Sunderland podcaster Philip West was left hailing the performance of Jay Matete despite their 2-1 loss away at Sheffield United in the Championship.

The Lowdown: Battled hard

Despite going down to ten men just after the half hour mark thanks to Dan Neil's red card, Alex Neil's team battled hard and came away from Bramall Lane with their heads held high despite the defeat.

Anel Ahmedhodzic and Max Lowe scored the goals for the hosts, while Lynden Gooch pulled one back in the second half with a delightful chip, which West described as 'outrageous'.

The Latest: Matete praised

Coming on as a substitute in the 54th minute for Ellis Simms, Matete's performance was singled out by the Roker Report podcaster and writer:

"Also have to single out Jay Matete, who was absolutely exceptional when he came on. I was convinced that his omission was bad news for him, to say the least, but he performed brilliantly. A real battling display."

The Verdict: Did his job

Matete was brought into the midfield to offer some steel and legs in the middle of the park after going down to ten, and he certainly did his job well.

The 21-year-old won three of his duels, while also recording one shot on goal, two successful dribbles, two interceptions and one tackle (SofaScore).

He was also accurate with 100% of his passes, showing his tidiness on the ball, and will no doubt be in Alex Neil's mind to potentially start their game away at Stoke City this weekend.

Nonetheless, Matete did all of what could have been asked from a substitute, showing that he is a key member of the Black Cats' squad.