Wycombe Wanderers 3 Sunderland 3: Story of the day after two Ross Stewart goals and late Joe Jacobson equaliser in thrilling contest
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An own goal by Wycombe goalkeeper David Stockdale put the visitors ahead before Anis Mehmeti’s low strike drew Wycombe level.
The Chairboys then went ahead courtesy of Sam Vokes’ close-range header, but Sunderland managed to go in level at half-time following a neat finish from Ross Stewart.
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Hide AdSunderland improved after the break and went close on several ocasions in a thrilling contest.
It then looked like Stewart had scored the winner when he put the Black Cats ahead in stoppage-time, only for Joe Jacobson to snatch a dramatic leveller.
Here’s how the game played out:
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RECAP: Sunderland 3 (Stockdale, own goal, 3) (Stewart, 39, 90+2) Wycombe 3 (Mehmeti, 14) (Vokes, 36) (Jacobson, 90+8)
Key Events
- Sunderland XI: Patterson, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin, Evans (Diamond, 80), Neil, Gooch, Embleton, Pritchard, Stewart
- Subs: Carney, Xhemajli, Younger, Hume, Taylor, Diamond, Hawkes
- Wycombe XI: Stockdale, Grimmer, Forino, Jacobson, Obita, Scowen, Mehmeti (Horgan, 90+5), Stewart (De Barr, 90+5), McCleary, Vokes (Akinfenwa, 88), Hanlan
- Subs: Przybek, Tafazolli, Thompson, Horgan, De Barr, Pendlebury, Akinfenwa
Johnson on facing Wycombe
Here’s what the Sunderland boss had to say about today’s opponents and their manager Gareth Ainsworth.
“Gareth done a great job,
“You maximise what you’ve got and it’s clear he has done that over a number of years.
“It was an amazing feat to get into the Championship and they’d have fancied themselves to stay up because once they got used to the level, they had a fantastic second half of the season.
“What that’s led to is a very good first half of this season.
“It’s up there with the trickiest game for us going there, tight pitch, disruptive style, and they’ve got some very, very good players in the frontline.
“And then you’ve got the strongest man in football to bring off the bench!”
Sunderland keen for the game to go ahead
Here’s what Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said about Sunderland’s decision to recall players out on loan, rather than ask to postpone the match.
“We are in an incredibly fortunate position to have this calibre of player to call upon and all three have previously represented Sunderland at first-team level this season.
“Postponing tomorrow’s game would not only compromise the integrity of the competition, but also let down our supporters – many of whom will be on the road already and have put plans in place at great expense.
“We are making every effort to fulfil our fixture schedule throughout what remains an incredibly challenging period and we would like to thank the EFL for the flexibility shown in unique circumstances and Notts County, Harrogate Town and Tranmere Rovers for their support and understanding throughout this process.”
Team news
We’ll start with the Sunderland team news.
Lee Johnson said in Wednesday’s press conference that Sunderland have been hit by multiple Covid-19 cases this week - confirming that West Ham loanee Frederik Alves is one of the players who has tested positive.
As a result Sunderland have recalled Jack Diamond, Josh Hawkes and Anthony Patterson from Harrogate, Tranmere and Notts County respectively to ensure they can fulfil the fixture.
An agreement has been reached with the EFL to allow the aforementioned players to return to their loan clubs later this month.
It’s Matchday!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s first match of 2022.
The Black Cats have travelled to Wycombe but have been hit by multiple Covid-19 in the squad.
We’ll have all the build-up as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction throughout the day.
Stick around and refresh the page for live updates.