Sunderland 1-0 Reading: Player ratings as Black Cats leave it late

Who impressed and who did not as Sunderland earned a hard-fought win over Reading at the Stadium of Light.

Rob Cairns | Feb 11, 2023

Sunderland 1-0 Reading: Player ratings as Black Cats leave it late /

Sunderland maintained their momentum in the Championship as their quality finally finally told at home to Reading.

The Royals came to Wearside in resilient mood and battled hard from the first whistle to close down Sunderland's flair players.

It was ultimately a game of few clear cut chances, but a late Patrick Roberts goal - his third against Reading this season - made the difference.

The win moves Sunderland to within point point and one place of the play-off positions.

Here is how the Sunderland players rated.

Sunderland player ratings vs Reading

Anthony Patterson - I hardly remember him doing a thing all game against a Reading side which showed next to no ambition. 6

Trai Hume - Competed well with Andy Carroll in the air. He's playing with a lot of confidence and is taking risks where he perhaps wouldn't have done earlier in the season. 7

Dan Ballard - Extremely comfortable throughout. One of the best centre backs we've had in quite some time. 7

Danny Batth - He and Ballard batted away Reading's collection of random Premier League has-beens with ease. 7

Aji Alese - Played almost as our most advanced player for half of the match. Considering he was signed as a young centre back with limited experience of professional football, he's doing remarkably well. 7

Dan Neil - Knocked the ball around comfortably without piercing Reading's back five. He was replaced earlier than usual. 6

Edouard Michut - Classy and tenacious. Played a good ball through for Gelhardt early in the second half, then missed a good opportunity to put Sunderland ahead as he fired over the bar. At the moment, the €5million PSG want seems reasonably good value. 7

Jack Clarke - Only so many ways I can say 'typical Clarke. Dangerous at times, frustrating at others'. You almost wonder if playing in a different position would freshen things up a bit. 6

Amad Diallo - Was given very little space or time, but was still tidy and classy on the ball, without affecting the game much. Replaced early which was surprising. He has played a lot of football, though, and is worth protecting for the run in. 6

Patrick Roberts - Scored an excellent winner. His interplay with Amad is always lovely, but actually, it was after Amad went off that he really came into his own and showed his quality. 7

Joe Gelhardt - It's too early to write him off but he's far from a natural replacement for Ross Stewart. It's up to both the staff and him to find a role where he can be effective, as clearly he's a talented player. 6

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Alex Pritchard - Such a great player to bring on when things aren't going your way. He's able to put a foot on the ball and his composure is infectious amongst the team. Good to see him back. 7

Luke O'Nien - He was very good when he came on. Spread the ball well, snapped into challenges, and added personality and character. What else would you expect? 7

Isaac Lihadji - A few neat touches. A few touches where he looked like he was still adjusting to the league. Adds to the long list of left-footed players we've got in the team. 6

Jewison Bennette - He let Reading's full back fly past him far too easily in the final few minutes. Just need to be patient with him, he's still only 18. 6

Abdoullah Ba - Like Lihadji, he only had a couple of touches. Neat and energetic as usual. 6

Manager Rating - I've not done a manager rating before but Tony Mowbray merited a lot of credit today. After a dour first half, he clearly injected some energy and purpose into the side at half time. Today more than ever was great evidence of how well he has managed to integrate all of the young players into a cohesive squad. 8

Man of the Match - Trai Hume - In a match Sunderland didn't play particularly well in, Hume defended well and got forward purposefully.

Sunderland player ratings vs Reading

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