Sunderland let their standards slip as they lost at home to Cardiff City. The Black Cats turned in a below-par performance at the Stadium of Light and could have lost by a more convincing scoreline.
As it was, Mark Harris' goal early in the second half proved decisive on the day and inflicted a second successive home defeat on Sunderland. Tony Mowbray's Black Cats struggled to create clear-cut chances despite including fit-again Ellis Simms from the start.
Defeat meant Sunderland slipped one place to 13th in the table, and they are level on points with 14th-placed Cardiff but above them on goal difference.
READ MORE: Tony Mowbray warns Sunderland must do all they can to keep hold of Ross Stewart
Here's how James Hunter rated the Sunderland players against Cardiff.
Anthony Patterson 7
Brilliant penalty save dug his side out of trouble in the first half, and made a couple of other good stops
Luke O'Nien 6
His usual committed self, but picked up a fifth booking which means he must now serve a one-match ban
Bailey Wright 6
Poor backpass led to the penalty incident, but otherwise OK
Danny Batth 6
Gave away the penalty but Patterson came to his rescue
Dennis Cirkin 6
Did OK
Dan Neil 5
Not at his best, and lucky not be punished when caught in possession in the first half
Abdoullah Ba 5
His first start, and still has a lot to learn at this level
Patrick Roberts 5
A few glimpses of skill, but didn't do enough
Amad 6
Saw one effort cleared off the line in the first half and was a threat in the second half
Jack Clarke 5
Lively in the first half on his return from suspension but less so in the second
Ellis Simms 6
A welcome return to the starting XI, but rarely looked like scoring
Subs
Corry Evans 6
For Ba 57mins. Offered more control in the middle of the park
Alex Pritchard 6
For Neil 57mins. Brought some invention to the final third
Jewison Bennette 6
For Roberts 67mins. Caused Cardiff a few problems down the left
Elliot Embleton 6
For Simms 73mins. Made a limited impact
Not used: Bass, Matete, Hume
