How did the players fare in Sunderland's goalless draw with Northampton Town?


NORTHAMPTON (3-4-3):

Mitchell 6; Jones 6, BOLGER 8, Sheehan 6 (Horsfall 62, 6); Adams 6 (Harriman 89), McWilliams 5, Watson 6, Sowerby 5; Hoskins 5, Rose 4 (Smith 74), Ashley-Seal 5.

Subs (not used): Arnold (gk), Holmes, Missilou, Marshall.


SUNDERLAND (4-3-3):

6 Burge: Got down well late on to keep out Hoskins’ deflected strike, but will not have many quieter afternoons in the remainder of the season

6 McLaughlin: Was an important factor in Sunderland’s watertight defensive display, but wasn’t able to break forward as he would have liked  

8 WRIGHT: Dominated the Northampton attack from first minute to last – won everything in the air and was equally assured with the ball on the bottom

8 Flanagan: Matched Wright’s flawless defensive performance – took responsibility for dealing with Rose and acquitted himself very well

7 Sanderson: Was asked to play out of position at full-back, and while his attacking threat was understandably limited, he did not put a foot wrong defensively

5 Power: Tried his luck with a long-range effort in the first half, but needed to play much higher up the field given Northampton’s willingness to sit back

6 Leadbitter: Performed his usual sweeping-up role at the base of midfield and tried to get Sunderland going with some diagonal long balls

5 Scowen: Struggled with his passing on the pock-marked pitch and failed to find the target with a glanced header in the second half

5 Diamond: Lacked his usual verve as he tried to get forward down the right-hand side and failed to deliver a really telling ball into the box

5 Wyke: Got himself into a couple of useful positions, but wasted a great early headed opportunity and also failed to find the target late on

4 McGeady: Suffered a frustrating afternoon as his control let him down on a number of occasions and he headed down a series of blind alleys


Subs:

5 Maguire (for Power, 68): Slotted into something of a free role late on, but never really got himself into a position to do any damage

5 Gooch (for Diamond, 68): Wasn’t able to change the course of the game in the latter stages, but is gradually working his way back to full fitness

O’Brien (for McGeady, 78)

Graham (for Wyke, 88)

(not used): Matthews (gk), Willis, Embleton.


Man Of The Match: BAILEY WRIGHT – On a day when backlines were on top, the Sunderland centre-half was comfortably the pick of the defensive talent on display.