Sunderland Vs West Bromwich Albion: Player Ratings

Simon Mignolet - 5

Not the best day for Mignolet was it? Starting on the positive though he made a great stop from Shane Long early in the second half, but other than that it's difficult to pick out many positives. West Brom's second goal was really Sunday League standard. Unfortunate, yes, but things like that can cost you games. Perhaps might have got a stronger hand to Gera's goal but we won't be too down on that one.

Phil Bardsley - 6

A decent game from Bardsley. Didn't do anything wrong for a change which is a positive, but also we should be fair. He was full of running and effort and never gave up. Just perhaps didn't contribute enough when at right back going forward.

John O'Shea - 5

Another quite rubbish day at the office from O'Shea. Unluckily booked in the first half and from then didn't look comfortable. Taken off with an injury at half time, and perhaps might have been taken off anyway as he wasn't anywhere near his best for yet another week.

Carlos Cuellar - 7

I thought Cuellar had a good game. He looked solid in the air and on the deck and generally did a very competent job at the back. Well done to him. Hopefully some of it starts to rub off on O'Shea sooner rather than later.

Danny Rose - 7

Danny Rose once again showed that he is a magnificent full back in the making. He was great defensively and just as good going forward. One particular highlight moment came in the second half when he made a superb last ditch tackle on Billy Jones to prevent the scoreline escalating.

Adam Johnson - 6

Back down to earth with Johnson after last week's impressive outing at Fulham. Booked for a childish challenge, often over-crossed the ball, and a lot of the time it didn't seem to be happening for him. Note to Martin O'Neill though - he did much better on the left, as he did last week. Drifted out of things in the second half.

Lee Cattermole - 6

Looked decent up until his injury and was giving our midfield a bite it was missing for the final hour of the game. Hopefully the injury isn't too bad, although he'll probably sit out Tuesday's game against Queens Park Rangers.

Jack Colback - 5

Not the best of games for Jack as his slump continues. There's every chance he's due a rest, and with Craig Gardner in goalscoring form, you wouldn't be surprised to see it sooner rather than later. Seemed a little lost today, and never really found himself in the thick of the action.

Seb Larsson - 7

Larsson did a lot of good today I felt. He put in plenty of crosses, with most of them having fairly spot on delivery if only anyone had bothered to attack them. This attacking instinct didn't waver once he was moved to right back either. Perhaps this is something to consider in the future for us.

Stephane Sessegnon - 7

Sessegnon provided all the threat for us and looked once again like he was getting back to his best. Nearly scored a world class goal in the first half, and the scrappy goal towards the end was a little reward for a hard-working performance.

Steven Fletcher - 6

More like the performances we'd seen from the last few weeks really. Hard working, lots of running but not given good enough service. Difficult to point out anything bad, but at the same time not a great deal to write home about for the Scottish international.

Craig Gardner - 6

Came on in midfield for Lee Cattermole early on. Usually that's when he becomes the new Tommy Miller, but actually put himself about a little bit and hit a decent freekick for the goal. It would be tempting to chuck him in again for the Queens Park Rangers game on Tuesday ahead of Colback alongside David Vaughan.

James McClean - 5

A disappointing outing for McClean who couldn't get himself going into the game, offered very little going forward and it was no surprise to see him dropped to left back late on with Rose pushed into midfield such was his lack of impact.

Louis Saha - 5

There's very little you can ever say about a Louis Saha performance for Sunderland. Whether he comes on, Fraizer Campbell comes on or my Auntie Phyllis comes on. They're all likely to make the same amount of impact on the game, and she's been dead for 12 years. Nondescript.

Man Of The Match: Stephane Sessegnon

Last weekend's performance from Sess was abysmal, but he bagged a belter of a goal. This week it was the other way round where he played great and scored a goal nobody would miss. Still, right place at the right time and all that. He should go into Tuesday with plenty of confidence. Danny Rose and Carlos Cuellar also had good shouts for the award mind you.