How did the players perform in Sunderland's 2-0 defeat at Lincoln?


LINCOLN (4-3-3):

BURSIK 9; Poole 6, Eyoma 7, Jackson 5 (Montsma 15, 6), Edun 6; Scully 7 (McGrandles 85), Bridcutt 6, Grant 8; Johnson 8 (Anderson 90), Hopper 8, Rogers 7.

Subs (not used): Long (gk), Sanders, Bramall, Morton.


SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1):

4 Burge: Was played into trouble by Flanagan, but still made a complete mess of his clearance, enabling Johnson to score

5 O’Nien: Reverted to his more usual position of right-back, but was never able to make an impact in an attacking sense

5 Wright: Tried to hold things together, but reacted slowly when Lincoln opened the scoring and never looked wholly comfortable

4 Flanagan: Got the nod to play despite his injury issues, but his misjudged back-pass enabled Lincoln to double their lead

5 Hume: Only lasted ten minutes or so before he was forced to hobble off with what appeared to be a muscular injury

5 Power: Struggled to exert any kind of authority at the heart of midfield and generally found himself passing sideways

4 Scowen: Not for the first time this season, the game passed him by as he failed to produce a telling forward pass

6 JONES: Provided an occasional moment of quality, and came close with a second-half effort that Bursik tipped onto the bar

6 Gooch: Was one of the few Sunderland players trying to be positive and came close with a shot that flew just wide

5 McGeady: Forced Bursik into one good save, but wasted a number of decent positions by failing to find the target

5 Wyke: Never really looked like shrugging off his markers to be able to fashion a chance in the 18-yard box


Subs:

4 McFadzean (for Hume, 11): Came on at an early stage of the game but didn’t really look defensively secure

6 Stewart (for Jones, 68): Added a physical threat in the closing stages – might well come into consideration for the second leg

5 Leadbitter (for Power, 68): Tried to keep the ball moving in the closing stages and came close with a long-range shot

(not used): Matthews (gk), Diamond, Winchester, Maguire.


Man Of The Match: JOSEF BURSIK – The goalkeeper only joined Lincoln on an emergency basis at the start of the week, but he made an immediate impact on his debut.