Sunderland 0-2 Ipswich: Further misery for Black Cats

Ipswich kept alive their faint hopes of securing a Sky Bet Championship play-off place as they piled further misery on relegation-threatened Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Joe Garner's first-half strike preceded an own goal from Adam Matthews on the stroke of half-time, with Ipswich's 2-0 win ensuring Mick McCarthy made an enjoyable return to Wearside.

However, for Sunderland boss Chris Coleman, there was yet more disappointment as his side remained rooted in the Championship's bottom three, just one point off the foot of the table.

Coleman named all three of his deadline-day signings in Sunderland's starting line-up, but any hopes of a radical change of fortunes were dispelled in the opening 45 minutes.

Just as had been the case at Birmingham on Tuesday, the Black Cats found themselves two goals behind at the interval.

Ipswich went into the game having won just one of their previous eight matches in all competitions, but McCarthy's side were unfortunate not to take the lead as early as the 20th minute as former Sunderland forward Martyn Waghorn curled a free-kick against the crossbar.

The visitors were ahead 15 minutes later, though, with Joe Garner taking advantage of some hesitant Sunderland defending to make a breakthrough.

Receiving the ball with his back to goal, Garner spun around a static Billy Jones before curling a simple side-footed finish into the bottom right-hand corner.

Sunderland's defending has been desperate all season, and the Black Cats were found wanting again as their opponents doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time.

Callum Connolly's deft pass sent Grant Ward scampering on the outside of Lee Cattermole, and while Freddie Sears was unable to make any contact with the midfielder's cross on the edge of the six-yard box, he blocked the view of Adam Matthews and the ball bounced off him and rebounded into the net.

Sunderland's best first-half chance came to nothing when an unmarked John O'Shea headed Bryan Oviedo's corner wide of the upright, and while there were flashes of excitement from Liverpool loanee Ovie Ejaria, the hosts' recent signings did not make the desired impact.

Things might have been different had the Black Cats been awarded a penalty shortly after the hour mark, but when substitute George Honeyman's right-wing cross appeared to strike Ipswich defender Jonas Knudsen on the arm, referee Darren England waved play on.

The visitors were content to sit back in the second half, and Bartosz Bialkowski came to their rescue in the 71st minute when he got down well to parry Kazenga LuaLua's fierce strike.

However, Sunderland's defence remained extremely shaky, and Waghorn passed up a great chance to claim a third Ipswich goal with 13 minutes left.

The striker found himself one-on-one with Lee Camp as he raced on to Connolly's through ball, but he poked his shot wide of the right-hand post.

The managers

Chris Coleman: "It was the second game running where we conceded a minute before half-time, but it is what it is and we are where we are. When we go a goal behind, we just don't come back. That's a worry because we're not always going to go 1-0 up. There's only us can change that.

"I didn't have a complaint in the first half an hour, but we didn't recover from the all-important first goal. It's the second goal, seconds before half-time, incredible. For us to concede like that knocks the life out of you. In the second half, we tried but we looked naive in certain situations."

Mick McCarthy: "I have no sympathy for anybody, regardless of who I or my teams play against, and I've always been the same.

"We all want to win for our team. I am sad to see the plight this club is in and I know how hard it is to turn around. I had it myself when I was here. It's like trying to turn round an oil tanker with a canoe paddle in your hand."