Sunderland 1-0 Reading – Match Report & Player Ratings
Report
Tony Mowbray’s second-half substitutions changed the game as Patrick Roberts scores late on to secure the victory against Reading.
The first half was a half of very few chances, it was very stop-start and Reading did all they could to waste time.
Sunderland started to create some chances early on in the second-half, when Edouard Michut played Joe Gelhardt through, but his effort was dragged wide.
Not long after, Aji Alese found space in the area, and brought the ball down brilliantly, but he volleyed the ball over the bar.
Despite Reading’s stubborn defending, Sunderland were able to finally break the deadlock with just over 5 minutes remaining.
Patrick Roberts worked his way into the area, he appeared to have been tackled but he quickly won the ball back and hammered the ball home.
Sunderland now move up to 7th, just one point off 6th, and Reading’s Winless run is extended to 6 games, as they drop down to 18th.
Player Ratings
Anthony Patterson – 6
He didn’t have much to do, he looked strong on set prices. His kicking needs a lot of work.
Trai Hume – 7
Defended well once gain and he always offers an attacking option.
Dan Ballard – 7
Typical strong defensive performance.
Danny Batth – 7
Same as Ballard, did well up against Carroll in the air.
Aji Alese – 7
Offered a lot going forward, sometimes he looked as though he was playing up front!
Dan Neil – 6
Quiet for large parts of the game.
Edouard Michut – 7
A very confident performance, he was tidy on the ball and almost set up Gelhardt in the second-half
Jack Clarke – 6
He is too predictable sometimes, I might just need a rest bit he wasn’t on his game today.
Amad – 6
Quiet by his standards, taken off on the hour mark.
Patrick Roberts – 8
Always looking to make something happen and never stopped running all game. Scored a brilliant winner late on.
Joe Gelhardt – 6
Had one decent opportunity, but he dragged it wide, apart from that he didn’t get much service.
SUBS
Alex Pritchard – 7
Added more energy and creativity in our attack at a time we were starting to struggle.
Isaac Lihadji – 7
A promising debut, some nice touches and he wasn’t afraid to take his opponent on.
Luke O’Nien – 7
Never stopped closing down, gave everything in the final moments to secure the victory.
Jewison Bennette – 7
Always looks like he’s full of energy and gives 100% every time he comes on.
Abdoullah Ba – 6
Did his job well when he came on, added that bit more energy that we really needed in midfield.
MoTM – Patrick Roberts
