Abdoullah Ba made his first appearance of Sunderland’s pre-season campaign at Valley Parade on Tuesday evening. Ba had been recovering from a minor knock but has returned to full training in recent weeks.
As expected, Regis Le Bris made 11 changes to his starting XI from the 1-0 win over Blackpool with Leo Hjelde also passed fit to start. Hjelde missed out on the squad on Saturday due to a minor calf problem.
Elliot Embleton was named in the starting XI despite speculation linking him with a move to Blackpool. None of those who started at Bloomfield Road on Saturday have travelled with the group, with a bench made up of academy players named.
Luis Hemir was also been named on the bench. Pierre Ekwah remains absent with a back problem, having not featured since the opening game of the club’s pre-season camp in Spain.
Sunderland went 2-0 down in the first half to goals from Calum Kavanagh and Andy Cook. Romaine Mundle pulled one back for the visitors in the second stanza.
Here, we take a look at how Phil Smith rated Sunderland’s players against Bradford City:
5. Leo Hjelde
Won most of his aerial duels but did have some tricky moments up against the impressive Andy Cook. Struggled with cramp late on but got through it and finished the game. 5 | Ian Horrocks
6. Chris Rigg
Moved the ball nicely at times but didn’t impact the game as much as we have seen through the rest of pre-season. Never stopped running or trying to get his team-mates going. 5 | Photo: Ian Horrocks
7. Elliot Embleton
Tried to play it quickly and lift the tempo with some good forward passes without opening Bradford up on too many occasions. 6 | Ian Horrocks
8. Abdoullah Ba
Quiet start to the game, understandable given it was his first pre-season appearance. Some good runs and almost assisted Aouchiche in the second half. Flashes of promise even if he didn’t impact the game too much. 6 | Ian Horrocks