Sunderland vs Oxford United. Sky Bet League One.
Stadium of LightAttendance32,193.
Saturday 1 September 2018 21:16, UK
Ten-man Sunderland were forced to come from behind to preserve their unbeaten start to life in League One by securing a 1-1 draw with Oxford.
The U's, who are in trouble at the wrong end of the table, caused the Black Cats problems throughout and looked on course for a win.
Oxford took the lead in the 16th minute when Ricky Holmes curled a lovely free-kick over the wall from 22 yards and Sunderland goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin could only help it into the top corner.
In the three games Sunderland had fallen behind previously they had gone on to win but the chances of that happening reduced when Max Power was given a straight red card for a lunge on Marcus Browne.
That meant Sunderland had to play the remaining 71 minutes with 10 men and it could have been more given the amount of times referee Mark Heywood, who infuriated fans with his decisions, reached for his pocket.
But after the restart Sunderland's £1m debutant Charlie Wyke, who was introduced as a half-time substitute, fired in a leveller six minutes after coming on with a perfectly placed shot into the far corner.
After that Sunderland looked like they might win it, with Lee Cattermole and Josh Maja the men to go closest.
Oxford, though, had chances themselves and had the ball in the net when Jamie Mackie responded first to a spilled shot by McLaughlin. The flag, however, went up for offside.
