Sunderland AFC 1-0 Swindon Town

Sunderland moved up to fourth in the League One table after beating Swindon Town 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats broke the deadlock in the 69^th minute with a header from Charlie Wyke.

Swindon almost equalised in the final minute through Scott Twine, but Sunderland managed to hold on.

Lee Johnson made two changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Crewe at the weekend, with Jordan Jones and Carl Winchester replacing Aiden O’Brien and Conor McLaughlin.

Swindon had the first real chance of the game, but Scott Twine’s free kick was parried away and eventually collected by Lee Burge.

Sunderland controlled possession in the first half but failed to have a shot on target, with their best chance coming when Wyke latched onto Lynden Gooch’s cross, but his shot went past the post.

Johnson’s side eventually found a breakthrough in the 69^th minute. Chris Maguire whipped a great free kick into the box and Wyke was on the move to head the ball past Connal Trueman.

Hallam Hope was brought on for Swindon and almost had an instant impact in the 72^nd minute, but Burge was quick to react to close down his shot.

The Black Cats nearly doubled their lead when he capitalised on a defensive mistake, but his shot was smothered by Trueman.

Sunderland’s hard work was almost undone in the final minute of injury time, but Scott Twine’s free kick rattled the bar.

With many teams dropping points around Sunderland, their position is looking much stronger than it did a few weeks ago, and they will be hoping to continue their good form when they play Rochdale at the weekend.