Coventry City vs Sunderland player ratings as Regis Le Bris’ game plan earns Black Cats hard-fought win

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The second first-leg Championship semi-final of the 2024/25 season took place on Friday, seeing Coventry City and Sunderland face off.

The race for Premier League promotion got underway on May 8 with Sheffield United beating Bristol City in their first-round tie.

It was then over to Sunderland and Coventry City, who went head-to-head at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

As expected, Coventry dominated possession in the first half, with Sunderland more than happy to sit back and look to hit the home side on the break.

But the first 45 drew to a close with neither side really having a good chance to open the scoring.

Sunderland started the second half much better and were rewarded for their increased attacking threat when Wilson Isidor curled an effort in from the left of the Coventry box.

Lampard’s men responded less than two minutes later, however, when Jack Rudoni was left open to head in an equaliser.

But it was Sunderland who were able to nab a late equaliser, with Eliezer Mayenda capitlasing on a mistake from Milan van Ewijk in the 87th minute to make it 2-1.

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Coventry City player ratings vs Sunderland

Ben Wilson – 6

Had little to do for much of the game, but it was a decent performance from Coventry’s shot-stopper.

Milan van Ewijk – 4

Got the assist for Coventry’s goal before making a major error that cost his team.

Bobby Thomas – 7

Won plenty of duels and was able to ensure Sunderland’s strikers didn’t have much of a sniff at goal for large periods.

Liam Kitching – 7

Like Thomas, his main job on the night was dealing with all of Sunderland’s long balls, which he did fairly well.

Jay Dasilva – 6

Ok defensively, got forward on a number of occasions to add numbers to Coventry’s attack.

Matt Grimes – 7

Decent showing, pressing Sunderland well to help Lampard’s side dominate possession.

Ben Sheaf – 6

Wasted a good chance midway through the second half and gave the ball away a few times.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto – 7

Caused problems down Sunderland’s left all evening, cutting inside and driving at Dennis Cirkin. Tracked back well also.

Jack Rudoni – 8

Created a couple of half-chances and asked questions of Sunderland’s defence. Great header for the equaliser.

Brandon Thomas-Asante – 6

Coventry had a lot of possession in Sunderland’s half, but the forward still didn’t cause too many problems.

Haji Wright – 6

Made some good runs into the Sunderland box in behind the backline, but didn’t test Patterson too often.

Substitutes

Ephron Mason-Clark – 5

Jamie Allen – 5

Sunderland player ratings vs Coventry City

Anthony Patterson – 6

Made a mess of coming for the ball early in the tie, which nearly cost his side a goal.

Trai Hume – 7

Had a tough evening up against Wright, but the Sunderland defender largely held his own.

Daniel Ballard – 8

Was excellent for much of the match, putting in some big tackles and blocks with his team under heavy pressure.

Luke O’Nien – 8

Made some good challenges and clearances amid Sunderland having to deal with a lot of Coventry attacking moves.

Dennis Cirkin – 7

Earned a needless yellow card that put him under a lot of pressure for nearly 70 minutes of the match.

Patrick Roberts – 6

A quiet showing from the winger, with the majority of the North East outfit’s attacks started from long balls.

Dan Neil – 7

Solid showing, some good tackles, and a couple of positive runs toward the Coventry box.

Jobe Bellingham – 7

Tracked back well to try and break up Coventry attacks, didn’t offer much going forward.

Enzo Le Fee – 6

Thought he should have had a penalty in the first half. Quiet for much of the clash but assisted Isidor.

Eliezer Mayenda – 8

Worked tirelessly all night and was eventually rewarded for his efforts with a late goal. Passing needed work.

Wilson Isidor – 7

Like his strike partner, he didn’t really have a lot of service for much of the first 45 but took his chance well in the 67th minute.

Substitutes

Chris Rigg – 5

Chris Mepham – 5