Phil Smith's Sunderland AFC player ratings: Who shone and struggled in the friendly against Harrogate Town?
By Phil Smith
Published 29th Aug 2020, 16:58 BST
Updated 29th Aug 2020, 17:11 BST
Sunderland made it three wins from three in pre-season as they laboured to victory over Harrogate Town.
After a drab first half, Will Grigg’s late strike sealed victory for the Black Cats despite a concerning performance against their League Two opponents.
But who caught the eye ahead of next weekend’s return to competitive action, and who has work to do to convince Phil Parkinson they are deserving of a start?
Scroll down to see how Phil Smith rated the players against Harrogate:
Scroll down to see how Phil Smith rated the players against Harrogate:
9. Chris Maguire
Played in a couple of dangerous early crosses, as well as one free-kick that troubled the goalkeeper, but was otherwise unable to exert much of an influence in the final third. 5 Photo: FRANK REID 2020
Had a very quiet start and struggled to get into the game. Was livelier in the second half and caused the Harrogate defence sme problems, seeing one close-range effort cleared off the line. 5 Photo: FRANK REID 2019
Had very little sight of goal throughout the game and was unable to build on his brace from earlier this week. Sunderland’s attacking play carried little threat for the most part. 5 Photo: Frank Reid
Replaced Jordan Willis at the break and coasted through a second half in which Harrogate posed little threat to the Sunderland goal. 6 Photo: Frank Reid