Pierre Ekwah’s goal for Sunderland was his fifth for the club and the first he has scored away from home
Sunderland surprised the play-off chasing 10-men of West Bromwich Albion to take a narrow away win at The Hawthorns in the Championship.
Baggies forward Brandon Thomas-Asante was sent off for two bookable offences late in the first half.
Four minutes later, Sunderland’s Pierre Ekwah reacted first following a corner to smash the ball high into the goal.
West Brom stay fifth in the table, seven points inside the play-off places with three games left, with Sunderland 13th.
A cagey opening to the match saw very few clear chances created, with West Brom midfielder Alex Mowatt shooting over the bar from distance and Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien reacting brilliantly to clear the ball following a Baggies free-kick.
Moments later, another Mikey Johnston free-kick found the head of right-back Darnell Furlong, whose looping header was palmed away by Anthony Patterson in the Black Cats goal.
The big turning point came just as half-time was approaching, when Thomas-Asante received his second yellow card following a late challenge,
Before the whistle could be blown, a corner kick fell straight to the feet of Ekwah, who reacted brilliantly to find the roof of the net.
Ekwah – whose previous four goals for Mike Dodds’ side all came in home victories – nearly scored a second, but home keeper Alex Palmer kept hold of his rasping drive.
With the scoreline at 1-0, West Brom pushed to level but Jed Wallace was unable to reach an enticing cross and Matt Phillips’ shot sailed wide.
Ultimately, Sunderland held on for just their sixth away win in 21 league attempts this season.
Line-ups
West Brom
Formation 4-2-3-1
24 Palms
2Furlong5Bartley4Kipré3Townsend
14Chalobah27Mowatt
31Fellows11Diangana23Johnston
21Thomas-Asante
- 24 Palms
- 2FurlongBooked at 63mins
- 5BartleySubstituted forAjayiat 45’minutes
- 4KipréBooked at 86mins
- 3TownsendSubstituted forPhillipsat 67’minutes
- 14ChalobahSubstituted forReachat 45’minutes
- 27Mowatt
- 31Fellows
- 11DianganaSubstituted forJ Wallaceat 61’minutesBooked at 68mins
- 23JohnstonSubstituted forSwiftat 62’minutes
- 21Thomas-AsanteBooked at 43mins
Substitutes
- 6Ajayi
- 7J Wallace
- 10Phillips
- 17Weimann
- 19Swift
- 20Reach
- 22M’Rest
- 33Griffiths
- 35Yokuslu
Sunderland
Formation 3-4-3
1Patterson
32Hume5Ballard13O’Nien
6Pembélé39Ekwah24Neil28Styles
31Rigg7Bellingham20Clarke
- 1Patterson
- 32HumeBooked at 31mins
- 5Ballard
- 13O’Nien
- 6PembéléSubstituted forAleseat 71’minutesBooked at 80mins
- 39Ekwah
- 24Neil
- 28StylesBooked at 85mins
- 31RiggSubstituted forRobertsat 71’minutes
- 7Bellingham
- 20ClarkeSubstituted forBaat 90+3’minutes
Substitutes
- 9 Silva Semedo
- 10Roberts
- 11Burstow
- 14Mundle
- 17Ba
- 22Aouchiche
- 30Bishop
- 42Alese
- 46Dack
Referee:Matt Donohue
Attendance:25,366
Live Text
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Sunderland 1.
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Sunderland 1.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Darnell Furlong.
Substitution, Sunderland. Abdoullah Ba replaces Jack Clarke.
Foul by Jack Clarke (Sunderland).
Semi Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Dan Neil (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jed Wallace (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt missed. Jack Clarke (Sunderland) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Callum Styles following a corner.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Alex Mowatt.
Cédric Kipré (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card.
Patrick Roberts (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Cédric Kipré (West Bromwich Albion).
Callum Styles (Sunderland) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Pierre Ekwah (Sunderland).
Alex Mowatt (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Anthony Patterson (Sunderland).
Offside, West Bromwich Albion. Jed Wallace is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Callum Styles (Sunderland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Patrick Roberts with a headed pass.
2024-04-13 16:30:55
#West #Brom #Sunderland #Black #Cats #beat #10man #Baggies #Hawthorns
