Sunderland lost 2-1 against Championship strugglers Rotherham United at The New York Stadium on Tuesday evening after a disappointing performance from Tony Mowbray’s side.
The lads found themselves two goals down with strikes either side of half time from Oliver Rathbone and Shane Ferguson. Joe Gelhardt opened his Sunderland account to pull a goal back with half an hour left but the lads couldn’t muster an equaliser and slip to eighth in the table.
With the games coming thick and fast Tony Mowbray made three changes to the side that drew with Bristol City on Saturday. Alex Pritchard, Luke O’Nien and Dennis Cirkin returned at the expense of Patrick Roberts, Trai Hume and Aji Alese.
It was a quiet opening with neither side really threatening until after ten minutes, a nice passage of play saw Alex Pritchard slip Amad Diallo in behind the Rotherham defence. Amad took a touch before racing to the by line and attempting to pull the ball back for Joe Gelhardt. However, with Gelhardt perched ready to pounce the Rotherham defence recovered and cut the cross out for a corner. Alex Pritchard took the set piece, but his cross was poor and easily cleared.
At the other end a mistake from Amad almost allowed Rotherham to break on the Sunderland goal but Amad chased back and recovered with an interception which Patterson cleared.
Unfortunately, the home side took the lead just inside the 20-minute mark through a long-range strike from Oliver Rathbone. He picked up the ball in the midfield and was allowed to run towards the Sunderland box with Edouard Michut in no hurry to close him down with some lethargic defending. Rathbone then unleashed a powerful left footed shot into the bottom corner past Patto.
The lads almost equalised immediately when the ball was played to Alex Pritchard on the left and he curled a shot from the angle of the box which looked destined for the top right-hand corner. However, the Rotherham goalkeeper produced a fantastic save to claw the ball behind for a corner. Sunderland went close from the set piece with Pritchard delivering a superb ball onto the head of Dan Ballard, but the big defender nodded wide.
Once these chances went begging though it was all Rotherham again with Fosu-Henry seeing a shot from outside the box blocked before Peltier headed way over the bar from a corner. Just after the half hour mark Sunderland almost got in behind again when Gelhardt played a slide rule ball for Jack Clarke. Clarke broke through the Rotherham backline, but the keeper raced out to nick the ball just before the inform winger.
Ten minutes before the break Jordan Hugill picked up a yellow card for a late tackle on Dan Ballard on the halfway line. The home side having taken the lead were happy to slow the game down whenever they could before Dennis Cirkin also picked up a yellow card for a foul just outside the box.
Just before the break Sunderland broke with Jack Clarke advancing down the left before playing the ball infield for Amad. Amad took a couple of touches to create space for a shot from just outside the box, but his effort was blazed high and wide over the goal.
There were three minutes added on at the end of the first half and in the first of these another Rotherham player went down injured though on this occasion it was serious enough where he had to be replaced. Just before the half time whistle Joe Gelhardt tried an ambitious shot from the right-hand corner of the box which he skewed wide meaning the lads went in a goal down at the break.
Rather surprisingly given how lacklustre Sunderland were in the opening half Tony Mowbray opted against making a change at the break. Five minutes into the restart Sunderland went close to an equaliser when Clarke crossed from the left towards Pritchard, but he was inches away from connecting with a header inside the six-yard box.
Sunderland did have the ball in the back of the net a few minutes later when Joe Gelhardt got onto the end of a Dan Neil cross, but it was ruled out for offside. The lads were starting to look a lot sharper until Dan Neil slipped and lost the ball in the midfield with Sunderland having committed a lot of men forward. The home side broke with Fosu-Henry playing in Shane Ferguson behind O’Nien and he blasted a low shot past Patterson into the bottom corner.
With half an hour remaining the lads got one back through Joe Gelhardt notching his first for the club. Amad had slipped O’Nien in down the right who produced a great cross for the on-loan Leeds striker who nodded into the back of the net from close range.
Tony Mowbray then made a triple change with Aji Alese, Trai Hume and Patrick Roberts replacing Dennis Cirkin, Danny Baath and Edouard Michut. With 20 minutes left we forced a corner on the right when Hume’s cross was turned behind. Pritchard swung in a deep cross to the back post for Clarke who cut inside and blasted a shot goalward which he claimed was blocked by a hand, but the ref waved play on.
Soon after Patrick Roberts clipped a great ball over the top of the Rotherham defence for Aji Alese who had found space in the box. Alese had a couple of touches before getting a shot away which cannoned off a Rotherham defender and back off Alese and out for a goal kick.
With ten minutes left the home side forced a corner which was fizzed in dangerously, but it was nodded behind at the back post. Sunderland went down the other end and threatened through Alese, but the visitors cleared and broke again with men over with Connor Washington striking the foot of the post with Anthony Patterson well beaten.
Tony Mowbray then made his final two changes of the evening with Abdoullah Ba and Jewison Bennette replacing Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke. Two minutes from time Patrick Roberts, who looked lively in his second half cameo, clipped a dangerous cross into the box. Joe Gelhardt got onto the end of it in between defenders but couldn’t generate enough power on his header to beat the keeper.
There was then another lengthy stoppage when Ba accidently caught a Rotherham player and burst his nose before a paltry six minutes injury time was signalled by the fourth official. In the third minute of injury time Jewison Bennette forced a corner which Patrick Roberts took which even Anthony Patterson went forward for. Roberts’ cross fell to Gelhardt but the keeper blocked his effort. The ball was eventually played back into the box by Dan Neil which caused a scramble before Alese turned the ball into the roof of the net – but it was ruled out for a foul on the keeper by O’Nien.
Final Score – Rotherham United 1 Sunderland 2 ALS Man of the Match – Patrick Roberts
