Sunderland AFC 3-1 Oxford United
Sunderland continued their push for automatic promotion with a 3-1 win at home against Oxford United.
Oxford took the league in through James Henry in the 21st minute, but Sunderland equalised just before half time through Lynden Gooch.
The Black Cats scored two goals in the second half through Aiden McGeady and Max Power to seal the three points.
Sunderland and Oxford have accumulated the most points in the league since Lee Johnson took charge, with the Black Cats earning 43 points and Karl Robinson’s side earning 42 points.
Johnson made two changes to the side that beat Bristol Rovers, with Jordan Jones and Conor McLaughlin both returning to the side.
Oxford took the lead in the 21st minute after a slow start from Sunderland, when Brandon Barker drove through the midfield and laid off James Henry, whose low shot smashed past Lee Burge.
The Black Cats found an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time. Jones showed fantastic skill to beat Jamie Hanson and found Lynden Gooch in the box who tapped it past Jack Stevens.
A huge turning point in the game came in the 61st minute, when Mark Sykes was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Luke O’Nien, allowing Sunderland to take control of the game.
The home side eventually managed to get in front in the 80th minute when Gooch laid off McGeady who placed his shot past the goalkeeper.
Sunderland’s nerves were settled in the fourth minute of injury time after constant Oxford pressure when Charlie Wyke broke away and switched to Power, who calmly slotted the ball past Stevens.
The Black Cats’ next game comes against Peterborough on Monday in a monumental clash in the chase for automatic promotion.
