Sunderland continue unbeaten away run as they beat stubborn Ipswich at Portman Road

Sunderland remain unbeaten away in the league this season as Charlie Wyke scored late in the first half giving the Black Cats a win away to ten-man Ipswich. The visitors rise to seventh in League One after they overcame a challenging Ipswich side 1-0.

Ipswich came out all guns blazing in the first half, with the home side dominating possession early on. However, the turning point of the game came after only ten minutes when Ipswich striker Kayden Jackson was shown a straight red card. Jackson showed violent conduct when the forward lunged in with his studs up late on Bailey Wright, a sloppy challenge that was immediately punished with a deserved red card.

It was about five minutes after the red card that Sunderland really kicked themselves into gear, with Tomas Holy forced to make a smart save down low to keep the Blues in the game. The Ipswich hope was only short-lived however, as Charlie Wyke put Sunderland in front on the stroke of half time.

A Sunderland counter attack led to Max Power whipping a dangerous cross into the box, Wyke was in the right place at the right time as he rolled the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards. Wyke continued his excellent scoring form as he netted his 12^th goal of the season for the Black Cats, sealing all three points.

The second half was a much more gritty affair, with Sunderland mostly dominating the half. Holy was called into making some smart saves for the Blues and managed to keep the score at just 1-0 throughout.

Ipswich showed much more spirit in their matchup on Tuesday night than in previous performances and if  Jackson hadn’t been sent off they certainly could’ve put up more of a challenge and fight for the three points. When going down to ten men it’s always hard for any team and it was never likely that the home side were going to get anything out of the game against a well drilled Sunderland side in the end.

The Tractor Boys do have some positives to take from the game with Luke Thomas performing very brightly on his debut. The winger was a bright spark in the Ipswich attack throughout and had an excellent game until he was substituted in the 71^st minute.

Sunderland rise up to seventh in the league with a matchup against Gillingham to look forward to, while Ipswich slip down to tenth with the loss to Sunderland and look forward to a difficult weekend fixture against Crewe.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt