Sunderland winning change pays off again against 10-men Portsmouth

Regis Le Bris' side continued their good form with an important Stadium of Light win

Sunderland maintained their momentum at the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light. Wilson Isidor's early goal secured a second consecutive home win for the Black Cats, putting them three points behind leaders Leeds.

It marked a fourth consecutive away loss for Pompey, who saw captain Marlon Pack dismissed in the second half for fouling Isidor. John Mousinho's team stayed above the relegation zone based on goals scored.

Following a successful transition to a 4-4-2 formation in the midweek triumph over Sheffield United, Regis Le Bris once again paired Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda upfront, a decision that quickly bore fruit. Just seven minutes into the game, Mayenda set up his strike partner with a defence-splitting pass, and Isidor confidently netted his third goal in four matches.

Portsmouth were lucky not to be two goals down 10 minutes later when Adil Aouchiche's cross found Patrick Roberts at the back post, but the winger's volley was cleared off the line. Aouchiche then forced a solid low save from Nicolas Schmid after cutting in from the left and aiming for the far corner just past the half-hour mark.

Despite not having a shot on target in the first half, Portsmouth came close five minutes before the break when Josh Murphy, twin brother of Newcastle winger Jacob, curled a shot just over the bar from the edge of the box.

Isidor found the back of the net for a second time just two minutes before the break, but the forward was ruled offside. Mayenda had a golden opportunity but shot into the side-netting from a tight angle when Aouchiche was in a better position for an easy goal.

Sunderland's goalkeeper Anthony Patterson gave Portsmouth a chance to equalise early in the second half with a misplaced pass, but the resulting cross from the right was headed wide by forward Colby Bishop. Dennis Cirkin, who came on as a substitute at half-time, made an impact on the left for Sunderland and set up Isidor, who volleyed over.

The forward then narrowly missed scoring his and Sunderland's second goal 20 minutes into the second half when he shot just over from the edge of the box. Portsmouth's job became even harder midway through the second half when Pack was shown a red card for pulling down Isidor as the forward was bearing down on goal.

Despite being a man down, Portsmouth showed more confidence in the final stages but were unable to find the equaliser they needed.

Sunderland 1-0 Portsmouth match facts

Sunderland

Patterson, Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Alese (Cirkin 46), Neil Bellingham, Roberts, Mayenda (Rusyn 90), Aouchiche (Aleksic 80) Isidor.

Subs Not Used: Moore, Connolly, Hjelde, Johnson, Ogunsuyi, Jones.

Booked: Mepham.

Goals: Isidor 7.

Portsmouth

Schmid, Swanson (Devlin 69), Pack, Towler, Ogilvie Potts (Moxon 87), Dozzell (Saydee 87), Lane (Atkinson 69), Lang Murphy, Bishop.

Subs Not Used: Archer, Williams, McIntyre, Ritchie, Sorensen.

Sent Off: Pack (67).

Booked: Towler, Swanson.

Attendance: 39,846

Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield).