Sunderland came from behind to earn a deserved point against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. The Black Cats hit the woodwork twice in the first half, and Luton once, in an thrilling opening 45 minutes.
And Carlton Morris gave the Hatters the lead in injury-time at the end of the first half. But Sunderland made attacking changes in the second period and one of those subs, Elliot Embleton, hauled the Wearsiders level with a little over 10 minutes remaining.
Sunderland could have won it in the dying minutes, with Patrick Roberts curling the ball narrowly wide and Ellis Simms - who was given a 20-minute outing on his return after seven games out with a toe injury - seeing an effort blocked. Sunderland slipped one place to 16th in the table, while Luton stay ninth.
READ MORE: Luton Town 1-1 Sunderland as sub Elliot Embleton strikes to earn Black Cats a point
Here's how our Sunderland AFC writer James Hunter rated the players.
Anthony Patterson 7
Collected cross after cross, which took the pressure off
Luke O'Nien 7
Got forward at every opportunity down the right
Bailey Wright 6
A little rusty on his first start of the season, which is understandable, but got better as the game wore on
Danny Batth 7
A tower of strength at the back, and hit the post with a header in the first half
Dennis Cirkin 7
A solid performance at left-back
Dan Neil 5
Below-par, and was subbed on the hour
Corry Evans 6
Worked hard in the middle of the park
Leon Dajaku 6
Started wide on the right, ended up through the middle, hit the post in the first half but came off after an hour
Alex Pritchard 5
Not one of his more effective games
Jack Clarke 7
Always a threat, and provide the assist for Embleton
Amad 8
Probably his best performance for the club, he was a box of tricks and caused Luton all kinds of problems
Subs
Edouard Michut 8
For Neil 60mins. Excellent in the middle of the park when he came on
Patrick Roberts 7
For Dajaku 60mins. Brought some extra spark in the final third
Elliot Embleton 7
For Pritchard 60mins. Scored the all-important goal, and helped drive Sunderland forward
Ellis Simms 7
For Evans 70mins. Back in action after six weeks out, and he brought an extra dimension to Sunderland's play
Not used: Bass, Matete, Hume
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