Swansea made short work of 10-men Sunderland as they produced one of the comprehensive football scores of the weekend in the Championship. Due to Luke O’Nien’s early dismissal, the Black Cats were forced to play more than 70 minutes with one fewer player. Despite holding their opponents at bay until the half, Swansea’s three goals in the second half completely destroyed the Black Cats. While a valiant Sunderland team managed to tie the score after Joel Piroe’s opening goal in the 50th minute, Liam Cullen and Ollie Cooper’s two goals in the space of eight minutes ensured that south Wales retained the victory. When both teams had 11 players on the pitch, Sunderland was marginally the superior team and enjoyed a strong start to the game. Patrick Roberts had an early free-kick that went over the crossbar.
The Sunderland players were obviously upset when referee Keith Stroud allowed play on after Amad Diallo went down in the 18-yard box of Swansea, giving their opponents a chance to score. By launching into a daring challenge on Cooper close to the center circle, O’Nien took matters into his own hands. Players from both teams engaged in pushing and shoving as a result of the incident, which was ended when Stroud issued O’Nien a straight red card.
It would have been simple for Sunderland to have given up after conceding and losing a man, but to their credit, they kept fighting and equalized in the 65th minute. After Batth shook off Jack Clarke’s attempt to swing in a cross from the left, Neil skillfully guided home a first-time volley. The score was even again, but it only lasted for five minutes until Swansea unintentionally took back the lead. With 12 minutes left, Swansea added a third goal. Cooper pounced on the loose ball after Piroe’s attempt had been blocked by Dan Ballard and drilled a beautiful finish beyond Patterson.
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