Bristol City 2 Sunderland 3: Story of the match after Ellis Simms double and Ross Stewart goal at Ashton Gate
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Sunderland took the lead inside four minutes when debutant Ellis Simms, on loan from Everton, opened the scoring.
The hosts drew level six minutes later through Andi Weimann, before Chris Martin put the Robins ahead.
Simms then added a second, allowing Ross Stewart to head home the winner 18 minutes from time.
Here’s how the game played out:
RECAP: Bristol City 2 (Weimann, 10) (Martin, 51) Sunderland 3 (Simms, 4, 53)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Patterson, Gooch, Ballard, Batth, Cirkin, Clarke, Evans, Neil, Pritchard, Simms, Stewart
- Subs: Bass, Wright, Alese, O’Nien, Dajaku, Embleton, Roberts
- Bristol City XI: Bentley, Vyner, Atkinson, Naismith, Sykes, Massengo, Williams, Dasilva, Scott, Martin, Weimann
- Subs: O’Leary, Wilson, King, Klose, Conway, Tanner, Wells
Carl Winchester, Jay Matete, Jack Diamond and Leon Dajaku (who was short of game time from pre-season) were all left out of the squad against Coventry last weekend.
None of the aforementioned players were thought to be carrying injuries, with Neil only able to select 18 players in his matchday squad.
Niall Huggins remains sidelined after missing the majority of last season with a back issue, then a heel injury.
“Niall has still got a lot of work to do to get back to where we’d like to be to be potentially involved,” said Neil in yesterday’s press conference.
“He’s been really unfortunate with the injuries that have come along, and during his rehab he’s had a few setbacks.
“We’re hoping now that we’ve got him to the point where he’s got that clean bill of health so he can start to build his rehab up.”
Transfer latest
Neil has said he still wants to add ‘four or five’ players to his squad before the end of the transfer window but admitted no deals were imminent during yesterday’s press conference.
It’s clear the club are looking to sign another forward, while they are also in the market for another left-sided defender.
Sunderland remain interested in Nathan Broadhead, yet reports from the Everton end have claimed the 24-year-old has been offered a new contract at Goodison Park.
It’s thought Everton will then look to loan Broadhead out to a Championship club this summer.
It’s Matchday!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s Championship fixture at Bristol City.
Both teams will be looking to record their first win of the campaign after last weekend’s opening matches.
We’ll have all of the build-up from Ashton Gate, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.