SUNDERLAND: How did Sunderland's players rate at Molineux against Wolves?

Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire) - Showed a flurry of cards in the second half but none of the cautions was outrageous and he generally controlled the game well. 7.

Attendance: 28,488

Entertainment: *

WOLVES (3-4-3): Ruddy 6; Bennett 7, Coady 7, Boly 7; Doherty 6, Saiss 6 (N’Diaye 68 6), Neves 8, Douglas 6 (Costa 77 5); Cavaleiro 5, Bonatini 5, Jota 6. Subs not used: Norris (gk), Batth, Price, Enobakhare, Vinagre.

SUNDERLAND (3-4-2-1):

8 Ruiter: Had little to do apart from deal with crosses until the closing stages, when he made a couple of vital saves;

7 Browning: Dealt well with the movement and pace of Wolves’ dangerous forward line.

8 O’Shea: Made some important blocks and read the danger well as well as marshalling his colleagues.

7 Wilson: One positional error earned him a booking but generally he was equal to the task of subduing Wolves;

6 Love: Stuck to his defensive duties superbly but struggled to make any real impact going forwards.

5 Cattermole: Soft first booking followed 54 seconds later by a stupid second. Solid until then.

7 Gibson: Neat, tidy and disciplined display to protect his defenders and keep team-mates going.

6 Matthews: Another who stuck to his task well defensively but would have wanted to do better in attack;

7 Gooch: Not a day for Sunderland’s creative players but Gooch looked as likely as anyone to make something happen.

6 Honeyman: Worked hard but unable to make any real impact in the Wolves defence;

6 Grabban: Harried defenders well, but his side were defending for most of the game so service was poor.

Subs

Galloway (for Love, 80)

Vaughan (for Grabban, 84)

Embleton (for Gooch, 90)

(not used): Steele (gk), McGeady, Asoro, Beadling.

Man of the match: JOHN O’SHEA – Coleman’s men needed a leader against the division’s most potent attack and the captain rose to the occasion, doing his own job well while coaxing good displays from his team-mates.