Sunderland slipped out of the play-off places as they suffered a shock defeat against relegation strugglers Rotherham United at the New York Stadium. The Black Cats turned in a poor first-half performance and trailed at half-time after Ollie Rathbone gave the hosts the lead inside 20 minutes.
And it got worse for Tony Mowbray's men in the second half when Shane Ferguson added the second goal for the Millers ten minutes after the restart. On-loan Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt opened his account for the club when he pulled a goal back just after the hour, but Sunderland could not force an equaliser.
The defeat ended Sunderland's five-game unbeaten run in the league, and it meant they dropped to eighth in the table, a point outside the play-off spots. Rotherham's victory ended their five-game winless streak, and they moved up one place to fifth-bottom.
