The Sunderland AFC player ratings as Alex Neil's side exit Carabao Cup at Sheffield Wednesday

The Black Cats struggled to create chances following Alex Neil’s decision to change his entire starting XI for the game, with goals from Dennis Adeniran and Sylla Sow either side of half time securing a place in the second round of the Carabao Cup for Wednesday.

So how did Neil’s side fare and did anyone manage to stake a claim for more Championship minutes in the near future?

We take a closer look in our player ratings...

ANTHONY BASS

Nothing he could do about Adeniran’s stunning opener, but a slack pass out led to the second. Didn’t have a great deal to do but distribution was quite inconsistent. 5

TRAI HUME

Showed his tenacity with some good challenges in his own box. A little tentative going forward at times but put one good cross in and was one of the few who looked comfortable for the most part. 6

CARL WINCHESTER

Really struggled to get up to the pace of the early on and have the ball away too regularly. Did improve and got stuck in but nearly gifted up a third goal late on. 4

BAILEY WRIGHT

Looked understandably rusty after having had no game time through the first couple of the weeks of the season. Did OK for the most part with one or two loose passes. 5

AJI ALESE

Is comfortable in possession and has some really good attributes, but is still adjusting and had some uncertain moments. 5

HARRISON SOHNA

Made a decent go of a difficult brief out of position at left wing back. Went close with one effort in the first half. 5

LUKE O’NIEN

Did improve in the second half when he was pushed further forward, more effective when pressing more aggressively. Couldn’t make much of an impact in the first as Wednesday controlled the midfield areas. 4

JAY MATETE

Was never really able to show the energy and aggression that defines his game when at his best. It wasn’t until the very closing stages that we saw him breaking forward. 4

PATRICK ROBERTS

Just didn’t happen for him at any point, though the service into him was very poor. Hardly ever had the chance to drive 1-v-1 or get a shot away. Neil struggles to find a place for him when playing three at the back. 4

ELLIOT EMBLETON

Couldn’t really get into the game through a tepid first half. Dropped deeper at the start of the second to influence the game more, but any hope of a comeback fizzled out quickly with Sow’s goal. 5

JACK DIAMOND

Was comfortably the biggest positive of the first half, showing plenty of intent and getting into some dangerous areas where by and large his team laboured. Struggled to replicate that threat in the second. 6

Subs

MICHAEL SPELLMAN

Capped his superb rise from non-league with a senior debut and put himself about late on. N/A

CADEN KELLY

Little chance of making a substantive impact but plenty of energy in a late cameo. N/A