Sunderland vs. Latics

Papa John's Trophy - Round Two (Last 32)

1 December 2021

Latics travel to Wearside to take on Sunderland in the first knockout game of the Papa John’s Trophy (7pm KO).

They will be looking to give a positive performance following a disappointing 2-0 loss to Salford City at the weekend.

Latics opponents Sunderland are the current holders of the competition.

Form Guide

Sunderland’s form has picked up in the last few weeks following a poor run that saw them drop down the Sky Bet League One table.

They have picked up seven points from their past three games, this comes after a sequence of games that saw them go four without a win in all competitions.

They are currently in a strong position to push for a return to the Championship at the fourth attempt following their back-to-back drop.

Situated in 5th place, the black cats also have games in hand on a few of the teams in and around them, being just three points off the top spot on goal difference.

The Black Cats' Last Six:

Cambridge United 1-2 Sunderland
Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Sunderland
Sunderland 2-0 Ipswich Town
Sunderland 1-1 Bradford City (lost on pens, Papa John’s Trophy group)
Sunderland 0-1 Mansfield Town (Emirates FA Cup)
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Sunderland

Head-to-Head

Meetings: 44

Latics wins: 13
Sunderland wins: 17
Draws: 14

Scored - 58
Conceded - 72

The two clubs did meet at this stage of the competition in the last campaign, with Sunderland coming out on top but will be the first time both teams have met at the Stadium of Light.

Loan man Bobby Grant got Latics off to a great start at Boundary Park, but ultimately the class shone through from the League One outfit.

Chris Maguire and Josh Scowen were on the scoresheet for Sunderland as they overturned the early deficit.

You have to go back to May 1990 for the last time that Latics claimed victory over Sunderland.

Papa John's Trophy So Far

Latics were unseeded for the first knockout draw as a result of finishing 2nd in a group consisting of Salford City, Tranmere Rovers, and Leeds United under 21s.

A solitary win in their opening game against Salford was enough to secure progression.

Sunderland picked up seven points in their group of Manchester United under 21s, Lincoln City and Bradford City which was enough to top the group.

Familiar Face

Carl Winchester played over 100 times for Latics.

Carl Winchester.jpg

He joined in late April 2010 and made his debut in November of that year in an Emirates FA Cup first-round match against Accrington Stanley.

The Belfast-born midfielder became a fans’ favourite at Boundary Park, where he remained a player until his January 2017 transfer to Cheltenham Town.

After a season and a half with the Robins, Winchester joined Forest Green Rovers where he made over 100 appearances before signing for current club Sunderland.

So far, he has made 42 appearances for the Wearside club, scoring four times.

In The Dugout

Latics fans will also remember Lee Johnson.

Lee Johnson.jpg

Johnson began his management career at Boundary Park. He was appointed manager in March 2013 at the age of just 31, which made him the youngest boss in the EFL.

He enjoyed a fairly successful spell with Latics before leaving for Barnsley in February 2015.

Similarly, he had success with Barnsley next and after leaving Oakwell, managed to help Bristol City consolidate themselves in the Sky Bet Championship.

Johnson has already had success at Sunderland, winning the Papa John’s Trophy.

Stadium

Stadium of Light

Sunderland - Stadium of Light.jpg

Capacity: 49,000

Opened: 1997

Record attendance: 48,353 (vs. Liverpool in April 2002)

Match Officials

The official in the middle for the game is Tom Reeves.

Reeves has never officiated a Latics game prior to our cup tie against Sunderland.

He's taken charge of 16 games, so far, this campaign, handing out a total of 61 yellow cards and two red cards.

Reeves will be assisted by Marc Wilson and Wayne Grunnill, with Garreth Rhodes as the Fourth Official.

Sky Bet Odds

Please gamble responsibly by clicking here. For more information visit: www.begambleaware.org

How To Follow The Game

Live match action on iFollow is available for £10 with Roy Butterworth and Michael Brown who will be talking you through the match.

Fixture News

29112021 iFollow Match Pass Sunderland Away

30 November 2021

For more information, visit the iFollow Latics page by clicking here.

Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.

Match Reports

Sunderland 0-1 Latics

2 December 2021

Latics progressed into the last 16 of the Papa John’s Trophy with an impressive 1-0 win over Sky Bet League One opposition Sunderland.

Harry Vaughan scored the only goal of the game and Oldham’s defence coped well against the higher division side.

Selim Benachour made seven changes to the side that lost at Salford City which included youngsters Vaughan and Benny Couto being given a chance from the start.

Latics made a solid start to proceedings on Wearside but it was the hosts who had the first real chance of the game in the 13th minute, Benji Kipioka was threaded through and his pace was too much for Jordan Clarke to deal with who lost his footing but the Sunderland striker could only hit the side netting.

In the 23rd minute, Oldham won their first corner of the game after good play by Jack Stobbs and Nicky Adams. Piergianni did well to get on the delivery but unfortunately, his effort was blocked.

Their good spell continued with Hallam Hope having Latics’ first shot on target just moments later after being picked out by a ball over the top.

It wasn’t too much longer for the blues to wait before they got another set-piece attempt, Piergianni was again the target, he headed the ball downwards, but nobody was on hand to turn the ball home.

The Black Cats showed some attacking intent of their own in the 35th minute, fortunately for Oldham, it resulted in nothing with Will Harris firing wide from outside the box.

A few minutes later saw more warning signs from the third-tier side as the electric pace of Kimpioka again gave Latics problems, this time he slid in Harris who rounded the keeper and would have given his side the lead if it hadn’t been for a block by Clarke.

The 41st minute saw Oldham’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes, Vaughan slid through a perfectly timed ball to Jack Stobbs who took it one on one with Lee Burge but unfortunately his shot went narrowly wide of the goal.

Latics got off to a good start in the second half too and had the first chance; Nicky Adams’ cross found Couto at the back post, but the 18-year old’s volley didn’t trouble the Sunderland stopper.

Oldham got the goal that their play deserved through Vaughan. Latics countered from a Sunderland corner and the 18-year old disposed the Sunderland defender and showed real composure in the finish one on one.

As you would expect Sunderland did the majority of the attacking in the game following Oldham’s goal and it took a brilliant stop from Jayson Leutwiler in the 73rd minute to prevent an equaliser, Cieran Dunne burst through into the box ad hit his shot well but Latics’ ‘keeper was equal to it.

Nicky Adams stung the gloves of Burge in the Sunderland net in the 84th minute as Latics looked for a second, this came moments after substitute Dylan Bahamboula had showcased his trickery, giving the hosts’ defence a problem.

Latics managed to hold on against the holders of the competition, securing qualification to the next round.

Oldham Athletic: Leutwiler, Clarke, Cisse (Hopcutt 80), Piergianni, Adams, Whelan (Bowden 80), Hope (Bahamboula 80), Keillor-Dunn, Stobbs (Dearnley 58), Couto, Vaughan (Diarra 64).

Subs not used: Southerington, McGahey.

Sunderland: Burge, Alves, Dajaki (Kachosa 46), Embleton (Wearne 46), O’Brien, Xhemaji, Younger, Dunn (Dyce 73), Harris, Wilding, Kimpioka.

Subs not used: Carney, Almond, Scott, Johnson.

Referee: Tom Reeves

Attendance: 3,498 (253 away)