Lineups
Sunderland: Patterson, Bobby, Taylor (Hackett 45), Almond, Neill, Steels (Dunne 84), Wilding, Wearne, Diamond, Curry, McGeady (Trialist 62).
Subs not used: Richardson, Wombwell.
Palace: Webber, Watson, Rich-Baghuelou, Jude Russell, Hannam, Flanagan (Taylor 87), Woods, M.Boateng, Banks (Pierrick 69), Matthews (Spence 70), Street.
Subs not used: Jacob Russell, Omilabu.
First-half
The Eagles opened brightly against a strong Sunderland side which included Republic of Ireland international Aiden McGeady, striking within six minutes through Kian Flanagan's penalty-box effort.
This early opener would set the tone for the rest of the game, though the first-half would remain largely quiet until the end. After a tight 37-minutes with few chances created, Sunderland smacked the crossbar and then pulled level minutes before half-time as Jack Diamond struck home.
But Palace were not to enter the break without holding the advantage and the talented Alfie Matthews headed in on the end of Rob Street's late cross to secure the visitors' lead.
Second-half
The second-half began in a quieter fashion than the first and a goal would take 13 minutes to come. Again, it fell Sunderland's way as Mitchell Curry shot into the bottom-left corner to find another equaliser.
Palace created marginally more chances in this spell and finally regained the lead in a hectic final 15-minutes, Street hitting home with aplomb with barely 10 minutes of play remaining. Looking to consolidate their advantage, Palace were handed another notch on the scoreboard through Bobby Beaumont's misfortune on the goal-line.
A 2-4 victory seemed guaranteed until the 86th-minute, when Sunderland pulled one back through a trialist, but the Eagles held on to secure all three points after six tense minutes of added time.
Stats
Palace shown second
- Possession: 57 - 43%
- Shots: 9 - 5
- Shots on target: 4 - 5
- Corners: 10 - 6
- Fouls: 14 - 13
- Yellow cards: 1 -2
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