Darius Vassell’s 87th minute winner crept agonisingly slowly over the line after the striker, on as a substitute, had scuffed his shot. A few minutes earlier, City took the lead from a penalty after Danny Sturridge had been clipped by Nosworthy, and in between Sunderland had equalised thanks to a superb strike from Dean Whitehead.
The frantic end to the match livened up what had been a dull encounter up until then, not that the City boss was complaining.
“It was always going to be a battle and a difficult game,” he said, “but the spirit seems to be back and let’s hope it stays until the end of the season.
“From the bench I though Vassell’s goal was going out, and maybe the penalty was harsh but Rob Stiles gave a harsh one against us at Birmingham. There was definitely contact though.
“Maybe the luck has turned, but I thought the boys did very well today and Elano was very good, more like the real Elano and I hope we see more of it in the next few weeks.”
The worrying part of the goal spree at the end was the sight of Danny Sturridge, on as a substitute, limping off injured just a few days before the second leg of the Youth Cup final. The striker had initially been treated after the penalty incident, and he went to ground again during the build-up to Sunderland’s equaliser.
However Sven is hopeful that the highly-rated Sturridge will be fit for the game against Chelsea on Wednesday.
“He has a knock, but we think he’ll be ready for Wednesday. He had done very well after coming on, once again you can see he really is a football player.”
