McCarthy relieved as Black Cats end drought

SUNDERLAND manager Mick McCarthy was a happy man after seeing his side end their 14-game wait for a victory by dumping Conference North side Northwich out of the FA Cup.

Before kick-off, the Black Cats had not won a match in any competition since defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Riverside in September but ran out 3-0 victors on a day when they could have routed their opponents.

Asked if it was the manner of the victory as much as the fact of it that pleased him, McCarthy replied: “It’s the victory.

“It was all we could do, win the game. We weren’t ever going to take any credit out of it because we had to win and we were expected to win.

“Yes, the manner of it was pleasing, but there’s never been any question about the attitude of the players. I was never worried about that at all. It was a good cup tie. I don’t think it ever looked like there was ever any danger of being an upset, but having said that, Kelvin Davis made three very good saves to my recollection.”

Sunderland got off to the perfect start when central defender Neill Collins marked his first appearance of the season with his first goal for the club with just six minutes gone.

Dean Whitehead made it 2-0 four minutes before the break when he turned home a Jon Stead cross and Anthony Le Tallec added a third on 70 minutes with his strike partner once again having done the spade-work. Stead’s luck, however, continues to desert him as he awaits his first Sunderland goal with the woodwork, Northwich keeper Kris Rogers and some glaring misses prolonging the agony.

“I’ve no idea,” said McCarthy when asked what his £1.8m signing needs to do to break his duck.

“He just has to keep playing like he’s playing and doing what he’s doing and causing defences problems, and he will get one. He’s proved he can score at Premiership level and he will do because he keeps getting chances, he keeps creating chances and he made the keeper work on a number of occasions. He will get one. I’m not worried, he’s playing well.”

Northwich boss Steve Burr was proud of the way his side bounced back from the early reverse to make a game of it.

“I couldn’t have asked for anymore, really,” he said. “We said before the game, ‘Come here and have a go’, and we did that.

“We got off to the worst possible start, conceding a goal inside six minutes, and obviously, that was disappointing from our point of view. But in saying that, we could quite easily have caved in and we kept having a go. We had a little spell just before half-time and then Sunderland hit us with a break and a quality goal to go 2-0 up.

“I was pleased with the lads and the way they kept going. But it would have been nice to have got a goal today for our fans.”

SUNDERLAND: Davis, Hoyte, Neill Collins, Stubbs, Danny Collins, Lawrence, Whitehead (Welsh 84), Miller, Arca, Stead, Le Tallec (Murphy 78).

NORTHWICH: Rodgers, McCarthy, Payne, Charnock, Chapman (Sale 79), Mayman (Byrne 72), Carr, Elliott, Roca (Devlin 83), Allan, Brayson.

Ref: L Mason (Lancashire).