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James Hunter

Middlesbrough 1-0 Sunderland player ratings as Patterson impresses but forwards struggle

Sunderland suffered their third defeat of the Championship season as they lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough. Riley McGree scored the only goal of the game inside the opening half-hour, while at the other end the Black Cats offered little threat.

Ross Stewart picked up a thigh injury in the warm-up which meant he had to drop out at the last minute, and his absence was a massive blow. For new head coach Tony Mowbray, it was his first taste of defeat since taking charge, having won his first outing at home to Rotherham United last weekend.

Sunderland stay eighth in the table, while Boro climbed out of the relegation zone and up to 17th place.

READ MORE: Middlesbrough 1-0 Sunderland report as Tony Mowbray suffers defeat on his return to Teesside

Here's how our Sunderland AFC writer James Hunter rated the players.

Anthony Patterson 7

Made a string of saves to keep the score down and his side in the game

Luke O'Nien 5

Gave McGree a yard of space in the box for the goal, and it was all he needed

Danny Batth 7

Dominant in the air at the heart of defence

Dennis Cirkin 6

Found it tough going on the left side of the back three, before he went off injured

Lynden Gooch 5

Struggled against Giles

Corry Evans 6

Did OK in the centre of the park, but no more

Dan Neil 6

Kept the ball ticking over

Jack Clarke 5

No shortage of endeavour, but his final ball was terrible

Alex Pritchard 6

Had a good early chance but put it over the bar

Ellis Simms 6

Had to lead the line in the absence of Stewart but rarely threatened

Patrick Roberts 5

A last-minute change when Stewart dropped out, but made little impression

Subs

Amad Diallo 6

For Roberts 68mins. Made his debut and will get better with more minutes

Elliot Embleton 6

For Pritchard 68mins. Came up with Sunderland's only meaningful shot on target, but Roberts made the save

Bailey Wright N/A

For Cirkin 75mins.

Leon Dajaku N/A

For Gooch 75mins.

Not used: Bass, Matete, Alese

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