Black Cats into top half

by Setanta staff , 21 January 2012

Sunderland climbed into the top half of the Premier League thanks to a 2-1 victory over Swansea City at the Stadium of Light.


Two stunning goals secured the win for Martin O’Neill’s men. Stephane Sessegnon made light work of a tight angle to find the top corner before Craig Gardner volleyed home from 25 yards to seal the victory.

After Sebastian Larsson had struck the visitors' woodwork early on, Scott Sinclair missed a fantastic chance for Swansea to open the scoring, as he fired over from six yards following Nathan Dyer’s low cross.

Sessegnon broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, exchanging passes with James McClean and curling a brilliant effort into the top corner of the Swansea net.

Swansea controlled the remainder of the first half, but Danny Graham headed over their best chance to draw level.

The Swans were once again the better side for the majority of the second period. Unable to find a cutting edge, however, the visitors allowed Sunderland to gain control as the game ebbed towards its closing stages.

Connor Wickham fired a great chance to wrap up the win too high, but Gardner controlled Sessegnon’s cross-field pass and volleyed a dipping effort home to ensure Swansea would leave the north-east without a point.

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
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