Sunderland 5 Cambridge United 1: Story of the day after Ross Stewart brace plus Elliot Embleton, Nathan Broadhead and Danny Batth goals
and live on Freeview channel 276
The Black Cats took an early lead when Ross Stewart was brought down by U’s defender Lloyd Jones, who was subsequently sent off.
Stewart then converted from the penalty spot before Elliot Embleton doubled the hosts’ advantage with a free-kick.
Cambridge pulled a goal back through Paul Digby, before Stewart added his second, while Nathan Broadhead and Danny Batth also got on the scoresheet.
Here’s how the game played out:
RECAP: Sunderland 5 (Stewart, 13, 36) (Embleton, 29) (Broadhead, 53) (Batth, 72) Cambridge 1 (Digby, 31)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Patterson, Winchester (Doyle, 10), Wright, Batth, Gooch, Evans (Neil, 67), O’Nien, Roberts, Embleton, Broadhead (Pritchard, 59), Stewart
- Subs: Hoffmann, Doyle, Hume, Neil, Clarke, Matete, Pritchard
- Cambridge XI: Mitov, Williams, Okedina, Jones, Iredale, Digby, May, Brophy, Smith (Bennett, 45), Knibbs (O’Neil, 63), Ironside
- Subs: Mannion, Bennett, O’Neil, Tracey, Lankester, Worman, Hoolahan
How things stand
Here’s what the League table looks like heading into today’s matches.
Games to look out for today:
Rotherham vs Oxford
Sunderland vs Cambridge
Wigan vs Plymouth
Wycombe vs Sheffield Wednesday
MK Dons vs Morecambe
Predicted line-ups
Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match.
Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson; Winchester, Batth, Wright, Cirkin; Evans, Matete; Roberts, Broadhead, Embleton; Stewart
Predicted Cambridge XI: Mitov; Williams, Okedina, Jones, Iredale; May, Digby; Smith, Knibbs, Brophy; Ironside
Cambridge boss on facing Sunderland
Here’s what Cambridge boss Mark Bonner has had to say about Sunderland ahead of today’s match:
“There’s no doubt that they’ve got real talent in their team, players that have moved for big money in the past, players that have scored a lot of goals, have just had very good careers, or have got the potential to have them.
“I think when you play at a club like Sunderland, we’ve seen it against a few teams, it’s a heavy shirt to wear, because the expectations are so big, and therefore that can sometimes take its toll.
“I think in recent weeks they’re finding really good consistency and form at a time when you need it at this stage of the season. The problem is, there are a lot of teams doing that, or teams above them that have lost a little bit of rhythm have got the cushion.
“It’s going to go to the wire, and I’m sure for them, this game’s a pivotal one, and one they look at and think ‘right, we need three points from this one, because this would set us up nicely for the last weekend.
“If we can ruin a party and cause a surprise, of course we’d love to do that”
How Cambridge are shaping up
After winning promotion from League Two last season, Mark Bonner’s side are 12th in the table heading into the match but were beaten 2-0 by Charlton on Tuesday.
We caught up with Cambridge reporter Stephen Page from Cambridgeshire Live to get the inside track.
Here’s what he said when asked about The U’s recent form:
“Despite their League One safety being secured in recent weeks, Cambridge have shown no signs of slowing down in the final games of the season.
“They come into Saturday’s game off the back of four wins in their last six matches, securing their best wins of the league campaign away to Ipswich and Wigan in that run.
“There have been some disappointing results in recent weeks as well, but that is to be expected given the tough run that they’ve had.
“On the whole, they’ve had an excellent season, and to be competing for a top half finish as a newly-promoted side to this league is a superb effort.
“They head to the Stadium of Light without any pressure to secure a result.”
Read more HERE
Neil on Cambridge
Here’s what the Sunderland boss had to say about today’s opponents:
“I think the fact they rested players for the last game leading into this one shows you the significance of this one.
“I know they will say they are rotating their squad but it will be interesting to see if they did that at any other time.
“It is going to be a difficult game, they have a good target for us and pace on the break so it will be a difficult match for us.
“They will want to come here and want to try and win the game.
“I think they will look at it as a good opportunity to show what they can do, they have beaten some good teams along the way.
“They beat Wigan recently and beat Ipswich recently so I’m sure they’ll be coming here to try and do the same.”
Team news
As always we’ll start with the Sunderland team news.
Playmaker Alex Pritchard should be available for selection again after missing the side’s last three matches with a calf issue.
Leon Dajaku remains sidelined through illness, though, while Thorben Hoffmann and Callum Doyle are also doubts with a bug.
Aiden McGeady joined in with training on Thursday and has made progress after being sidelined since November with a knee injury.
It’s Matchday!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s League One clash against Cambridge United.
The Black Cats have three league games remaining this season, and hopefully more as they aim to finish in the play-off places.
We’ll have all the build-up from the Stadium of Light, as well as in-game analysis and post match reaction on what could be a significant day in the promotion race.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.