Bristol Rovers 0-2 Sunderland: Will Grigg and Lewis Morgan on target in Checkatrade Trophy semi-final

Goals from Will Grigg and Lewis Morgan sent Sunderland into the Checkatrade Trophy final with a 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

Grigg's opener a minute before the break set Sunderland on their way, courtesy of a smart turn and finish from the Northern Irishman following a perfect slide-rule pass from midfield by Max Power.

They started the second half as they ended the first, doubling their advantage when Jack Bonham could not hold Lynden Gooch's stinging effort and Lewis Morgan was first to the rebound, slotting the ball beyond him with barely a minute on the clock since the restart.

Bristol Rovers had several penalty shouts after the break, including what appeared to be a clear handball from Tom Flanagan, but the Black Cats deservedly held on to reach the final, where they will face Portsmouth on March 31.

Sunderland showed their intent from the off, with Aidan McGeady a livewire on the left, cutting in and curling a shot towards the top corner before Bonham got a strong hand to turn it over the bar inside seven minutes.

The visitors certainly started the better but once Rovers survived their initial surge of pressure they began growing the confidence to take on their promotion-chasing opponents, and threatened an opener when Jordan Clarke-Harris' shot was spilled by Jon McLaughlin, but cleared before Stuart Sinclair could turn in the rebound.

A minute before the break the game appeared to be heading into the half-time interval goalless, until Grigg opened the scoring with a moment of class. A lovely ball from Power found him just onside inside the Rovers box, and he fired across Bonham to give Sunderland the lead.

Despite the 15-minute interval, it still felt like the old one-two when the visitors struck again a minute into the second half. This time McGeady's cross deflected kindly for substitute Gooch, whose drive was too hot to handle for Bonham and Morgan showed good agility to react first to the loose ball and fire home a second.

That knocked the stuffing out of the hosts, who had huffed and puffed for much of the opening 45 minutes, but they were arguably denied a way back into the game by three refereeing decisions.

Twice Salisbury waved away handball calls, with Flanagan the ball appearing to strike Flanagan's arm on one occasion and on another Power clearly handling from a corner, while Power was also lucky to avoid punishment when he caught Sinclair just inside the box with the referee well-placed.

A spot-kick would have made the tie more competitive but in open play, Bristol Rovers lacked the finesse to match their guile, and Sunderland advanced with relative comfort to their first Wembley final in five years, where they will go head-to-head with Portsmouth live on Sky Sports.

What's next?

Bristol Rovers travel to Scunthorpe United on Saturday at 3pm, the same time Sunderland visit mid-table Wycombe as they look to move back into the automatic promotion places.