Sunderland 1-1 Rotherham United
Sunderland were forced to settle for a share of the spoils on Tuesday evening, as a hard-fought encounter against Rotherham United ended all-square at the Stadium of Light.
A blistering start saw Jack Ross’ side draw first blood, with Marc McNulty scoring his second goal in as many games after just 31 seconds.
Aiden McGeady could have doubled the advantage before the break, but the Republic of Ireland international was denied from the penalty spot.
Rotherham grew into the contest as time progressed, and they were rewarded after the hour mark, as Jake Hastie slammed home an unstoppable equaliser.
Charlie Wyke was denied during a tense finale, as the points were shared.
A purple haze greeted the players, with a stunning Wearside sunset providing a fitting backdrop to the midweek main event in Sky Bet League One.
The calm soon evaporated, though, and with less than a minute on the clock, sparks were flying.
Rotherham failed to deal with a long ball forward and paid the price, as McNulty kept his cool to round the ‘keeper and send the Lads into a 1-0 lead.
It could have been two five minutes later, but Rotherham scrambled to recover and prevent McNulty roaming free on goal once again.
Luke O’Nien volleyed wide soon after, while Daniel Iversen had to be at his best to ensure the latest piece of McGeady magic didn’t result in a goal.
After McNulty went down in the box, McGeady and Iversen went toe-to-toe once more, however, the stopper guessed right, and the Irishman failed to land a knockout blow.
It was a moment that somewhat turned the tide, with both sides spurning chances before the break, as by Freddie Ladapo, Hastie and McGeady went close.
Both sides initially cancelled each other out following the restart, but Jon McLaughlin was forced into a fine low stop to deny Hastie just after the hour mark.
Unfortunately, there was little he could do to stop the forward’s next attempt, as a venomous finish levelled the affair.
Sunderland should have reclaimed the lead with 17 minutes remaining, but a costly slip by Clark Robertson went unpunished, as Charlie Wyke was denied one on one.
And that proved to be that, as the points were shared at the SoL.
Sunderland: McLaughlin, Willis, Ozturk, C McLaughlin (Maguire 70), Hume, O’Nien, McGeouch, Dobson, Gooch (Grigg 84), McGeady, McNulty (Wyke 60).
Subs not used: Burge, Power, Flanagan, Leadbitter.
Rotherham United: Iversen, Olosunde, Ihiekwe, Robertson, Mattock, Wiles, Lindsay, Crooks, Ladapo (Barlaser 90), Morris (Smith 81), Hastie (MacDonald 88).
Subs not used: Jones, Wood, Price, Smith, Lamy.
