Sunderland 1 Lincoln City 3: Story of the night as Chris Maguire scores hat-trick plus Carl Winchester and Lee Johnson are sent off
and live on Freeview channel 276
Former Black Cats forward Chris Maguire scored a hat-trick and celebrated his opening goal in front of Sunderland boss Lee Johnson.
Carl Winchester was sent off for the hosts after conceding a penalty - which Maguire converted to make it 2-0.
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Hide AdRoss Stewart did pull a goal back from the spot for Sunderland, before Maguire sealed the match with his third.
Here’s how it played out:
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RECAP: Sunderland 1 (Stewart, 68) Lincoln 3 (Maguire, 31, 57, 75)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Patterson, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin (Hume, 64), Neil, Embleton, Gooch, Diamond (O’Brien, 64), Pritchard (Hawkes, 80), Stewart
- Subs: Carney, Younger, Xhemajli, Taylor, Hume, Hawkes, O’Brien
- Lincoln XI: Griffiths, Eyoma, Poole, Sanders, Bramall, McGrandles, Bishop, Fiorini, Adelakun (Sorensen, 76), Whittaker (Robson, 86), Maguire
- Subs: Long, Melbourne, Sorensen, Robson
Predicted line-ups
Here’s how we think both sides could start tonight:
Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin, Neil, Embleton, Diamond, Pritchard, Gooch, Stewart.
Predicted Lincoln XI: Griffiths, Bishop, Eyoma, Poole, Bramall, McGrandles, Sorensen, Fiorini, Whittaker, Maguire, Scully
Here’s what Lincoln boss Michael Appleton had to say about tonight’s match against Sunderland.
“They’re an outstanding team, they’re the benchmark that we need to get to in the coming years.
“It’ll be a different type of game. They’ll be a lot more direct than what Oxford were.
“They’ve got Stewart up top, who, for me, leads the line as well as any player in this division.
“He’s a big, physical presence but he’s got soft feet as well for his size. The third goal he scored on Saturday typified his game.”
How Lincoln are shaping up
Michael Appleton’s side beat Sunderland in the play-offs last season but have struggled this campaign.
The Imps are 19th in the table but did record an important 2-0 win over Oxford on Saturday, courtesy of goals from top scorer Anthony Scully and new signing Morgan Whittaker.
To find out more, we caught up with Lincoln reporter Mark Whiley from Lincolnshire Live.
Here’s what he said on their season so far:
“It’s been tough to say the least! They had some fantastic loanees last season and they haven’t been replaced, although that was always going to be a tall order.
“Several of the new signings haven’t worked out and one – Dan Nlundulu from Southampton – has already been sent back this month.
“They’ve also suffered terribly with injuries to key players like defenders Joe Walsh and Adam Jackson, midfield lynchpin and captain Liam Bridcutt and target man Tom Hopper.
“There have been some really poor performances, particularly in the run up to Christmas, but they were superb against Oxford on Saturday which offered hope.”
Lee Johnson on playing at Wycombe
Here’s what Black Cats boss Lee Johnson had to say in his pre-match programme notes
about the weekend’s draw at Wycombe:
“We faced adversity in the build-up due to COVID-19 and injuries, but we felt it was important to play the game and we gave absolutely everything – as did our outstanding travelling support, who we will never take for granted.
“Our unbeaten run in the league now stands at 10 games and as we return to the Stadium of Light for the first time in 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.”
We’ll start with the Sunderland team news.
Corry Evans is set to miss tonight’s match after he was stretchered off with a head injury at Wycombe on Saturday.
Bailey Wright is also unlikely to return, yet his injury isn’t thought to be too serious.
Sunderland were without a handful of players due to Covid-19 cases at Wycombe, and Aiden O’Brien could return to the squad.
Anthony Patterson, Jack Diamond and Josh Hawkes remain in the squad after being recalled from loan spells.
It’s Matchday!
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s League One fixture against Lincoln City.
The Black Cats could go top of the table tonight, with promotion rivals Rotherham not in action.
We’ll have all the build-up ahead of tonight’s match as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.