First-half penalty enough for Sunderland to see off Oxford United | OneFootball

A Habib Diarra penalty was the only thing that separated Premier League side Sunderland and Championship strugglers Oxford United.

The U's are firmly in the second tier relegation zone but Matt Bloomfield's side stood up to the Black Cats for much of the game.

Indeed, the decision moment of the game was a contentious one with Oxford United unhappy with the awarding after Christ Makosso was judged to have brought down Dennis Cirkin.

Diarra stepped up and made no mistake in beating Matt Ingram to make it 1-0 to the visitors with just over a half hour gone in the game.

Oxford United continued to battle and the duel between Will Lankshear and Luke O'Nien was a great example of that. Indeed, the striker was unhappy with the referee again when he was penalised for a foul on O'Nien when it looked like he was through on goal.

Ultimately, the visitors couldn't find the chance they needed to get back into the tie with Sunderland progressing to the fifth round instead after absorbing some late pressure.

Incidents: The story of the match

1':

The match begins

13':

Missed opportunity! Wilson Isidor from Sunderland took a right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box, but it goes just to the right of the goal.

19':

Missed opportunity! Romaine Mundle from Sunderland took a left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area, but it went wide to the right. The chance was set up by Enzo Le Fée during a quick counterattack.

24':

Missed opportunity! Lutsharel Geertruida of Sunderland takes a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it goes wide.

25':

Missed opportunity! Lutsharel Geertruida from Sunderland takes a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it sails high and to the right of the goal. He was assisted by Chemsdine Talbi.

29':

Missed opportunity! Enzo Le Fée of Sunderland takes a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area following a direct free kick, but it sails over the crossbar.

Sunderland takes the lead against Oxford United, making it 1-0. Habib Diarra steps up and successfully scores the penalty with a powerful shot using his right foot.

32':

GOALSunderland: Habib Diarra (Sunderland) scores penalty-kick!

Habib Diarra scores goal number 1 in the competition (1 matches)

43':

Missed opportunity! Cameron Brannagan from Oxford United took a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it went wide to the left. The chance was set up by Jamie Donley, who delivered a cross after a corner kick.

45':

Missed opportunity! Christ Makosso from Oxford United had a close-range header but couldn't find the target.

67':

Missed opportunity! Nordi Mukiele from Sunderland had a header from the center of the penalty area after a corner kick, but it went wide.

71':

Missed opportunity! Jamie McDonnell from Oxford United took a right-footed shot from the middle of the penalty area but couldn't find the target.

90 +2':

Missed opportunity! Djiamgone Jocelin Ta Bi from Sunderland took a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it didn't hit the target.

90 +4':

Missed opportunity! Ciaron Brown of Oxford United took a left-footed shot from the middle of the box that went just wide to the right. The attempt was set up by Brodie Spencer, who provided a headed pass after a set piece.

998':

The referee whistles for the end of the match