Goals:

1-0: Maddison (36, fired a free-kick from 30 yards that changed direction and flew in the centre of the net)

2-0: Knight (52, drilled low and inside the far corner after he was picked out unmarked)

3-0: Maddison (64, picked out the far corner of McLaughlin’s net after finishing a move he started)

Bookings: C McLaughlin (31, foul); Toney (51, foul); Wyke (57, foul); Power (84, foul); Leadbitter (89, foul)

Sending-off: O’Nien (71, violent conduct); Wyke (77, second bookable offence)

Referee: Craig Hicks (Surrey) – dubious O’Nien red but this defeat was the visitors’ own making. 6

Attendance: 10,005

Entertainment: **

Peter Sund

Shots on 4 1

Shots off 6 5

Corners 2 4

Fouls 12 15

Offsides 3 2

PETERBOROUGH UNITED (4-3-1-2): Pym 6; Mason 6 (Thompson 84), Beevers 8, Kent 7, Butler 7; Knight 7 (Burrows 80), Reed 6, Boyd 6; MADDISON 8; Eisa 7 (Dembele 63, 5), Toney 6. Subs (not used): O’Malley, Bennett, Tasdemir, Ward.

SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1):

5 J McLaughlin: Beaten too many times to say he had a good game;

5 O’Nien: Had been lively enough and then got suffered the red card woe

5 Ozturk: this wasn’t a day for the men at the centre of the defence

5 Willis: Got his head on plenty that came his way but not as convincing as he has been of late

4 C McLaughlin: Struggled to make his mark defensively after being brought back;

6 LEADBITTER: Had played reasonably well throughout the game until things turned sour

5 Power: Unable to make his mark and was another man to enter the referee’s notebook

5 Gooch: Made a couple of decent runs without excelling

5 McNulty: Was the one Sunderland player to test Pym

5 McGeady; Didn’t make Sunderland tick like he did last season here

3 Wyke: Had not enjoyed the best of outings and needlessly picked up a second yellow

Subs:

Grigg (for Gooch 63): Had a difficult task with Sunderland shorthanded. 5

Flanagan (for McNulty 74)

Dobson (for McGeady 78)

(not used) Burge (gk), McGeouch, Baldwin, Embleton.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Marcus Maddison – the dynamic Durham midfielder shone above the rest.