Sunderland 2-1 Blackburn: Player ratings as Black Cats leave it late

Who impressed and who did not as Sunderland beat Blackburn.

Rob Cairns | Dec 26, 2022

Sunderland 2-1 Blackburn: Player ratings as Black Cats leave it late /

Sunderland showed some serious mettle at the Stadium of Light as they came back from a goal down to beat Blackburn.

The home side were dominant for the most part, and were unlucky to go behind when Ross Stewart put through his own net.

He soon made amends, though, winning a penalty just three minutes later and converting it himself.

Both sides went for a winner in the second half, but it looked like neither would get one. However, Ellis Simms came up big for Sunderland by prodding home a stylish injury time winner.

Here is how the players rated. Click through the gallery to see who impressed, who didn't, and who was our man of the match.

Sunderland player ratings

Anthony Patterson - Made one excellent stop, down to his left from Tyler Morton. Other than that he had very little to do. 7

Lynden Gooch - Pressed high and worked incredibly hard to overlap Patrick Roberts. Whipped in several dangerous crosses. Appeared to pull up with a hamstring injury which would be a real blow. 7

Luke O'Nien - Continues to go from strength to strength. Can no longer be thought of as a utility man. Centre-back is clearly his best position, and he's a bloody good one at that. 8

Dan Ballard - Grew into the game, and started stepping out of defence, taking the game by the scruff of the neck. Considering he's only just returned from injury, he did remarkably well dealing with the physicality of Gallagher and Brereton-Diaz. 8

Dennis Cirkin - Got up and down well, albeit not always offering that much quality with the ball. Much more natural than Alese at left-back, so hopefully his injury isn't a serious one. 6

Dan Neil - Fairly non-existent in the first half but lots of bright moments in the second. He's eliminated some of the sloppy mistakes that let him down earlier in the season. 7

Corry Evans during Sunderland defeat at Swansea

Corry Evans - His passing wasn't as crisp as sometimes, but the intelligence of his off the ball running makes up for his lack of physicality. If he got injured we'd be in real trouble. He's one of our most important players. 6

Jack Clarke - A quintessential Jack Clarke performance. At times frustrating, at times unstoppable. His ability to eat up ground and beat a man shouldn't be underestimated. The brightest he's looked for a while. 7

Amad Diallo - Just a really high quality player. His close control and ability to turn on a sixpence means he's the best placed player to replace Pritchard in the 10 role for now. It also means that Roberts gets to start. 7

Ross Stewart - Just so intelligent in the way he uses his body, as exemplified by the penalty he won. As with Ballard, he's picked up right where he left off. It's great to have him back. 7

Patrick Roberts - Lots of smart flicks and touches, combining well with Gooch on the right flank. Considering his skillset, he could possibly chip in with more goals. 7

Ellis Simms (SUB) - An excellently composed goal to win it at the end. It will be interesting to see whether Mowbray finds a role for him alongside Stewart in the starting eleven. 7

Bailey Wright (SUB) - Added a bit of physicality and experience. 6

Trai Hume (SUB) - Had a good chance to score with his first touch of the ball before being carded after Rankin-Costello got past him. Always looks tidy and easy on the eye but can be targeted physically. I still don't think it would be the worst thing if he went out on loan in January, provided we had sufficient cover at full-back. 6

Man of the Match - Luke O'Nien - I may as well copy and paste my O'Nien player ratings from any game from the last few months, as the consistency he's showing is exceptional. His transition from a workmanlike League One midfielder, to a cultured Championship centre-half is just glorious.

Sunderland player ratings

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