struggled to get a foothold in the match, and just four minutes later it was 2-0. Barkhuizen picked out Robinson at the back stick and the striker calmly nodded the ball down to double the visitors’ advantage. Coleman immediately looked to shuffle his pack with the introduction of Kazenga LuaLua and Ashley Fletcher. LuaLua provide energy on the left flank and in his first involvement there were strong appeals for a penalty as his cross was blocked behind for a corner. The January addition continued to shine on the left, this time with a fizzing free-kick that looked destining for the top corner only for Maxwell to bat it away at the last. Game over.
Sunderland: Camp, Oviedo, Matthews, O’Shea, Clarke-Salter, Kone, Cattermole, Honeyman (LuaLua, 68), Ejaria (McNair, 75), Asoro, Maja (Fletcher, 63)
Subs: Stryjek, McManaman, McGeady, Robson
Preston North End: Maxwell, Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Earl, Gallagher (Johnson, 71), Pearson, Browne, Barkhuizen (Bodin, 83), Robinson (Harrop, 83), Maguire
Subs: Hudson, Woods, Clarke, Moult,
Attendance: 26, 743