Andy's Player Ratings: Sunderland 2-1 Sheffield United The lads ...

Anthony Patterson: 9/10

Made a vital stop early on from Kieffer Moore’s penalty and made a few good saves throughout.

Claimed a few crosses and his passing was passable, but got away with holding onto the ball for too long at one point in the first half.

Flung himself into a crowd at the death to clutch the ball from a dangerous cross.

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Trai Hume: 7/10

Made a few eye-catching runs forward in both halves to create opportunities for his forwards.

Defended well but got caught slightly out of position a couple of times and had to drag his man down.

Chris Mepham: 8/10

Typically assured display from Mepham, which was much needed with Luke O’Nien looking a little frantic in the first half.

Luke O’Nien: 6/10

Played well for a lot of the game but probably got a bit carried away when trying to battle with Moore.

Gave away a stupid penalty and scored an own goal. Did better after the break as we battled hard, and even played a great through ball to Dan Neil to start an attack.

Aji Alese: 7/10

Came in at left back and did a good job against some tricky opponents.

Didn’t get forward much but helped us look more solid.

Dan Neil (C): 7/10

Protected the back four well for most of the game and broke the lines well with a clever pass or a quick feint.

Not massively influential on the ball due to the visitors having most of the ball, but a different kind of captain’s performance.

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Jobe Bellingham: 7/10

A very disciplined, and hardworking display from Jobe, who got stuck in and helped us see out the game.

Probably should’ve scored when well-placed in the second half but ballooned his shot over the bar.

Patrick Roberts: 7/10

Was causing Sheffield United some problems in the first half as he combined with Hume.

Not much chance to shine after the break but worked really hard off the ball.

Adil Aouchiche: 7/10

Put in a massive shift down the left, helping Alese defend the flank and had a few opportunities going forward without anything quite coming off for him.

Best moment was a great cross early in the second half that almost found the outstretched toe of Wilson Isidor.

Eliezer Mayenda: 9/10

Scored a really good goal after chasing onto a loose ball and showed a very composed finish after his big misses in recent games.

Also got an assist after picking out Wilson Isidor on the break. Could easily have had a hat-trick, with his pace and running causing the visitors all sorts of problems.

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Wilson Isidor: 7/10

Scored a fantastic goal with a brilliant first touch, driving past the defender and finishing in style.

Also planted a header just wide.

Substitutes

Leo Hjelde: 6/10

Came on for Aouchiche late on as we looked to see out the victory.

Nazariy Rusyn: N/A

A very late change as we used up time.

Man of the Match: Eliezer Mayenda

Had been much maligned in the last week after some big misses at vital times in a game, but showed what he had to offer in his more natural position.

Started just off Isidor and caused the division’s best defence all sorts of problems all night due to his direct running.

Scored with a composed finish after being one-on-one, set up Isidor for the second and on another night could easily have scored more.

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