Match Ratings: Sheffield United 2 Sunderland 1

SHEFF UTD (3-5-2):

Foderingham 6; AHMEDHODZIC 8, Egan 6, Norrington-Davies 6; Baldock 6, McAtee 7 (Fleck 65, 5), Berge 6, Norwood 6, Lowe 7; Ndiaye 6 (McBurnie 73), Brewster 5 (Khadra 65, 6).

Subs (not used): Amissah (gk), Basham, Doyle, Jebbison.

SUNDERLAND (3-5-2):

7 Patterson: Didn’t have a chance with either goal and made great late saves from Norwood and Egan

7 O’Nien: Started in a back three and ended up in central midfield – did well in both roles

7 Batth: Was strong and dominant all night, both as part of a back three and a flat back four

6 Cirkin: Defended solidly in a centre-half role and wasn’t flustered by the move across to full-back

8 GOOCH: Was at the heart of Sunderland’s second-half fightback and scored with a deft lofted finish

3 Neil: Panicked after miscontrolling Cirkin’s pass and losing possession, and was rightly sent off for hauling back Norwood

6 Pritchard: Passed and probed effectively as Sunderland were the better side for much of the first half, but was taken off in the second

5 Embleton: Wasn’t really an evening when he was able to make a telling impact – left as part of the second-half triple change

6 Clarke: Covered a lot of ground down the right-hand side, even if his attacking opportunities were limited

6 Simms: Produced some extremely bright moments in the first half, and linked well with Stewart when Sunderland had 11 men

7 Stewart: Charged here, there and everywhere all evening, and produced an excellent pass for Gooch’s goal

Subs:

7 Matete (for Simms, 54): Made a positive impact as he drove his side forward in the closing stages

6 Wright (for Pritchard, 54): Slotted into the heart of a back four in the final half-hour

5 Hume (for Embleton, 54): Was stationed at right-back after coming onto the field

Alese (for Batth, 86)

Diamond (for Clarke, 86)

(not used): Bass (gk), Roberts.

Man Of The Match: ANEL AHMEDHODZIC – The Sheffield United defender scored one of his side’s goals and set up the other.