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James Hunter

Sunderland player ratings as Amad and Jack Clarke stand out in play-off clinching win at Preston

Sunderland secured sixth place a Championship play-off spot as they beat Preston North End 3-0 at Deepdale on the final day of the season. Second-half goals from Amad, substitute Alex Pritchard, and Jack Clarke, gave the Black Cats the win they needed to fulfil their end of the bargain.

But they still needed help from elsewhere - either Middlesbrough to beat Coventry City, or Millwall to drop points at home to Blackburn Rovers. And, while Boro fought out a 1-1 draw against the Sky Blues, Blackburn came from 3-1 down to beat the Lions 4-3 at The Den.

Sunderland will now face Luton Town, who finished third, in the play-off semi-finals, with the first leg to be played at the Stadium of Light on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off).

READ MORE: Sunderland's Championship play-off opponents and fixture dates confirmed

Here's how our Sunderland AFC writer James Hunter rated the players.

Anthony Patterson 7

Made a brilliant save from Bauer to preserve his side's lead at 1-0, but otherwise Preston barely tested him

Lynden Gooch 7

A fine game at right-back in the first half and then found himself playing as part of a back three in the second period. Went off with an injury, which is a worry

Trai Hume 8

Solid throughout in central defence

Luke O'Nien 8

Rock solid at the heart of defence, as part of a back four or a three

Dennis Cirkin 7

A decent first half before going off at the break with an ankle injury

Pierre Ekwah 8

His best performance for Sunderland so far, and should have scored in the second half

Dan Neil 8

The driving force in midfield, he was outstanding

Patrick Roberts 7

Caused all kinds of problems for the Preston defence

Amad 8

His stunning strike early in the second half set Sunderland on their way

Jack Clarke 8

Provided the assist for Pritchard and scored the third goal himself

Joe Gelhardt 7

Should have scored in the first half, but kept plugging away up front

Subs

Alex Pritchard 8

For Cirkin 46mins. His goal gave Sunderland some much-needed breathing space

Joe Anderson 7

For Gooch 66mins. Brought on to replace Gooch and played his part as Sunderland kept a clean sheet

Edouard Michut 7

For Gelhardt 72mins. Was ill over the weekend but came on to play his part in an excellent win

Isaac Lihadji N/A

For Ekwah 86mins.

Abdoullah Ba N/A

For Amad 86mins.

Not used: Bass, Taylor

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