Sunderland stays in touch as 10-man Pompey folds
Wilson Isidor's early goal proved to be the difference as fourth-placed Sunderland kept pace with the top three in the EFL Championship with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth at The Stadium of Light.
Isidor finished a fine counter-attack after he was put through by Eliezer Mayenda in the seventh minute, and Sunderland went on to dominate for much of the game thereafter, despite not finding the net again in freezing conditions.
The job was made somewhat easier when Marlon Pack was show a straight red card for dragging back Isidor after 65 minutes, the Pompey skipper being the last defender and denying a goal-scoring opportunty.
While the visitors were not disgraced by the scoreline, even when reduced to 10 men, they provided little to no threat on the Black Cats' goal.
Sunderland fired off 24 shots to Pompey's six, eight of them on target to the visitors' one.
Victory keeps Sunderland in fourth spot on the Championship table with 50 points, just three points adrift of leader Leeds United and only two behind Burnley and Sheffield United, the teams in second and third respectively.
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris praised his team for overcoming the physical challenge of Portsmouth.
"It was important to win because it's tough to get results in this league, especially during a demanding festive period like this, with five games in 15 days," Le Bris said after the game.
"We struggled to deal with their direct style of play in the first half and didn't win enough first contacts, but the second half was better.
"We created many chances and managed 24 shots on goal. We scored early, but unfortunately, the second goal didn't come, which left us under pressure until the end.
"This league is tough, but we've been consistent, and that's the key message today."
