Cattermole will be key for us, says Sunderland boss Ross

Posted Sunday, October 07, 2018 by PA

Manager Jack Ross praised the contribution of midfield player Lee Cattermole as Sunderland moved into third place in League One with a 2-1 win at Bradford City in front of a bumper 19,487 Valley Parade crowd.

Both sides ended the fiercely fought match with ten men. Sunderland skipper Max Power was shown a red card in the 66th minute for kicking out after giving away a penalty after a foul on Jack Payne while Bradford winger Sean Scannell was dismissed in the seven minutes referee Anthony Backhouse added on at the end of the game for first fouling substitute George Honeyman and then pushing him to the ground.

It was Power’s second red card of the season, which means he misses four matches.

Sunderland are one of the favourites to gain promotion after suffering two relegations in two seasons and Ross believes Cattermole – their longest serving player and a survivor from their Premier League days – has a key role to play in their revival.

Ross said: “Lee is loving his football and he deserves his enjoyment. He is a big part of this club and he is going to be a very important player for us. He is a fantastic professional for me every single day and he is desperate to get this club promoted.”

Sunderland went in front in the 20th minute when Aiden McGeady crossed from the left and Josh Maja diverted Cattermole’s shot into the net with Bradford players vainly protesting he had handled the ball.

Bradford equalised in the 51st minute when Kelvin Mellor’s’ long throw was headed on by Nat Knight-Percival and Ryan McGowan for Anthony O’Connor to hook the ball into the net at the far post.

However, Sunderland restored their lead two minutes later when Chris Maguire’s free kick landed at the feet of Jack Baldwin to fire low into the corner of the net.

Bradford had the chance to equalise in the 66th minute when Power fouled Payne, but former Bradford keeper Jon McLaughlin saved the midfield player’s spot kick and his follow-up shot.

Ross said: “We have only lost one match, but we have had a number of draws and we needed to get back to winning ways. After we went down to ten men, the last 20 minutes were all about courage and guts and our substitutes helped us in that period of the game.”

Bradford head coach David Hopkin said: “We started the game brightly and matched them. I was disappointed with their first goal – the players thought it was handball. Then we equalised and then we switched off for five minutes and they scored again, but you are always vulnerable when you have scored.

“Credit to the players, they are disappointed. I don’t think we deserved to win the game, but we did deserve a point. If we continue to get response from the players we are going to be happy.”

On Scannell’s dismissal, Hopkin said: “I just think he was trying to get the ball off the player.”