Player Ratings: Accrington 0-2 Sunderland - Ross Stewart nets on debut and Wyke scores again!

Lee Burge: 6/10

Another quiet 90 minutes work for him, he needs to be more cautious with his mid range goal kicks.

Conor McLaughlin: 7/10

Defended well, guilty of being too direct with his passing at times, but his risk-averse play was understandable given the Accrington pitch and press.

Dion Sanderson: 8/10

Just looks like a player in total control every time he steps onto the pitch. His passing was superb, his composure was staggering.

You can tell that his teammates have complete faith in his ability, given some of the difficult and challenging passes that were laid at his feet. His one-on-one defending was good on the odd occasion the Accrington front line challenged him.

Luke O’Nien: 5/10

Dominated in the air again, apart from botching one free header from close range.

But, overall you have to say this was maybe the rare game where O’Nien looked like a midfielder playing out of position. He gave away a series of dangerous free kicks and conceded a cheap corner in the process of falling over the ball.

Lynden Gooch: 6/10

Even by Gooch’s standards this was an extremely inconsistent performance. He had some our best crosses, a lot of our worst passes in the final third, and everything in between those two extremes.

Max Power: 7/10

Was first to most second balls, in a scrappy game where there was a lot of them.

Carl Winchester: 7/10

Like Power, he got through a lot of defensive work. Outside of a few mistimed crossfield balls, his passing was sharp too, adding tempo to our attacks.

Jake Vokins: 7/10

Had a strong showing without having any real standout moments. His passing was accurate and he was unlucky that a couple decent crosses came to nothing. His decision-making under pressure was much-improved from his early performances in red and white.

Jack Diamond: 5/10

Struggled for 45 minutes before being hooked, almost all of his play in the final third was wasteful.

Aiden McGeady: 7/10

Looked good every time he got the ball, annoyingly he didn’t have many touches. His crossing was consistently threatening and he got an Accrington defender booked early on.

McGeady was brought off as a precaution midway through the second-half after picking up a needless yellow card.

Charlie Wyke: 7/10

Had some great link up play in the first-half, frustratingly he also blew a couple chances to set up his teammates. On two occasions, Wyke waited too long for the ball to bounce after pinning an Accrington centre half conceding possession.

As always, his workrate was excellent, with two brilliant sliding challenges showing his intent just after we scored. Wyke sealed the points with the easiest of headers from close range.

(SUB) Ross Stewart: 7/10

Scored the all-important first goal with his head, he dominated in the air throughout. Stewart was also a decent outlet holding up the ball well on his Sunderland debut.

(SUB) Josh Scowen: n/a

Came on for McGeady with just over 20 minutes to go.

(SUB) Grant Leadbitter: n/a

Was brought on to try and kill the game with just over five minutes left.

(SUB) Callum McFadzean: n/a

Replaced Vokins a minute after our second goal.

Man of the Match

Dion Sanderson