Andy’s Player Ratings: Lincoln City 0-0 Sunderland - No luck for the Lads at Sincel Bank!

Anthony Patterson: 7/10

Barely anything to do until he had to pop up with a great reaction save with 10 minutes to go to keep it goalless. Growing into the number one shirt.

Carl Winchester: 6/10

Solid defensively but not much in the way of forward forays today, not looked out of place in his more central defensive role.

Bailey Wright: 7/10

Marshaled what is still a bit of makeshift defence and leading by example at the back. Did well to move out of the way of a runner late on to let Cirkin cover, as that could easily have led to a penalty.

Dennis Cirkin: 7/10

Another good game for Cirkin, has been playing well defensively and is still getting forward to support attacks. Made one good block in a dangerous position late on despite looking a little leggy, then got forward and put in a great cross for Stewart who almost snatched a winner.

Luke O’Nien: 6/10

Never really stood out but did put one dangerous cross in that saw Clarke fire just wide and has been a factor in the team looking more solid defensively.

Dan Neil: 6/10

Should have done better from the edge of the box early on when set up by Roberts but could only fire over. Didn’t really get going at the right end of the pitch today.

Corry Evans: 6/10

Had two good chances to score, one side-footed effort hit the post, and then a volley was well saved by the Lincoln goalkeeper. Got stuck into a few tackles and got a booking for his troubles.

Lynden Gooch: 6/10

Linked up well with Roberts at times on the right and mostly kept Lincoln quiet down their left but got away with one after giving away a corner when he let the ball run of play despite it coming off himself.

Jack Clarke: 6/10

Not as prominent on the ball today but had a number of good chances that were all fired just wide, good positioning to get himself those opportunities but had to do better with them.

Patrick Roberts: 8/10

His best game for the club so far, pretty much everything came through him but poor finishing from team-mates meant his creative play came to nothing.

Ross Stewart: 6/10

Hard working display without much reward or any notable chances until right at the death, where he almost buried a header but was kept out by a very good save. A couple of good shouts for penalties too but nothing given despite his protests.

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Substitutes

Jermain Defoe: 6/10

Had one really good opportunity following a quick turn and shot but he didn’t catch the ball properly and it went just wide.

Leon Dajaku: 5/10

Came on for Clarke late on and just couldn’t get any change out of the Lincoln right back.

Callum Doyle: 6/10

Good to see Doyle return with a brief cameo, didn’t have anything to do defensively but looked brighter on the ball than the last time we saw him.

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Man of the Match: Patrick Roberts

Did his best to make something happen for Sunderland but was let down by very poor finishing by his team-mates. Created a number of chances and was skipping past Lincoln players at will but every chance he made was wasted. Still, he is looking sharper and will be a big asset for the rest of the season if he can keep performances like that up.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images