Mikael Mandron brace earns Gillingham draw at Sunderland

Posted Sunday, March 08, 2020 by PA

Former Sunderland striker Mikael Mandron put a dent in his old club’s promotion chances by scoring twice to claim a point for Gillingham in a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Mandron, who left the Wearside club in 2016, grabbed his fifth and sixth goals of the season to level things up twice and earn another positive result against the Black Cats this season.

Kyle Lafferty had twice put Sunderland ahead in the 64th and 83rd minutes on his first start. His first was a header from Denver Hume’s left-wing cross, and his second a low finish after being put through by midfielder George Dobson.

But Gillingham, who were out to frustrate the hosts all afternoon, got their reward by fighting back twice to claim that point courtesy of Mandron’s double.

His first was in the 74th minute when he poked a finish inside the far corner after Jordan Willis had struggled to deal with a corner properly.

And when Olly Lee laid the ball off for Mandron deep into six minutes of stoppage-time the striker did the rest with a brilliant low finish inside goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin’s bottom right corner.

Rather than climb to within a point of second spot, Sunderland are fifth and stay three shy of Rotherham.