Match Report
Sunderland went into the game 2nd in the table on 6 points; Carlisle United sat 3rd on 3 — a 3-point gap. On recent form Carlisle United sat only 37th league-wide over the last five rounds, well short of their 3rd overall. Per game in the league, Sunderland were scoring 4.67 and conceding 2, Carlisle United 2.33 and 3, against a competition average of 1.7 goals per team per game.
Sunderland carried a 6-game unbeaten run into this.
The match was played at Stadium of Light in Sunderland (capacity 49,000). Sunderland led 2-1 at the break, and the second half added 5 goals for the 5-3 full-time score.