Stewart on the spot to fire Cats to welcome win
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Sunderland ended their winless run with an emphatic away win against Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
Ross Stewart took his tally for the season to 22 with two penalties, building on Bailey Wright’s first-minute header.
Wigan dominated possession for much of the game, but Sunderland produced the kind of battling away performance in front of almost 5,000 travelling fans that has too often eluded them of late.
Leam Richardson’s side ultimately created little, the visitors more than worthy of the win that serves as crucial boost in their bid to steady in the play-off places.
They had come into the game low on confidence and with optimism on Wearside waning fast, no wins in six and no wins at all since the arrival of Alex Neil.
Neil had hinted on Friday in his pre-match press conference that he was facing further injury issues and that became apparent when both Callum Doyle and Danny Batth were absent from the matchday squad.
It meant a first league start for Arbenit Xhemajli, who had not played a minute of league football since joining Sunderland in 2020.
“He’s trained really well, but it would be a big ask for him to come in at this stage and drag us forward,” Neil had said on Friday, but that was exactly what he did.
Neil otherwise kept personnel largely the same, but did move to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 shape.
Carl Winchester set the tone by driving forward from right-back with his first touch and his team were rewarded inside the first minute. Alex Pritchard’s delivery to the back post was inch perfect and Wright did well to head past Ben Amos and into the bottom corner.
Wigan, still looking a solid bet for automatic promotion,
responded strongly and Patterson did well not to push a Max Power free-kick back into a dangerous area.
Moments later the hosts should have been level when James McClean was left free to meet a low cross at the back post, slicing his effort across goal and wide.
The hosts were dominating possession, but Sunderland were showing a resilience that has often evaded them on the road this season.
Their play was far from fluid and defending far from perfect, but they were tenacious and broadly protected Patterson well. Xhemajli epitomised that, winning the majority of his aerial duels.
With Pritchard again influential, at the half-hour mark Sunderland were beginning to just create a few halfopenings on the break.
It led to a welcome penalty, good combination play by Winchester and Lynden Gooch down the right leading to Stewart pinching the ball ahead of Curtis Tilt just inside the box.
It was a clear trip and though Power tried to put the Scot off by moving the ball from the spot, a 21st goal of the campaign was fired emphatically into the bottom corner.
Wigan applied more pressure towards the break, but good goalkeeping by Anthony Patterson meant Sunderland
had a lead to try to protect in the second half.
Wigan had produced little, but much of their success their season had been borne from late goals and yielding a significant number of points from losing positions.
It was the Black Cats who forged the first opening of the second, Stewart firing a loose ball from a free-kick across goal with Wright just not able to connect at close range.
Sunderland were breaking with real threat, and were again inches away from a third when Elliot Embleton teed up Pritchard, the attacking midfielder just putting his effort wide of the far post.
Wigan were struggling, but were presented with a
huge chance when Sunderland switched off and allowed Callum Lang to burst through. Patterson did well, making the save .
His composed goalkeeping was a crucial part of Sunderland’s performance, the hosts applying significant pressure, but struggling to turn it into clear chances
As the game entered the final 20 minutes, the visitors looked to have steadied, Stewart going close with a dangerous snapshot on the edge of the area.
Wigan threatened when McClean delivered a free kick to the back post, but an excellent header from Tilt flashed just wide of Patterson’s far post.
Chances had been otherwise few and far between, and Sundrland kept pushing for a third when they could.
The introduction of Jack Clarke proved key in that regard, the Tottenham loanee again bringing threat with his direct running.
His dangerous run forced a free kick from the edge of the area, his own effort pushed just wide of the near post by Amos. From his corner, a penalty was given to the widespread bemusement of all in the ground, as Tendayi Darikwa was penalised for handball.
Stewart stepped up to again send Amos the wrong way and the away support into delirium.