Sunderland forced to settle for point by Fleetwood

Posted Sunday, September 09, 2018 by PA

Sunderland were left frustrated for the second weekend in a row on home soil when Fleetwood held them to a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of almost 30,000.

It could have been worse for the unbeaten Black Cats when Joey Barton’s team took the lead in the ninth minute.

Fleetwood striker Paddy Madden headed down and beyond Jon McLaughlin from Ashley Hunter’s corner and that was the fifth time this season Sunderland have gone behind in Sky Bet League One.

Once again, though, Sunderland found a way back, even if it was not to secure three points, with the result leaving both teams in the play-off places.

Striker Josh Maja found the net for the fifth time this season to flick in George Honeyman’s cross with eight minutes remaining of the opening period.

There were good chances for both teams after that, particularly a Fleetwood penalty soon after the restart when Adam Matthews tripped James Husband. McLaughlin was equal to Madden’s spot-kick, diving strongly to his left.

In the closing stages Sunderland saw Tom Flanagan and Jerome Sinclair force Alex Cairns into strong saves and then Glenn Loovens headed against the post from the resulting corner.