Boost for Sunderland trio Bailey Wright, Carl Winchester and Ross Stewart as Portsmouth defender issues concerns ahead of Fratton Park showdown

Sunderland’s excellent start to the season continued last night as Lee Johnson’s side saw off Cheltenham Town at the Stadium of Light with an emphatic win.
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Bailey Wright headed the Black Cats into an early lead and they never looked back as a double from Ross Stewart put them into a commanding position at the interval.

Luke O’Nien added a fourth before on-loan Leon Dajaku grabbed his first goal for the club in style with a well taken finish.

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The result put the Black Cats back on top of the League One table ahead of another crunch meeting with Portsmouth at a sold-out Fratton Park this weekend.

Sunderland striker Ross Stewart continued his fine form in front of goal against Cheltenham Town. Photo credit Frank ReidSunderland striker Ross Stewart continued his fine form in front of goal against Cheltenham Town. Photo credit Frank Reid
Sunderland striker Ross Stewart continued his fine form in front of goal against Cheltenham Town. Photo credit Frank Reid

Here we round-up all of the day's news you might have missed from the Stadium of Light.

Trio in team of the week

After such an emphatic display at the Stadium of Light it comes as no surprise that a number of Sunderland players made their way into the League One team of the week.

Defensive duo Bailey Wright and Carl Winchester, who each scored and assisted on the night respectively, are part of a back four which also includes Wycombe Wanderers’ Ryan Tafazolli who scored in the Chairboys’ win over Shrewsbury Town and Morecambe's Liam Gibson.

Leon Dajaku scored his first goal for Sunderland since arriving on-loan. Photo credit Martin SwinneyLeon Dajaku scored his first goal for Sunderland since arriving on-loan. Photo credit Martin Swinney
Leon Dajaku scored his first goal for Sunderland since arriving on-loan. Photo credit Martin Swinney
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Winchester answered the decision from Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough to omit him from the squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with another hugely impressive display in defence as the Black Cats dominated throughout the game.

And Sunderland’s two goal hero Stewart was also included in the team which will only further strengthen his claims to be involved in the Scotland squad in the near future.

Stewart’s double took the striker to seven for the season as he continues to excel in filling the void left by 31-goal Charlie Wyke.

Dajaku opens account

It was a memorable night for Dajaku after the 20-year-old opened his account on Wearside with a high-quality first-time finish to add Sunderland’s fifth of the night.

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The tricky winger looked lively when coming on in the second half offering a constant threat in behind the Cheltenham defence and was rewarded when he was able to capitalise on a loose ball from Nathan Broadhead to expertly finish into the top corner.

And the on-loan German took to Instagram to share his special moment stating it was an ‘unbelievable feeling’ to score his first goal for the club.

Portsmouth defence creating their own problems

The Black Cats head to Fratton Park this weekend to take on a Portsmouth side who have found things difficult in League One so far this campaign.

Pompey suffered their fourth defeat in 10 games at the hands of Burton Albion on Tuesday and captain Lee Brown has said his side are their own worst enemy at times.

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Speaking to The News, Brown said: “I think sometimes we create our own problems.

“Both of the goals they scored come from our own mistakes because we’re trying to pass the ball out from the back.

‘At the moment I don’t know the answers. We need to look at it and go through it and come up with some answers pretty quickly.

‘We believe in the way we play and we’ll keep doing it, but we just got caught out tonight.

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