This is how it played out as Sunderland fight back to start 2023 with Blackpool point

Shayne Lavery had given his side a deserved lead at the break but Tony Mowbray’s side roared back in the second, scoring an equaliser through Ross Stewart and making all almost all of the running thereafer.

In the end they will rue the fact that they didn’t win it, with some big chances going begging in the final quarter of the game.

It was an odd first half in which Sunderland did have openings and yet were clearly well off the pace, by and large outmuscled and outplayed by a Blackpool side that were swift on the counter.

The hosts gave the Black Cats a sight of goal when they passed the ball straight to Amad, but his own pass to Roberts was slightly overhit and the danger passed. Amad was then close to converting a Clarke cross at the back post, but even despite that encouraging phase it was clear the visitors were off the pace.

They were punished from a thrown in deep in Blackpool’s own half, the left side defence caught well out of position. When Wright failed to make a clearance the hosts were through and Shayne Lavery finished well to give his side the lead.

They spurned good openings to double their lead, most notably when Madine blazed wide after being first to react as Patterson blocked a cross. Only towards the end of the half did Sunderland begin to get on the ball, and unsurprisingly it was Amad at the heart of everything. He teed up Stewart who had an effort blocked well and then smashed an effort off the crossbar after meeting a clever pass from Hume.

Mowbray opted against making any half-time substitutions and after a sluggish start his side began to build pressure, Amad denied only by a superb save from Maxwell after Neil sprung him clear in the box.

Sunderland were finally beginning to build a period of sustained pressure and they got their reward with just over 20 minutes to play. Clarke had been persistent through the half and when his cross to the back post was half cleared, Hume leapt on the edge of the box and headed it back into a dangerous area. Stewart was there to meet, deftly turning it past Maxwell for the equaliser.

By now Blackpool were struggling to cope with Sunderland’s pace and quality, and in the end it was a mystery that the Black Cats weren’t able to win it.

Amad did brilliantly to get to the byline but his firm cross was nodded wide by Stewart from a matter of yards, and there was similar frustration for the winger when he just couldn’t connect with Clarke’s delivery.

A torrid second half for Callum Connolly up against Clarke came to its inevitable end when he was shown a second yellow card, but by now there were only minutes to play and so the Black Cats weren’t able to make their numerical advantage count.

Sunderland XI: Patterson; Ballard, Wright, O’Nien; Hume, Neil, Michut (Ba, 61), Clarke; Amad, Roberts, Stewart

Subs: Bass, Matete, Dajaku, Evans, Rigg, Bennette

Blackpool XI: Maxwell; Connolly, Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Husband; Hamilton (Beesley, 73) , Patino (Dougall, 80), Carey, Poveda (Wright, 88); Lavery (Yates, 73) , Madine

Subs: Grimshaw, Williams, Thompson, Wright

Bookings: Connolly, 8 Michut, 19 Poveda, 28 Lavery, 71 O’Nien, 72 Beesley, 85

Red Card: Connolly, 90

Attendance: 14,117