Blackpool 1 Sunderland 1: Highlights as Ross Stewart goal earns visitors a draw after Shayne Lavery opener

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Sunderland came from behind to draw 1-1 against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

After a slow start Tony Mowbray’s side fell a goal behind in the 21st minute when Shayne Lavery opened the scoring with a low finish.

Despite hitting the bar through Amad on the stroke of half-time, Sunderland had to wait until midway through the second half to draw level when Ross Stewart headed home.

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The visitors then finished the match the stronger of the two sides but couldn’t force a winner, as Blackpool defender Callum Connolly was also sent off after receiving two yellow cards.

Here’s how the game played out:

RECAP: Blackpool 1 (Lavery, 21) Sunderland 1 (Stewart, 66)

Key Events

  • Sunderland Xl: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, Wright, O’Nien, Clarke, Michut (Ba, 62), Neil, Amad, Roberts, Stewart
  • Subs: Bass, Evans, Ba, Matete, Rigg, Bennette, Dajaku
  • Blackpool: Maxwell, Connolly, Ekpiteta, Husband, Thorniley, Patino (Dougall, 80), Carey, Poveda (Wright, 89), Hamilton (Beesley, 73), Lavery (Yates, 73), Madine
  • Subs: Grimshaw, Williams, Thompson, Wright, Dougall, Beesley, Yates

Happy New Year! We hope it will be a good one for you and Sunderland AFC.

The Black Cats face Blackpool at Bloomfield Road today, with Tony Mowbray’s side starting the day fourth in the table.

We’ll have all of the build-up ahead of the match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.

Stick around and refresh the page for live updates throughout the day.

Today is also the start of the January transfer window.

Sunderland were rocked yesterday with the news that Everton had decided to recall striker Ellis Simms from his loan spell on Wearside.

It leaves the Black Cats potentially needing to sign at least two strikers this month, with Ross Stewart now the only natural recognised forward option.

Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has said there will be funds to invest this month, yet the club will now target adding depth and quality in ‘specific’ areas rather than rebuilding the squad.

That is likely to include trying to sign another holding midfielder as cover for Corry Evans.

There is also a decision to be made with Stewart, who is attracting interest from several clubs, with less than a year left on his contract. Sunderland do have an option to extend the deal by a further year.

Alex Pritchard’s contract is set to expire this summer, with the playmaker also attracting interest from other Championship clubs.

Sunderland may also look to send some of their fringe players out on loan, including Leon Dajaku and Jay Matete, yet both came off the bench in the win at Wigan.

Frank Reid

Mowbray is also facing several injury setbacks going into today’s match.

Alex Pritchard is facing another spell on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of his calf issue in the win at Wigan.

Sunderland will be bolstered by the return of captain Corry Evans, though, after the midfielder was rested for the win at Wigan.

Dennis Cirkin (hip) and Danny Batth (calf) could be involved after injury issues, yet Lynden Gooch (hamstring) Aji Alese (ankle) remain out.

Elliot Emblton continues to recover from a long-term injury setback.

Frank Reid

Mowbray on selection dilemmas

While he does have injuries to contend with, Mowbray also faces some selection dilemmas after the likes of Abdoullah Ba and Edouard Michut came into the starting XI and impressed at WIgan.

“We’ve got some talented attackers,” said Mowbray after the match.

“It’s not easy to manage, because generally attacking players have egos attached to them, and they all want to play.

They all sulk when they come off because they think they can score, and yet my job is to incorporate everybody but also try to get them to be humble enough to understand that it’s not about them.

“I tell them I love them all, yet I can’t pick eight strikers and attacking midfielders because we have to try to win the match.

“Football’s always about a balance, but there is a lot of riches in that attacking part of the field now considering that a couple of months ago, we had no strikers at all.

“Now, we seem to be flush with them. We’ve picked up defensive injuries, so we’ll have to try to get them back, but things are definitely looking brighter at the other end.”

Frank Reid

How Blackpool are shaping up

Blackpool are 23rd in the table and haven’t won for eight matches.

Michael Appleton’s side were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United at Bloomfield Road last time out, and the Tangerines boss had this to say ahead of today’s match:

“It’s a huge test because for as much as they’ve come up from League One last year, they’re a massive club. They’re a huge, huge football club with quite a bit of wealth behind them as well it has to be said.

“They’ve got a really good manager. I’ve worked under him so I know what Tony’s about. He’s a good football guy and he’s got them going and they’ve got a few players that have come back from injury that have been key and they’ve missed and it’s going to be a very difficult game. It’s one that we’re all looking forward to.

“They’re the sort of challenges that you’ve got to be prepared to take on and I’m sure the players going into that game are aware and will be made aware of the game we had up with them at their place.

“It’ll be slightly different as they’ve got a couple of players fit now that they didn’t have available at the Stadium of Light, but we know how important the first goal can be in these type of games and we didn’t do that against Sheffield United and made life difficult for ourselves with the second goal.

“We’ll have the same approach. I thought the way we started against Sheffield United was very good and we’ll have to do the same again on Sunday to get something from the game.”

Frank Reid

Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match:

Predicted Blackpool XI: Grimshaw, Connolly, Ekpiteta, Husband, Thompson, Patino, Carey, Poveda, Beesley, Yates

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Ballard, Wright, O’Nien, Hume, Evans, Neil, Clarke, Amad, Roberts, Stewart

NW

We’ve arrived at Bloomfield Road

So it’s two changes to the Sunderland side which started at Wigan on Thursday.

Ross Stewart and Patrick Roberts replace Ellis Simms and Abdoullah Ba, who drops to the bench.

Captain Corry Evans is back in the squad after missing the game at the DW Stadium, while 15-year-old Chris Rigg has also been named on the bench for the first time.

It looks like Sunderland will stick with a back three of Daniel Ballard, Bailey Wright and Luke O’Nien.

Blackpool have made four changes following their 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United, with goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, Jordan Thorniley, CJ Hamilton and Shayne Lavery coming in.

Striker Jerry Yates, who has been linked with Sunderland, drops to the bench.

What to make of that side

2’ How Sunderland have started

4’ Early chance for Blackpool

The hosts are applying some early pressure and worked the ball into a good position on the edge of Sunderland’s box.

Poveda’s shot hit Hume in the face before Sunderland cleared the danger.

Connolly receives the first yellow card of the match after bringing down Clarke as Sunderland tried to break down the left.

11’ Amad’s pass overhit

That was the first real chance for Sunderland after Patino gave the ball away to Amad.

The forward tried to release Roberts through on goal but just overhit his low pass.

16’ Better from Sunderland

After a slow start, Sunderland have just started to string a few more passes together.

Roberts and Stewart linked up well there before O’Nien was almost sent through on goal.

Moments later Clarke’s cross from the left just went past Amad at the far post.

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