Sunderland were left to rue a couple of controversial refereeing decisions as they lost 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers. The Black Cats felt they were denied a penalty when Jack Clarke was tripped by Ryan Hedges, and to add insult to injury Blackburn immediately went downfield and took the lead through Ben Brereton Diaz.
And Blackburn's second goal soon after half-time looked to be offside when Scott Wharton headed in from a free-kick. Those decisions - and the scoreline - spoilt Tony Mowbray's return to his former club, having spent five-and-a-half years in charge at Ewood Park before leaving in the summer.
Sunderland's best chance fell to Danny Batth in the second half, but his header was brilliantly saved by Thomas Kaminsky. Sunderland slipped three places to 12th in the table, while Blackburn moved to the top of the Championship.
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Here's how James Hunter rated the Sunderland players.
Anthony Patterson 7
Made a couple of good saves and could do nothing about the goals
Luke O'Nien 7
A decent performance at right-back, and made some important clearances
Danny Batth 6
Solid at the heart of defence, and brought one excellent save out of Kaminsky
Aji Alese 6
Had a sound game in central defence but limped off in the second half, which is a worry
Dennis Cirkin 6
Got forward from left-back whenever he could, but couldn't find that final pass or finish
Patrick Roberts 6
Some neat footwork but lacked end product
Dan Neil 6
Worked hard in the middle of the park
Corry Evans 7
Impressed on his return to the side, and on his return to his former club
Elliot Embleton 5
Struggled to make an impact
Alex Pritchard 7
Brought a good save out of Kaminsky with a set-piece in the first half
Jack Clarke 7
Played through the middle and was denied a clear penalty in the first half when he was tripped by Hedges
Subs
Abdoullah Ba 6
For Neil 64mins. Fresh legs in the middle of the park for the final 25 minutes
Jewison Bennette 6
For Pritchard 64mins. No real opportunities to shine
Amad 6
For Embleton 64mins. Did OK
Trai Hume 6
For Alese 73mins. Called into action when Alese went off injured and did what was needed
Edouard Michut N/A
For Evans 81mins.
Not used: Bass, Wright
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