Birmingham City 1-2 Sunderland- Match Report & Player Ratings

Report

Sunderland go into the World Cup break with a massive win against Birmingham City thanks to two fantastic goals from Ellis Simms and Amad Diallo.

The Black Cats started the game with a huge chance in the first 3 minutes after some brilliant passing which eventually released Dan Neil who put it on a plated for Amad, but John Ruddy made a great save.

Birmingham then started fo dominate the ball but created very few chances, however veteran striker, Troy Deeney hit the bar with a diving header after 7 minutes.

Sunderland opened the scoring 25 minutes into the game when Amad Diallo showed brilliant skill on the edge of the box, and played a through ball to Ellis Simms who got back into the goals with a smashing finish.

Sunderland doubled the lead with another amazing team goal just after half-time.

After being released by Dan Neil, Diallo worked his way into the box and curled in a fabulous goal, leaving Ruddy with no chance.

Lukas Jutkiewicz got a goal back for the Blues with 12 minutes remaining after Bailey Wright failed to deal with a cross and Jutkiewicz finished smartly.

Former Sunderland man Dion Sanderson almost equalised, but Trai Hume cleared off the line.

The Black Cats move into the top half off the table, 7 points away from relegation and just 4 points off the play-offs depending on results in tomorrow’s fixtures.

Player Ratings

Anthony Patterson – 8

Made some great saves and was strong with every cross that came into the box.

Niall Huggins – 6

A good return considering how long he was out for, struggled against Bacuna in the first half but he changed his game in the second half and defended brilliantly.

Danny Batth – 7

A great defensive performance, battled really well.

Bailey Wright – 6

He did well for most of the game, but he struggled against Lukas Jutkiewicz when he came on, and his mistake led to their goals.

Trai Hume – 7

Another one who defended great. His clearance off the line was huge in our win.

Corry Evans – 7

A good calm performance as usual.

Dan Neil – 8

Much better from him, almost got a great assist early on and he created Amad’s goal in the second half.

Alex Pritchard – 7

Gave his all for the whole game, didn’t see the ball as much as he’d like but his work off the ball made up for it.

Amad Diallo – 8

Looked dangerous every time he had the ball, a brilliant assist for Simms and an unbelievable goal, gets better every game.

Jack Clarke – 6

Bacuna had him in his pocket, he didn’t allow Clarke to really show his talents.

Ellis Simms – 7

A much needed physical presence upfront and took his goal very well.

SUBS

Patrick Roberts – 7

Did his bit defensively and helped the team see out the win.

Jay Matete – 7

much needed freshegs in midfield, won the ball back quite alot and moved us back upfield.

Elliot Emeton – 6

Worked hard off the ball but rarely seen him with it at his feet.

Man of The Match – Amad Diallo