Patrick Roberts' late strike earned Sunderland a deserved win against Reading at the Stadium of Light - and brought the Black Cats to within a point of the play-off places. After a dire first half played at a slow tempo with Reading seemingly determined to waste time at every opportunity, the second period was a major improvement.
But chances came and went for Tony Mowbray's men and as the game entered its final ten minutes it looked like it might be one of those days. That was until Roberts opened Reading up down the right-hand side five minutes from the end, and scored the only goal of the game.
It was the third time he has scored against Reading this season, having scored twice in the 3-0 win at the Madejski Stadium back in September. And his goal on Wearside was enough to lift Sunderland to seventh place in the table where they are hard on the heels of Watford, who are one place and one point above them.
