Last-gasp agony for Black Cats
SUNDERLAND conceded a last-gasp equaliser as they saw two points slip through their grasp at Doncaster Rovers.
Grant Leadbitter’s first-half thunderbolt looked to be enough to kill off a limp Doncaster side, only for Fejiri Okenabirhie to force home in a goalmouth scramble right at the death.
It was a cruel blow for Sunderland, who had dominated in the first half at the Keepmoat Stadium and should have had a penalty even before Leadbitter struck, when Lynden Gooch was flattened inside the area.
And while Doncaster improved after the break, they had managed only a single tame shot on target before Okenabirhie levelled 30 seconds from the end of added time.
The two dropped points saw Sunderland slip to eighth on goal difference, although they remain three points outside the automatic promotion places - and they still have a game in hand on secondplaced Peterborough.
Phil Parkinson made three changes to the side that lost at home to MK Dons last weekend.
Conor Mclaughlin and Tom Flanagan missed the MK Dons game because they were away on international duty, but both returned against Doncaster.
Mclaughlin took the place of right-sided centre-back Jordan Willis - who has had an injection to ease a long-standing knee problem - while Flanagan took his usual place on the left side of the back three with midfielder Max Power dropping out.
That meant Luke O’nien, who had played on the left side of central defence, switched to his usual right wingback role, freeing Gooch to move into midfield to fill the gap left by Power.
The third personnel change saw Chris Maguire return to the side, replacing Will Grigg.
Doncaster Rovers boss Darren Moore also made three changes to the side that lined up in their most recent league game, a 2-2 draw at AFC Wimbledon.
QPR goalkeeper Joe Lumley was signed on emergency loan on Friday and he made his debut - and was facing Sunderland for the second time in three weeks having previously been signed on an emergency loan by Gillingham.
The first 20 minutes was nip-and-tuck, with little in the way of chances at either end.
But gradually Sunderland began to take control and midway through the half Maguire tested Lumley for the first time, with an excellent first touch on the edge of the box to bring the ball under control before hitting a half-volley that was straight at the keeper.
Sunderland were denied what appeared
a stonewall penalty on the half-hour when Gooch was first to the ball inside the area and was then cleaned out by Joe Wright, but referee John Busby was uninterested even though he was only five yards away.
A couple of minutes later, John made a crucial clearance just as Charlie Wyke was preparing to head a Gooch cross home.
And soon after that Wyke saw a shot deflected wide, again from a Gooch cross with the former Doncaster loanee pulling the strings in midfield for the Wearsiders.
Leadbitter unlocked the defence with a diagonal ball which picked out Wyke inside the box on the left, his first touch was good but the angle was tight and Lumley saved his shot at the near post.
The breakthrough came on 43 minutes and again Gooch was heavily involved, making his way across the edge of the box from left to right and when he could not work space for a shot he teed up Leadbitter 25 yards out and his sweet first-time strike left Lumley no chance as it flew into the top left-hand corner. Doncaster had to improve in the second half, and they did raise their game.
Lokilo should have equalised 10 minutes after the restart but he volleyed wide of the target when he was unmarked inside the area and should have done better, while Matt Smith sent a shot wide from outside the box.
Doncaster had to wait until after the hour mark for their first shot on target, but Remi Matthews was equal to Okenabihirie’s effort, and after weathering the storm at the start of the second period, Sunderland began to get back on top.
As the game went into the third minute of added time, Sunderland looked like they had done enough to earn all three points only to concede with 30 seconds remaining. Halliday crossed from the right and the ball seemed to get caught under Bailey Wright’s feet inside the six-yard box, with Okenabirhie on hand to force home from virtually on the line.