Sunderland concluded their pre-season tour against Wrexham in Pennsylvania

Sunderland concluded their pre-season tour of the US with a 1-0 win over Wrexham.

Nordi Mukiele’s first-half goal proved the difference between the two teams with the Black Cats in almost complete control of the opening hour. The mass changes from both side saw Phil Parkinson’s side enjoy the better of the closing stages, but Sunderland’s youngsters stood firm to end the trip on a high.

Sunderland’s control of the game and attacking threat for the opening hour will please Régis Le Bris, though knocks picked up by Mukiele and Simon Adingra over the course of the game were cause for concern.

Despite the absence of Enzo Le Fée due to a slight knock, Sunderland started the game brightly with Habib Diarra enjoying the chance to play in an attacking role. He almost got Sunderland up and running inside two minutes when he made a trademark run beyond the defence into the channel, his low cutback turned just wide of the fr post by a stretching Romaine Mundle on his weaker foot.

Most of Wrexham's best moments came early doors as they started the game with a good level if intensity, Dan Ballard recovering well to block one effort from Kieffer Moore. Slowly, though, Sunderland began to assert a pleasing level of dominance over the game and only a little rustiness in the final third prevented them from going ahead. Brobbey had a shot blocked when he maybe could have released the ball to Diarra earlier, while one or two dangerous low crosses were just hacked clear by the Wrexham defence. In what would be a sign of things to come, Mukiele also threatened when he burst into the box to meet a pass but saw his low effort blocked by Okonkwo at the near post.

The tempo of the game dropped either side of a hydration break in the Philadelphia heat, but Sunderland took a deserved lead ten minutes before the break. Brobbey had dominated his battle with Hyam, the defender booked for a yellow card moments before as the striker spun and burst through on goal. This time the striker gathered a pass from Hume and laid it into the path of Mukiele whose effort this time beat Okonkwo.

Wrexham did have the ball in the net moments later when Broadhead gathered a Moore flick and turned home, but the offside flag was correctly raised. Sunderland almost doubled their lead when Mundle and Sadiki combined nicely down the left, the latter just unable to get his shot away in time to prevent the block from the Wrexham defence. Playing in a slightly deeper role, Sadiki had controlled the midfield battle and was a key reason why Sunderland held a deserved lead at the break.

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There was an added intensity about Wrexham in the early exchanges of the second half with both teams trading chances, substitute Angulo firing over when collecting a loose pass from Dobson and bursting through on goal. Sunderland were almost made to pay when Seelt failed to deal with a bouncing ball in the box, wing back Cacace driving an effort wide from a narrow angle. In a moment of concern for Sunderland, goalscorer Mukiele then came off and limped away in discomfort.

Minutes before Le Bris rang the changes on the hour mark, the Black Cats had a golden opportunity to double their advantage. Sadiki found Brobbey who again held off his man and teed up Trai Hume, whose effort was deflected wide by Callum Doyle who may well have fouled the Sunderland man in making the challenge.

The changes understandably altered the rhythm of the game considerably, with Wrexham’s much more experienced XI taking charge almost immediately. Still, they didn’t create too many chances and Anthony Patterson was comfortable in the Sunderland goal on his first appearance of pre-season.

He did have to be alert to race off his line to clear a dangerous through ball with pretty much the last kick of the game, but Sunderland were worthy winners on balance of play over the 90 minutes. The only concern for Sunderland was that in addition to that Mukiele knock, Simon Adingra was also forced off with a injury in the closing stages.