GEORGE HONEYMAN showed he could have what it takes to lead Sunderland’s line this season as his goal saw off Bury in the Carabao Cup first round.
The game was far from a classic, but Honeyman’s strike in the 69th minute oozed a bit of class that was difficult to find elsewhere
But battled hard, and while Sunderland looked dangerous going forward, occasionally their decision-making cost them.
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Sunderland almost made the perfect start, but new signing Lewis Grabban saw his header from Brendan Galloway’s cross crash off the post just two minutes in.
Sunderland started the game as you would expect against lower league opposition – on the back foot.
And Bury’s hopes were dealt a huge blow in the 16th minute when they lost their captain Stephen Dawson.
He won the ball in a tackle, but injured himself doing so, and he had to be replaced by Andrew Tutte.
But the League One outfit regrouped well, and almost took the lead when Nicky Ajose’s shot was cleared by some last ditch defending.
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But Sunderland had the speed on the attack, and in Honeyman, had a player who was threatening the home defence.
Former Bury striker James Vaughan came on at half-time to replace Grabban for Sunderland at the break, but he seemed to struggle when he was presented with chances to grab the opener.
The same couldn’t be said of Honeyman, and it was no surprise when he scored the opening goal.
Didier NDong found the 22-year-old in the box, and he deftly chipped the advancing Bury keeper Joe Murphy to put the Black Cats 1-0 up.
More to follow...
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