Sunderland were knocked out of the Carabao Cup first-round for the third consecutive season this evening.
The Black Cats travelled to Preston North End days after their opening day victory over Cardiff City.
Regis Le Bris made eleven changes from the weekend’s line-up, with Simon Moore making his debut following his free transfer arrival this summer.
Timothee Pembele’s absence suggests he could be on his way out on loan, while Sunderland played four centre-backs – with Joe Anderson and Zak Johnson playing on either side of the defence.
The Black Cats were unfortunate to concede Preston’s opener, with Ryan Ledson’s shot deflecting off Johnson into the goal.
Sunderland’s attack did look particularly threatening in the first half, but they struggled for possession in the second and were eventually punished for some poor defending when the Lilywhites doubled the lead.
It was a deserved defeat for the visitors, while Preston will go into the second round draw.
Here is how the Sunderland players rated –
Simon Moore – 7
The goalkeeper racked up six saves on his debut and kept the team in the game for a long time.
The 34-year-old probably could have done better for Preston’s second, but overall it was a solid performance in between the sticks.
Zak Johnson – 6
Johnson didn’t do anything glaringly bad, but he didn’t look too confident against Championship opposition.
The 19-year-old can be let off slightly as he wasn’t playing in his natural position, but he certainly hasn’t done much to warrant a place in the squad as Trai Hume’s back-up.
Nectarios Triantis – 6
The Australian was probably Sunderland’s best defender, winning three tackles and making one interception.
Like Johnson, he didn’t do too much wrong, but he still isn’t at the level required to be challenging for a place in the starting line-up.
Joe Anderson – 5
Anderson impressed from left-back during pre-season, but he looked miles off it tonight.
Preston had plenty of success down their right-side and the former Everton man was often left chasing back after being caught out of possession.
Pierre Ekwah – 6
Ekwah needed to impress in order to force his way back into Sunderland’s midfield, but didn’t quite do enough.
The Frenchman impressed with his passing, completing 94% of his passes, however he was unable to influence the game and was relatively quiet in the second half.
Chris Rigg – 8
As expected, Rigg was comfortably the best player on the pitch for the Black Cats.
The midfielder completed 91% of his passes, completed 100% of his dribbles and made four tackles.
Rigg’s performance made a statement to Le Bris and he will be hoping he has earned a chance to play at the weekend.
Adil Aouchiche – 7
The Frenchman caught the eye in the first half and combined well with Romaine Mundle to create some decent chances. He also should have earned an assist following his lovely cross for Abdoullah Ba, which his compatriot went onto miss.
Abdoullah Ba – 5
Ba is another that had a point to prove following Ian Poveda’s arrival, but he did himself no favours at all.
The winger missed an absolute sitter in the first half, and while he looked lively at times, his decision making and final ball was very poor.
All Ba proved was that he needs to leave Sunderland – or at least be loaned out.
Romaine Mundle – 7
Mundle was one of Sunderland’s best players in the first half and, along with Rigg, looked like the other one likely to make anything happen.
The attacker completed 92% of his passes, made three key passes and completed five successful dribbles.
He quietened down in the second half but will definitely have caught Le Bris’ attention with that display.
Nazariy Rusyn – 6
That may well have been Rusyn’s final chance to impress Le Bris, but it was far from special.
The striker did well to use his strength to turn a defender and get his shot off in the second half, but was otherwise quiet and made very little impact.
It does feel quite unfair on him given that he clearly isn’t a No.9, but there is no chance he’s getting in the team out wide either.