McGeady stars as Sunderland ease past Burton Albion

Sunderland sealed a convincing 3-0 victory over Burton Albion on Saturday afternoon with goals coming from Grant Leadbitter, Lynden Gooch and Charlie Wyke. It was Aiden McGeady who proved the unsung hero, however. 

The Irishman set the tone early on, showcasing his signature trickery inside the first three minutes. Just outside his own box, the 34-year-old executed a roulette with ease, spinning away from the onrushing Ryan Broom and finding a teammate to rid his side of danger. 

A moment later, McGeady’s class was on show in the attacking third. After wriggling away from his marker, he picked out Gooch with an exquisite pass, splitting the Burton defence. The scoring looked set to open, but Ben Garratt produced a big save at his near post to keep the game goalless.

Only another couple of minutes passed before the deadlock was in fact broken. 

With just six minutes played, McGeady stood over a free-kick and looked poised to shoot. To the Brewers’ surprise, he opted to play a short free-kick, rolling the ball into the path of fellow veteran Leadbitter who, unmarked, found the bottom left hand corner with ease to grab his sixth goal of the season.

Provider nearly turned goalscorer in the 16th minute as McGeady received the ball to feet just five yards out from goal. His close-range effort was well saved by Garratt who kept the home side in the tie once more.

Cynical, but perhaps clever, the former Spartak Moscow man then earned himself a booking. Burton had looked to start a counter attack in search of an equaliser, but before Sean Clare could clear his lines, McGeady impeded the Oxford United loanee to momentarily draw the game to a halt.

Slick as ever, the Sunderland starlet was once again the focal point of an attack for the away side. His clever footwork fooled Brewers’ winger Jonny Smith before he sent the ball into the box. His end product, however, was somewhere between a cross and a shot, not troubling goalkeeper Garratt on this occasion.

Although not directly involved, McGeady then played a big part in the Black Cats doubling their advantage. His initial shot from the edge of the box was deflected out for a corner which he then took. Garratt was once again called into action, opting to try and punch the ball away, however, it dropped straight to Gooch who smashed his effort in off the crossbar.

Lee Johnson’s men were deserving of their two goal lead at the break with McGeady, of course, the standout player. Leadbitter and captain Max Power had also been impressive in the middle of the park but standout moments of individual brilliance ensured that it was the wide player’s name that was on everyone’s lips during the interval.

McGeady endured a quiet start to the second half which ultimately led to his substitution in the 65th minute. Sunderland looked to have the game wrapped up by this point so it was no surprise to see Johnson protect one of his key players for their next encounter.

The Black Cats went on to add a third with little over ten minutes remaining. Top scorer Wyke drilled a low effort into the bottom left hand corner from just inside the box, making sure that all three points were heading back to Tyne & Wear.

McGeady certainly proved his worth against Burton on Saturday shall certainly remain a pivotal figure in Johnson’s side throughout the remainder of the campaign barring any injury. His experience could prove crucial should Sunderland mount a promotion charge.

The result sees Sunderland move into the top six, a point ahead of Accrington Stanley who have a game in hand.

As far as Burton are concerned, they remain bottom, five points adrift of safety. They do, however, have two games in hand on 20th place Swindon Town.