Player Ratings: Morecambe 0 – 1 Sunderland

Both sets of fans were left delighted as Morecambe secured League One football for next season, while Sunderland go into the play-offs. Although, a pretty boring match – it’s a game both sets of fans won’t forget! So, Let’s have a look at how each player performed: 

Anthony Patterson: 6 

An easy day in the office for Patterson as he had to do. However, when called upon, he collected the ball well, came for crosses and seems to improve every week. 

Luke O’Nien: 5 

Morecambe tried to target O’Nien as he played on the left of a back three, a position he isn’t normally used to. O’Nien at times looked nervous, rushing his passes which was inviting pressure. However, came through the challenge and put in some good tackles.  

Bailey Wright: 7 

Looked solid for the majority of the match and kept Cole Stockton quiet. At times looked chaotic in the first period, most likely nerves in the early stages of the game, but was the best player in the black cats defence.  

Danny Batth: 6 

Similar to Wright, had a solid performance at centre back being comfortable in the air and dominated opposition players. Although, on one occasion, was caught out when his marker dragged him out of position which left space in behind – recovered well and retrieved the ball.  

Patrick Roberts: 7 

Roberts struggled to get into the game in the first half, but looked a totally different player in the second. Roberts was a handful for the defenders with his pace driving into dangerous areas on the counter attack and was unlucky not to grab himself a goal.  

Corry Evans: 8 

Easily Sunderland’s best player on the pitch today, and definitely his best performance in a red and white shirt. Slotted a lovely pass to Broadhead from the middle of the pitch, controlled the game from start to finish and broke down majority of passes from Morecombe when they tried to break.  

Elliot Embleton: 6 

A nervous display in the first half, similar to Roberts, being loose in possession on a number of occasions. However, helped out in his defensive duties well and linked up play very nicely in the second half.  

Lynden Gooch: 5 

Gooch played out of position in the wingback role. Although not in his preferred position as a winger, he supported the back three well and put in some hard tackles. However, unlike recent weeks, his crossing and especially his passing wasn’t to his standards – losing the ball on many occasions.  

Alex Pritchard: 6 

Pritchard struggled to break the back line in the first half, having two men marking him. The second half was his best display, as his experience guided Embleton and Evans in the midfield and was very unlucky not to get an assist. A promising start for midfielder who got 80 minutes under his belt after coming back from injury.  

Nathan Broadhead: 7 

A lovely cool finish into the bottom corner gave him his tenth goal this season. Although he was only one for ten minutes, he looked sharp with good movement and putting pressure on the Morecambe defence. Unfortunately, Broadhead came off the field with potentially another hamstring injury, which is a serious worry with Sunderland now going into the play-offs.  

Ross Stewart: 6 

Stewart was unlucky today not to have bagged himself a goal, with his performance not being as bad as some people might say. His positional awareness was outstanding, dragging out defenders for Broadhead (and Clarke when he came on) to find pockets of space. A lot of the times he was fouled and was never given the proper service towards him. He was taken off with twenty minutes to go, as Alex Neil’s attention is now on the play-offs. 

Dan Neil (Sub): 4 

Neil was brought on with less than 10 minutes to go for Pritchard. He didn’t really have enough time to make an impact on the game and at times looked sluggish, slowing down the game and was caught a few times in possession. By the end of the match, he was actually upfront for the black cats.  

Jack Clarke (Sub): 6 

Had a slow start after being substituted on for Broadhead in the centre, but once in his more favourable left-hand side he was sharp, quick and caused Morecombe defenders a lot of problems.  
 

Jay Matete (Sub): 5 

Replaced Stewart with twenty minutes left. Competed well in midfield and cut out key passes from midfield to break up play.