Sunderland Return To Top Six With WBA Win
Sunderland returned to winning ways in the EFL Championship as the Vertu Motors-backed side secured victory for the first time since early November.
The Black Cats had been winless since the international break, with defeats to Plymouth and Huddersfield being followed by a draw with Millwall – leaving the side ninth in the standings.
Following the decision to part company with manager Tony Mowbray, Mike Dodds took caretaker control and saw his side miss out on a first half opener when Jobe Bellingham’s goal was wrongly disallowed for offside.
Sunderland hit the front after the break when a free-kick from Alex Pritchard was headed in by Dan Ballard with 20 minutes left, and Dan Neil then doubled the lead with six minutes to go with a cool finish past visiting keeper Alex Palmer.
Although Brandon Thomas-Asante was able to pull a goal back shortly afterwards, Sunderland were able to see out the final minutes to secure a vital win that lifted the team back into the top six.
Sunderland are at home to Leeds United next before a visit to Bristol City.