Proctor gamble sinks Pool

Sunderland 2 Liverpool 1

Substitute Michael Proctor's 85th-minute strike his first senior goal for the Black Cats means the Reds have now not won in six attempts in the league, a run which began with a 0-0 draw against Howard Wilkinson's side at Anfield.

"This is the worst month I've ever experienced," he said. "It frustrates me because if you look at the five games we've lost, it's five defeats that could have been avoided. You take five points and see where you are.

"Middlesbrough was an individual error and you saw what happened of course at Fulham, Manchester United and Charlton and today, so let's live with that, keep going and be strong.

"We're concerned now. You take one point out of 18 and you're concerned. It's a time where we have to stick together and work hard, and it's probably an opportunity to refocus on a few things.

"You have to think and maybe take the opportunity to sharpen some of your qualities, and that will bring you back to winning ways.

"Football is about scoring chances. Had we scored one or two more chances, nobody would have said it was a scandal."

The scoreline does not even begin to tell the tale of an incident-packed game which swung one way and then the other before Proctor's decisive intervention.

Gavin McCann had ended Sunderland's goal drought after 514 minutes with a superbly taken 36th-minute opener, but then missed a penalty his side's sixth in succession before Milan Baros finally beat the outstanding Jurgen Macho to level.

But five minutes after replacing skipper Michael Gray as Wilkinson went for broke, local boy Proctor recovered from miskicking with his initial chance to steer the ball past Chris Kirkland to ease his side out of the relegation zone.

Wilkinson was delighted with his side's application as they rediscovered the battling qualities which have served them so well in the past to at last give the majority of the 37,118 spectators inside the Stadium of Light something to shout about.

"It's a terrific result for us, a better performance and probably a more valuable result than if we'd have got the penalty and got a 2-0 lead, because if we wanted to assuage any doubts about our character, then hopefully the performance after we missed the penalty and then finished up 1-1 will do that," he said.

"But the most important thing, I think, is the fact that there was a lot of leadership out there and there were a lot of people taking responsibility, and that was important.

"That's something we really, really have got to get a grip of."

Wilkinson's decision to throw on Proctor with 10 minutes remaining paid off in fine style.

"I decided to take a gamble with Proctor," he said. "I think he's got promise, what he now needs is experience, big-match experience, and he needs to learn the game a little bit.

"But he's quick, he's got an eye for goal, he's honest and I think probably as important as anything, he's a genuine Sunderland supporter, so he loves playing for Sunderland and he loved scoring that goal today."

The Black Cats rode their luck at times and had the brilliance of goalkeeper Jurgen Macho to thank on several occasions, but they worked hard to match Liverpool for long periods.

As predecessor Peter Reid had done so often, Wilkinson demanded a return to hard work, and was rewarded in an opening 45 minutes in which his side may not have matched Liverpool's fluency of passing game, but more than competed in every other department.

McCann, back from suspension with something to prove, and under-fire strike-force Kevin Phillips and Tore Andre Flo set the tone as they confronted their markers with gusto on a foul afternoon on Wearside.

Flo and Phillips combined well with 12 minutes gone to present Kevin Kilbane with a shooting chance, and the Republic of Ireland international was unfortunate to see his first-time effort sail just wide. Sunderland finally ended their barren spell nine minutes before half-time with a goal fitting for any occasion.

McCann's tackle sent the ball spinning out to Flo, but he continued his run to receive the striker's pass and lift a shot over Chris Kirkland.

With so much at stakefor both sides, there was never likely to be any let-up after the break, and that proved the case.

Macho again distinguished himself with a good stop from Baros, but went one better with 52 minutes gone when he clawed Murphy's free-kick out of his top corner after it had cleared a nine-man defensive wall.

The England midfielder was inches away from claiming the equaliser five minutes later when he took Owen's pass but shot just wide before the turning point came.

Jamie Carragher handled Phillips' 60th-minute header from a deflected Flo cross, giving McCann the chance to make it 2-0 from the spot.

The midfielder went low and hard to Kirkland's left, but the goalkeeper guessed correctly and got down well to keep his side in the game.

That was the signal for the visitors to once again lay siege to the Sunderland goal, and their efforts paid off with 68 minutes gone when Carragher's pass found Baros and he turned smartly before sending a low shot past Macho and into the net.

Sunderland could have crumbled at that point and almost did as Owen, substitute El Hadji Diouf and Baros all went close, but they too had another chance when Phil Babb met a Paul Thirwell corner with a firm header but could not beat Kirkland.

Macho got down well to keep out an 82nd-minute Owen effort as it leapt up off the sodden turf, but there was to be yet more drama.

Proctor, an 80th-minute replacement for Michael Gray, turned up on the end of a deflected Phillips cross and completely miskicked with his first attempt, but as Kirkland rushed from his line, he took another swing and managed to steer the ball into the empty net for an valuable winner.

SUNDERLAND: Macho, Wright, McCartney, Babb, Bjorklund, Gray (Proctor 80), Thirlwell, McCann, Kilbane, Flo (Stewart 89), Phillips.

LIVERPOOL: Kirkland, Carragher, Biscan (Diouf 63), Henchoz, Traore, Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann (Riise 45), Smicer (Diao 72), Owen, Baros.

Ref: M Halsey (Lancashire).