Joe Cowan: 7/10
No real chance with any of the goals, although he may be a little upset at getting beat by the first and third goals, with them arrowing into his near post. Made one really important save with his feet when Sunderland were 2-1 up and was proactive from set pieces.
Alex Lienard: 8/10
Defended really well from right back, although did get turned a couple of times in the first half, and got forward often to support attacks.
Finlay Holcroft (C): 5/10
The captain was having a really good game at the back, reading the game well and snuffing out threats
but a let the home side in with an uncharacteristic mistake for the equaliser and almost repeated it shortly afterwards, thankfully Cowan bailed him out.
Charlie Forsyth: 7/10
Steady at the back and not shy of driving into space when the opportunity arose.
Archie Lightfoot: 7/10
Was always driving down the left wing when Sunderland were in possession, flashed one shot from distance just wide and was solid at the back.
Liam Hunt: 7/10
Kept the ball ticking in midfield and didn’t give Man Utd much room in front of our own back four. Saw a very early shot go narrowly over from 20 yards out.
Charlie Dinsdale: 8/10
Caused the home sides all sorts of problems with his running, on and off the ball. Constantly looking to burst into space down the channels and had a few shots in target from the edge of the box.
Felix Scott: 7/10
Gave the team the lead with an instinctive finish from a loose ball and played some clever first time passes to teammates, linking up well from the wings.
Tom Proctor: 7/10
Couldn’t get into the game in the first half but was far more involved after the break, put in some dangerous corners – although his set pieces were very hit and miss – and scored the equaliser when he smashed the ball in off the crossbar.
Marcus Neill: 7/10
Struggled up top on his own but came to life when Geragusian joined him centrally, combined well to forces the goalkeeper into a good save early in the second half and then got a couple of assists after picking out Proctor and Scott for the goals.
Finn Geragusian: 7/10
Worked really hard on the right wing in the first half, without much success but the team looked much better when he came inside after the break. Combined well with Neill on a few occasions and was a great focal point for the team, even if he didn’t really get a chance to work with.
Substitutes
Lewis Campbell: 6/10
Came on to try and give us another option on the left wing and put in one good ball that Proctor steered over.
James Barker: N/A
A late change for Lienard as we chased the game.
Man of the Match: Alex Lienard
Both Lienard and Dinsdale were Sunderland’s best players tonight but my man of the match was Lienard for his contributions at both ends of the pitch. Got up and down the right flank constantly, used the ball well when he had it and often made the right choice to win the ball back when Manchester United were attacking.
