Sunderland’s FA Cup campaign came to an end as soon as it began after we lost 2-1 to Stoke City at the Stadium of Light due to two defensive errors. We were generally the brighter of the two sides for the 120 minutes of football played.
SIMON MOORE: 5/10
He wasn’t poor for most of the game but he definitely should not have come for the ball when he did for the second goal.
TRAI HUME: 7.5/10
Defensively very solid and never really looked in much danger. His crosses were all over the place though going forward.
LUKE O’NIEN: 5/10
Gave the penalty away after dawdling in the box for a bit too long, he was pretty good for the rest of the game but that mistake cost us massively.
LEO HJELDE: 8/10
I wasn’t too sure he was the right man to be subbed off because he was very good at the back and never looked like making an error.
AJI ALESE: 7/10
He was alright whilst on the pitch, maybe a bit of shakiness towards the start of the first half but that’s quite minor. Hopefully his injury isn’t as bad as it looks.
DAN NEIL: 6.5/10
Very poor for the first parts of the game but grew into it and looked more like he has done in the last few weeks, which is very effective.
HARRISON JONES: 5/10
He’s still getting his footing in senior professional football and I don’t think this performance is entirely reflective of his potential. Overall he struggled today and wasn’t physical or combative enough to cope with the away side. On a positive note he did draw a lot of fouls.
ELIEZER MAYENDA: 6.5/10
An alright shift from him, thought he performed some nice dribbling and got into good positions, particularly in the second half. His shooting wasn’t brilliant today though.
CHRIS RIGG: 6/10
Distinctly average game from him, he struggled with the physical nature of Stoke but there were some redeeming moments.
ADIL AOUCHICHE: 7.5/10
Missed a couple of good chances but looked very bright and assisted the equaliser. I’m glad Le Bris has decided to start including him in the first team again.
AARON CONNOLLY: 6/10
He put in a lot of effort, evidenced by him looking very tired towards the end. He grew into regular time quite nicely but just didn’t have his finishing boots on.
SUBS:
ZAK JOHNSON: 5.5/10
Did his job defensively but he wasn’t proactive enough when we needed to get the ball up the pitch to firstly find a winner and then when trying to find a second equaliser.
MILAN ALEKSIC: 8/10
Scored a goal and looked tidy, he’s definitely going to be a decent option for us in league fixtures moving into the final parts of the season.
SALIS ABDUL SAMED: 6/10
He looked really good but not flashy, expected for a defensive midfielder though. Unfortunately his rating takes a massive hit because he was responsible for the second goal with a loose pass.
NAZARIY RUSYN: 6/10
I didn’t notice him that much to be honest so I just went for a six.
TREY OGUNSUYI: N/A
Nice to see him making his debut but he wasn’t on the pitch long enough for a rating.
