Sunderland

Bellingham got off the mark for 2024-25 with a crashing finish from 25 yards out to put Sunderland ahead shortly before half-time at the Stadium of Light.

Wilson Isidor then tapped home following great work from Romaine Mundle after the break as the Black Cats earned their sixth win from eight league games this term.

While Derby – who missed several chances to get back into the game – sit 13th on nine points, Regis Le Bris' side overtook West Brom to go top of the table on 18.

The Baggies relinquished their position due to a 1-0 home defeat against Middlesbrough, with Hayden Hackney netting the only goal after 73 minutes.

No away team had scored at the Hawthorns in almost six months, but Hackney found the bottom corner with a sweeping finish after taking in Riley McGree's pass for the winner.

Carlos Corberan's men slipped two places to third, with Burnley also overtaking them by beating Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Turf Moor.

The Clarets needed a 26th-minute Josh Brownhill penalty, awarded for Darko Gyabi's foul on Josh Cullen, to get over the line despite Plymouth not attempting a single shot on target.

Fellow high-flyers Blackburn Rovers, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Coventry City, who recorded a deeply impressive 3-0 win at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Jake Bidwell, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante were on target for last season's FA Cup semi-finalists, who climbed to 16th in the table. Blackburn sit fifth.

Leeds United are level with Blackburn, but have a superior goal difference and sit fourth, after fighting back to draw 1-1 at Norwich City.

Josh Sargent's early penalty gave Norwich the lead over their former boss Daniel Farke, but Largie Ramazani's goal on the hour earned Leeds a point amid a better second-half display.

The Championship’s top scorer Sammie Szmodics set Blackburn on their way with a quickfire first half double – his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season – before strikes from Ryan Hedges and Tyrhys Dolan early in the second half wrapped up the points.

Chris Rigg came off the bench to score a consolation for Sunderland 13 minutes from time but Blackburn added a fifth four minutes later through substitute Andrew Moran.

After seven draws and two defeats from his first nine games in charge, Eustace’s first win lifts Rovers five points clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland ended a seven-match winless run at Cardiff on Good Friday but failed to build on that victory and were booed off at half-time and full-time.

Eustace was dealt a blow early on when left-back Harry Pickering suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Ben Chrisene, but Rovers steadily got a grip, started to impose themselves and broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark.

Patrick Roberts, making his first start after a two-month lay-off with a hamstring injury, slipped in his own half and Blackburn made the winger pay. Dolan played a neat one-two with Chrisene before sliding in Szmodics, whose crisp finished flashed low past Anthony Patterson and into the bottom corner.

Just seven minutes later, Szmodics scored his and Blackburn’s second, turning in Joe Rankin-Costello’s cut-back from six yards out after good play again from Dolan in the build-up.

It could have got even better for Blackburn, with Rankin-Costello forcing a good save out of Patterson. Sunderland desperately needed the half-time whistle and were booed off by the home supporters at the break.

And plenty of the home fans were heading for the exits early after Blackburn added two more goals to put the game out of sight within 10 minutes of the restart.

Hedges started and finished the move for the third, winning possession with a tackle inside his own half before receiving the ball back off Sam Gallagher and finishing calmly from inside the box.

The fourth came just seven minutes later when Dan Neil lost possession and Dolan’s clinical finish went in off the post.

Black Cats boss Mike Dodds immediately turned to his bench and made a triple change, with star forward Jack Clarke one of those introduced alongside Rigg and former Blackburn attacker Bradley Dack.

When Dack’s header was saved on 77 minutes, Rigg was on hand to tap home the equaliser, but Blackburn responded and Moran wrapped up the scoring after a miscued finish from Szmodics.

In a match that City dominated Shaw scored the final goal in 59^th minute to seal the victory.

Manchester City dominated the match with 64 per cent possession and taking 14 shots at goal, eight of them on target keeping Claudia Moan busy throughout. The breakthrough came early when Julie Blakstad netted in the eighth minute.

Alex Greenwood’s corner was poorly cleared by Sunderland’s defence.

Shaw’s back header then found Steph Houghton, whose clever pass found Filippa Angeldahl, who squared for Blakstad to tap home. Manchester City went into the break leading 1-0 but added a second early on the resumption when once again poor defending saw Hayley Raso run through to slot past Moan.

Shaw’s goal came when Houghton’s defence-splitting pass was slid home by the Jamaican striker.

The Jamaican will have a chance to add to her eight league goals this coming Sunday, when Manchester City take on Brighton Hove Albion, a team with the worst defensive record in the WSL.

Joe Rodon and Max Wober scored their first goals for Leeds as Daniel Farke's side bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in their last match. 

While the Rams, who have only won once in their last 10 games, dropped to 16th place, Leeds overtook Sheffield United – who face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday – on goal difference. 

Frank Lampard earned his first win as Coventry City boss as they beat hosts Millwall 1-0, ending a five-match winless run. 

The former England and Chelsea midfielder took charge at Coventry last month, succeeding long-serving boss Mark Robins and his first win came courtesy of an Ephron Mason-Clark goal, which snapped Millwall's nine-match unbeaten run. 

Tom Watson scored twice as Sunderland ended their six-match run without a win by defeating Stoke City 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. 

The 18-year-old equalised for the hosts in the seventh minute, only a minute after Lewis Koumas put the Potter ahead, before he found the winner with a deflected strike three minutes from full-time. 

Fourth-placed Sunderland are now only two points behind the top two.

Elsewhere in the Championship, a Sean McLoughlin own goal proved to be the difference between the sides as Blackburn edged Hull City 1-0. 

New Hull manager Ruben Selles watched from the stands as his side fell to the bottom of the table while Rovers kept pace with the top four as they trail Sunderland by four points. 

It was a point that is likely to be more welcomed by the Black Cats as they continued to recover from losing their first two games of the season.

Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson was the goalkeeper who was called upon more often as the Sky Blues, still adjusting to the loss of key players during the summer, made it three games unbeaten.

Sunderland began brightly, with Bradley Dack miscuing wide after working his way into a good position before Trai Hume launched a long-range effort off target.

There were no clear openings, however, with the final pass lacking from both teams, although Kasey Palmer’s through ball meant for Matty Godden required Patterson to quickly come off his line and gather.

A ricochet from Ben Sheaf’s shot then presented half an opening for Godden, but he could not get any power on his effort and Patterson saved easily.

It was one of the few occasions either goalkeeper was called upon as chances remained at a premium, with defences very much on top.

An opening was finally fashioned by Coventry in the 44th minute when the ball was played through for Ellis Simms and the former Everton striker was denied by the legs of Patterson.

Both sides were hoping for more after a tepid first half, however, and it was Sunderland who made a lively start to the second as they worked Coventry keeper Ben Wilson for the first time after 49 minutes.

Dan Neil’s shot from just outside the area was parried out as far as Dennis Cirkin, who also found his route to goal blocked by Wilson.

Palmer then tried to force a breakthrough for the Sky Blues at the other end, but his shot on the turn from the edge of the box never looked like finding the target.

There was a much better tempo to the game now, though, and Palmer looked sharp again during a good run into the Sunderland area, only to shoot tamely at Patterson.

A raft of substitutions from both sides unfortunately hurt the flow, but Sheaf tried to seize the initiative for Coventry as he snatched a shot from outside the area wide.

Two of the Sky Blues’ substitutes then combined for the clearest opening of the match after 79 minutes as debutant Yasin Ayari, on loan from Brighton, played the ball through for Haji Wright, who was denied by a fine save from Patterson.

The Magpies ended a run of seven defeats in eight games in all competitions with a resounding 3-0 third-round win at the Stadium of Light on Saturday to get the better of their arch-rivals for the first time in 10 attempts dating back to 2011.

A place in the fourth round presents the prospect of a run in a competition which has assumed ever greater importance for the club following their exits from the Champions League and Carabao Cup in December.

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Asked if they could use the win as a launchpad, head coach Howe said: “Well, hopefully. That’s how we have to look at it.

“Naturally when you don’t win for a period of time, confidence can be affected. Our players are the same as any others.

“Today will have done them the world of good. We’ve not just won the game, but we’ve performed well, we’ve scored goals, we’ve kept a clean sheet so all round, it’s a very good day.”

Victory over the Black Cats was significant – it was a first in the FA Cup under Howe after third-round exits at the hands of League One sides Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday in the last two seasons.

Asked about the prospect of a cup run, Howe said: “We’d love that. The third round has not been kind to us the last couple of years, two difficult moments for us.

“But as I said in the build-up to the game, those moments actually helped us grow. Now we stand here and we know we needed to win today, so we’re delighted to do that and yes, we’d love a run in the FA Cup. It’s an important competition now for us.”

The hosts frustrated Newcastle until 10 minutes before the break, when defender Dan Ballard turned Joelinton’s cross into his own net, and they contributed further to their own downfall when Miguel Almiron robbed Pierre Ekwah to set up Alexander Isak for the second before Ballard handed the Sweden international the chance to double his tally from the penalty spot after barging Anthony Gordon to the ground.

Asked about the white-hot derby atmosphere, Howe said: “I don’t think it was too dissimilar to Milan, to PSG and other places we’ve been this year, so I think those experiences probably helped us.”

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Opposite number Michael Beale was philosophical after a defeat he hopes can help aid his side’s bid for promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

He said: “Let’s be honest, there was a gap between the two teams when we arrived at the stadium today and at the end of the day, we’ve tried to close that gap over 90 minutes and we weren’t able to do that.

“My young team must really be honest with themselves, the staff, the players, everyone at the football club about today because then I think we’ll improve and we can use it in our Championship form for the games we’ve got coming up.

“But the big thing for us is being honest and not hiding away from the fact there is a gap.”

Carvalho struck with 19 minutes remaining to settle a dour game on Wearside, volleying the ball home from the edge of the area via a deflection off Trai Hume.

Sunderland’s supporters jeered their own head coach Michael Beale in the closing stages of the game, with the former Rangers and QPR boss now having suffered three defeats in a row in all competitions.

Beale restored Ukrainian striker Nazariy Rusyn to Sunderland’s starting line-up, but the home side struggled to create chances against a well-organised Hull side.

Alex Pritchard floated a ball beyond the back post after Alfie Jones’ misplaced pass threatened to play the Tigers into trouble.

But Sunderland only recorded one effort at goal in the opening half-hour and even that was a tame effort, with Pritchard rolling a poor shot straight at Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop after breaking towards the edge of the penalty area.

Hull were no more threatening despite some slick midfield interplay that generally involved Liverpool loanee Carvalho, with their first strike at goal coming midway through the first half as Lewis Coyle shot over from the right of the box.

Coyle’s overlapping runs down the right were a feature of the visitors’ attacking play all evening and the right-back almost broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark.

Ozan Tufan rolled the ball into his path, but Coyle’s stabbed effort was saved by Anthony Patterson.

The rest of the first half was a scrappy affair, with Hull picking up five yellow cards as a series of niggly fouls prevented the game from generating any kind of rhythm.

The quality of attacking play did not really improve after the interval, but Sunderland finally asked a serious question of Allsop on the hour mark.

A cross from the left was only cleared to Hume, who was loitering 25 yards from goal and – after taking a touch to bring the ball under control – the full-back fired in a dipping effort that was tipped over the crossbar.

It was either going to take a moment of magic or a slice of luck to break the deadlock and in the end, Hull’s opener in the 71st minute featured a bit of both.

Carvalho displayed excellent technique as he swivelled his body to fire in a first-time volley from Tyler Morton’s cross, but his shot might not have beaten Patterson had it not flicked off Hume’s head and changed direction.

Rooney’s struggling side battled their way back into the game after conceding an early opener to former Birmingham youngster Jobe Bellingham, with Koji Miyoshi levelling the scores towards the end of the first half.

However, Sunderland were the better side for the majority of the contest, and after Dion Sanderson’s own goal restored the home side’s lead, Adil Aouchiche made the game safe with a close-range finish 14 minutes from time.

Sunderland suffered a pre-match blow when Dennis Cirkin was injured during the warm-up, necessitating the promotion of summer signing Nectarios Triantis to the starting line-up for his first league start since his summer move from Australia.

The last-minute switch did not appear to disrupt the Black Cats, however, as they dominated the early stages with Nazariy Rusyn smashing an 11th-minute shot against the post after turning neatly in the area.

Six minutes later, and the deadlock was broken as Sunderland scored from a set-piece. Jack Clarke swung in a corner from the left, Rusyn helped the ball on with a flicked header, and Bellingham volleyed home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Bellingham left Birmingham to join Sunderland in the summer, and the 18-year-old, who is the younger brother of England and Real Madrid star Jude, almost doubled his tally midway through the first half.

Bellingham swivelled smartly after Patrick Roberts’ corner was allowed to pass deep into the penalty area, but he scuffed his shot and the ball struck the same post that had been hit by Rusyn a few minutes earlier.

Birmingham were struggling at that stage, but the visitors battled their way back into things and gradually began to create chances of their own.

Niall Huggins hacked off his own goal-line to prevent Jay Stansfield from bundling home, but the home defence was breached on the half-hour mark.

Pierre Ekwah conceded possession, and after Stansfield crossed from the right, no one tracked the run of Miyoshi, who swept home a clinical first-time finish.

With the game remaining extremely open, chances continued to flow in the second half.

A brilliant last-ditch tackle from Birmingham defender Emanuel Aiwu prevented Rusyn getting a shot away, but the weight of Sunderland’s pressure told as they regained the lead just before the hour mark.

A short-corner routine ended with Roberts crossing from the right, with full-back Trai Hume keeping the ball alive at the back post as he looped a header over goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Triantis slid in with Aiwu on the goal-line, and after a series of ricochets, the final touch appeared to come off Sanderson before the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Sunderland made the game safe with 14 minutes left as Clarke did brilliantly to create space to slide over a low cross from the left, with substitute Aouchiche breaking ahead of his marker to turn home from close range.

The Black Cats returned to the Championship summit, with Wilson Isidor's third goal in four games enough to seal all three points at the MKM Stadium.

The winning goal came in the 63rd minute, though Hull felt it should not have stood.

From a Tigers corner, referee Madley appeared to obstruct the view of Marvin Mehlem, who was subsequently dispossessed before Dan Neil sent Isidor clear, with the Zenit loanee outmuscling Cody Drameh before lifting over Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.

Walter later confirmed he had received an apology from the official for the incident, but acknowledged his side were ultimately made to pay for not taking their chances.

"The referee invited me in [to the official's room] to apologise, but it doesn't help me," he told BBC Radio Humberside. "But we had a lot of situations in the first half and a lot of counter situations, but our last decision wasn't the best.

"We created many chances, but we weren't clinical enough and, maybe, lost our heads in the last five minutes. We had more courage in the second half, and we showed we can maybe be on the same page as them."

As for Sunderland, who leapfrogged Burnley back to the top of the table, that is now seven wins from their opening 10 games.

"It's difficult to win away, especially at Hull," said head coach Regis le Bris. "In the first half, we dominated the ball but failed to break into the final third.

"The scenario in the second half was different. They kept the ball, and it was not easy to deal with the way they built up their attacks, and we did well.

"We were prepared to use our counter-attacks as we had that strength, and Wilson made the difference."

O’Leary made a series of superb first-half saves as Liam Manning’s side claimed their third clean sheet in a row.

Adil Aouchiche and Bradley Dack both hit the crossbar as Sunderland turned in a much-improved display from the Bank Holiday battering at the hands of Blackburn.

However, the Black Cats were unable to find a way past an inspired O’Leary and have now won just one of their last nine matches as their season peters out.

Sunderland were the better side from the outset, displaying a much greater degree of intensity and aggression than they had displayed in their 5-1 home defeat to Blackburn at the start of the week.

Dan Ballard thought he had claimed a ninth-minute opener when he headed goalwards after a corner was nodded back across goal, but O’Leary did superbly to claw the ball away.

Sunderland threatened again three minutes later, only for Aouchiche to stab wide from inside the area after Dan Neil’s blocked shot rebounded invitingly into his path.

Jack Clarke was back in the home side’s starting line-up for the first time in more than a month after recovering from an ankle injury and the winger went close midway through the first half as he fired in a side-footed strike that was parried by O’Leary.

The Bristol City goalkeeper was in inspired form for much of the afternoon, producing a brilliant double-save to ensure the scoresheet remained blank shortly after the half-hour mark.

His first save prevented Jobe Bellingham from firing home from inside the area and he then produced an even better stop to keep out Clarke’s follow-up effort.

Two minutes later and O’Leary was at it again. This time it was Neil who was denied initially, with the Robins keeper parrying the midfielder’s shot, and when Aouchiche nodded the rebound towards goal, O’Leary displayed superb reflexes to touch the ball onto the crossbar.

Bristol City had not threatened at all at that stage, but the visitors finally recorded their first effort at goal in first-half stoppage time.

Anthony Patterson parried Nakhi Wells’ angled shot and Scott Twine’s follow-up effort would have gone in had a backtracking Luke O’Nien not produced a crucial block from just in front of the goal-line.

Patterson was called into action again in the early stages of the second half, saving from Matty James after Haydon Roberts nodded a free-kick back across goal, but with the wind swirling around the Stadium of Light, neither side was especially fluent as they pressed to try to force a breakthrough.

That said, however, Sunderland came within inches of claiming a winner with 17 minutes left. Neil flicked on Trai Hume’s cross, enabling substitute Dack to power in a diving header that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar before rebounding to safety.

Jack Clarke opened the scoring for the Black Cats but Kayden Jackson levelled the scores during a frenetic first half.

Conor Chaplin then completed the comeback in the 75th minute when he powered a header past Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.

The Tractor Boys ended a run of five games without a victory to retain second spot in the table, seven points adrift of Leicester who lost at Coventry.

The Black Cats, meanwhile, sit just out of the top six on goal difference.

The visitors were presented with a great opportunity to take the lead early on when Harry Clarke lost possession to Aji Alese out wide. The Sunderland man made his way towards the six-yard area, where his cross found Jobe Bellingham but Town keeper Vaclav Hladky blocked the shot.

A spell of concerted pressure in the Wearsiders’ penalty area resulted in a shot from Jack Taylor but his goal-bound effort was blocked by Dan Ballard.

Hladky then used his legs to keep out a shot from Clarke but the Sunderland man got his name on the scoresheet in the 26th minute with a fine strike from the edge the penalty area.

It came following a corner which was initially cleared, but Abdoullah Ba collected the ball and danced across the edge of the penalty area before finding Clarke, who rifled the ball into the net.

Ipswich responded and Clarke’s low cross from the right was pushed away by Patterson but the Tractor Boys were level in the 33rd minute through Jackson.

Lewis Travis, on loan from Blackburn, played a pass into the Sunderland penalty area to Chaplin, who cleverly nudged the ball into Jackson’s path, via a deflection off Pierre Ekwah, and the striker coolly finished.

Patterson prevented the Tractor Boys taking the lead when he got down low to keep out a shot from Clarke as Ipswich exerted pressure on Sunderland, who should have taken the lead when Adil Aouchiche was presented with a gilt-edged chance.

A combination of Hladky and Luke Woolfenden lost possession and Clarke squared the ball to the Sunderland substitute, who sliced wide of an unguarded net.

The majority of the 29,291 crowd then erupted when Chaplin put Town ahead.

Aouchiche fouled Leif Davis, who delivered a free-kick into the penalty area where Chaplin connected with his head.

Woolfenden then struck the post following another Davis free-kick.

There were huge penalty appeals when Sunderland midfielder Luke O’Nien dived in on Omari Hutchinson, which sent him cartwheeling into the air, while Chaplin fired the loose ball inches wide as the game drew to a close.

Jack Clarke scored the winning goal after 82 minutes when he cut inside from the left before smartly directing the football into the bottom right-hand corner.

Beale, who replaced Tony Mowbray earlier in the month, suffered a miserable start in his new role when Coventry won 3-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

But the former Rangers manager will be delighted by the resolute manner in which his players went about their business in East Yorkshire – and even happier with the full-time scoreline which moved the Black Cats above Hull into the top six.

Jude Bellingham, sporting a Sunderland scarf in support of his brother Jobe, was watching from the stands but may have been questioning his decision to ditch Madrid for Hull after an awful first half.

The hosts were given no time on the football – especially through the middle – while Sunderland were more direct, but they, too, could not gain an efficient grip on the match and were largely kept at arm’s length from Matt Ingram’s goal.

The game finally awoke from its post-Christmas slumber after 24 minutes, when Tyler Morton weaved a direct route towards goal from the left.

Morton’s cross was dangerous, but goalkeeper Anthony Patterson did well to parry the ball to safety.

By contrast to the opening 45 minutes, the second half began earnestly when Morton sent across a dangerous ball from the right and Scott Twine teed up Aaron Connolly, but his feeble hit in front of goal was easily saved.

Sunderland responded with Patrick Roberts breezing clear of Regan Slater on the right before stabbing the ball into a dangerous area. Centre-back Alfie Jones looked in trouble facing his own goal so therefore did well to divert the ball for a corner.

The longer the game progressed, the more composed Sunderland became.

This was evidenced after 62 minutes when Slater lost possession in Hull’s penalty box. Adil Aouchiche seized control but thrashed the ball just over the crossbar.

Beale’s men then created a fine chance after 67 minutes when Clarke threaded a lovely ball towards an onrushing Roberts. He had it all to do from a tricky angle but should still have made Ingram work harder in a one-on-one situation on the right of the six-yard box.

With Sunderland having committed men forward, Hull nearly scored in transition when Liam Delap bullied his way into the visitors’ box. The Manchester City loan signing let rip from the right but Patterson reacted smartly to tip the ball around the left-hand post.

Patterson also thwarted Morton from a similar angle, but they lacked offensive clout once Clarke scored and could find no way through their hard-working opponents.

Hwang Ui-jo gave Norwich the lead against the run of play just after the midway stage of the first half, but Sunderland hit back with goals from Trai Hume and Dan Neil before the break and the league’s top scorer Jack Clarke secured the victory from the spot with his ninth goal of the season 10 minutes from time.

The victory lifted Sunderland to seventh in the Championship, but Norwich’s tumble continues. David Wagner’s side have now won just one of their last eight games and are down to 17th.

Sunderland dominated from the off and took the game to the Canaries, who have the joint worst defensive record in the Championship.

The Black Cats were bright from the off, bossed the early stages and came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock just before the midway stage of the first half when Clarke’s deflected strike hit the post.

But against the run of play it was Norwich who got their noses in front in controversial fashion. Sunderland expected the assistant to raise his flag when a pass was aimed in the direction of Gabriel Sara, who was clearly offside, but the forward let the ball run to overlapping right-back Kellen Fisher. He cut it back for Hwang to finish clinically into the far corner.

The goal did not knock Sunderland out of their stride and the hosts came roaring back. The deserved equaliser came eight minutes before the break, when Hume’s first-time effort from the edge of the box flashed through a sea of bodies and deflected off Shane Duffy into the far corner.

Sunderland took the lead in the final minute of the first half. The brilliant Clarke weaved through three Norwich defenders on the left before picking out Neil in the box, who calmly lifted the ball over George Long.

Mowbray’s side looked comfortable in the early stages of the second half but Norwich fired a warning just before the hour mark when Christian Fassnacht met a Dimitris Giannoulis cross from the left and headed against the post.

The Canaries had their moments in the second half but the game’s star man Clarke wrapped up the points for Sunderland when he won and scored a penalty on 80 minutes. The winger was tripped by Kenny McLean inside the box and picked himself up to send Long the wrong way.

Kenneth Paal put the hosts ahead but Colback was then red-carded and the Black Cats levelled after seven minutes of first-half injury time when Jack Clarke’s effort was deflected in by Rs defender Steve Cook.

Rangers battled hard but second-half goals from Dan Ballard and Abdoullah Ba secured the points for Tony Mowbray’s side.

QPR have won just once at Loftus Road since last October and have lost all three of their home games so far this season.

Paal opened the scoring for them with a crisp strike from just outside the penalty area after 12 minutes.

After Sunderland failed to properly clear Paul Smyth’s throw-in from the right, Ilias Chair teed up Paal, who sent a low left-footed shot beyond keeper Anthony Patterson and into the bottom corner of the net.

The goal came somewhat against the run of play, with the visitors having made a lively start.

Rangers survived an early scare when Ballard blazed over at the far post from Clarke’s left-wing corner, before Sunderland appealed in vain for a penalty when Clarke went down in the area as he tried to get between Smyth and Sam Field.

Paal’s opener – the left-back’s second goal of the season – galvanised Rangers but they suffered a major blow when Colback was dismissed nine minutes later.

Colback is a hugely unpopular figure among Sunderland fans, having left the club to join arch-rivals Newcastle in 2014, and they revelled in his straight red card for a challenge on Jobe Bellingham.

The Black Cats had a goal disallowed for offside soon afterwards when Bellingham headed in after being found by Alex Pritchard’s ball in from the left.

And an almost identical build-up then resulted in Bellingham missing a sitter as he failed to make contact when again found unmarked inside the area by Pritchard.

However, just as Rangers looked like getting to the interval in front, they conceded an equaliser. In attempting to head away Clarke’s shot from near the left-hand edge of the penalty area, Cook succeeded only in diverting the ball past keeper Asmir Begovic.

A second-half barrage from Sunderland inevitably followed and they went in front on 57 minutes courtesy of defender Ballard’s first goal for the club.

Pritchard exchanged passes with Patrick Roberts and was denied by Begovic but the loose ball rolled to Ballard, who had a simple tap-in.

Ba almost added a third when he fired against the outside of the post from an awkward angle after being set up by Bellingham.

But he made no mistake with an emphatic finish from Adil Aouchiche’s left-wing cross on 81 minutes.

The Rovers manager was also full of praise for his “unplayable” front four of Sam Gallagher, Sammie Szmodics, Tyrhys Dolan and Ryan Hedges.

Szmodics’ double – his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season – set Blackburn on their way in the first half, with Dolan and Hedges then putting the game out of sight of the hosts within 10 minutes of the restart. Substitute Andrew Moran wrapped up the convincing win after Chris Rigg’s consolation.

It was Eustace’s first win at the 10th time of asking in charge of Rovers, who are now five points clear of the drop zone.

“It was an outstanding performance,” he said. “It’s been coming. The performances have been excellent over the time I’ve been here. You could see the togetherness was there.

“We’ve had some really difficult games but been competitive and rolled our sleeves up. The most important thing was we won playing our style of football but we also showed that level of commitment and desire to defend the box.

“The front four were awesome, they were unplayable at times and the most important thing for me was what they did without the ball, that was outstanding and was the platform.

“It was an all-round perfect performance.”

Furious Mike Dodds hammered his Sunderland players after what he described as a “pathetic” display.

The Black Cats ended a seven-game winless run with a 2-0 win at Cardiff on Good Friday but failed to build on that showing and were booed off at half-time and full-time by the home supporters.

Hopes of another top-six finish have disappeared in recent weeks and Sunderland are now 13 points shy of the play-off places.

Dodds said: “It’s a bad result and an even worse performance. It’s completely unacceptable and I don’t say that lightly. That’s probably the best word I can find.

“Blackburn were deserved winners and I don’t like saying that on our own patch.

“As head coach I have to take responsibility for it, when they’re back in for training there are going to be some uncomfortable conversations but they need to be had if we’re to move forward.

“The players haven’t had much of a chance to talk in there, they’re under no illusions as to my thoughts: if they want to play for this football club then they’re going to have to deliver a better performance than that. If they don’t, they won’t play.

“I could have subbed the whole team when I made the changes in the second half. We’re going to have to reflect and use it as motivation, use it as a huge learning curve – it’s completely unacceptable.”

Daniel Farke's side moved to within two points of Sunderland after coasting to a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.

Jayden Bogle sliced home after 19 minutes for Leeds, who made sure of victory in stoppage time as Joel Piroe came off the bench to score.

There was no such success for Sunderland despite Wilson Isidor and Dennis Cirkin both finding the net in the first half at the Stadium of Light.

Haji Wright pulled one back for Coventry, who dismissed long-term boss Mark Robins this week, just past the hour before Jack Rudoni snatched a 2-2 comeback draw with six minutes remaining.

At the other end of the table, Portsmouth managed just their second victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Preston North End at Fratton Park.

Josh Murphy and Connor Ogilvie were both on target in the first half before Colby Bishop's late penalty sealed victory after Emil Riis Jakobsen had reduced the deficit for Paul Heckingbottom's visitors.

Victory moved Portsmouth up to 23rd in the league, two points ahead of bottom side QPR and within three points of safety.

Fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle also gained a point as Adam Randell's 41st-minute strike cancelled out Jerry Yates' early opener for Derby County at Pride Park.

The 1-1 draw leaves Wayne Rooney's side 16th in the table, but just one point clear of the relegation zone, while Derby sit comfortably 12th.

Norwich City dropped down the table in Saturday's other game, suffering their first home defeat in the league in 22 games after a 2-0 reverse against Bristol City at Carrow Road.

Anis Mehmeti and Nakhi Wells scored in either half for Liam Manning's visitors, who moved into 10th with a victory that left them just two points shy of the play-off positions.

Daniel Farke's side dominated the opening 30 minutes of the match before three goals in eight minutes put the game to bed inside the first half.

Dan James opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, firing into the top corner from the edge of the area, before Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson made it comfortable.

The result marked Plymouth's fourth game without a victory and they dropped into the bottom three on goal difference due to results elsewhere.

Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away to second-bottom QPR, which opened the door for those below to reduce their lead at the top of the table.

While Dan Neil hit the post for the Black Cats in the first half, it was the hosts who were the better team for long periods.

The game turned in the second half when Jobe Bellingham was sent off after 58 minutes for a poor challenge on Zan Celar, but neither side was able to find a winner.

Elsewhere, Watford moved above West Brom into fifth after they hammered Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 at Hillsborough for their second away win of the season.

The result ended a six-game losing run on the road for the Hornets, who were drawing 1-1 at half-time and saw Vakoun Bayo score four goals inside 30 second-half minutes.

Coventry also made it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 victory away to Middlesbrough that moved them up to 13th.

The hosts had Hayden Hackney sent off after 22 minutes for two yellow cards, which allowed the Sky Blues to ease to three points. As a result, Michael Carrick's side are three points off the play-off positions in 10th.

Wilfried Gnonto got the game off to a good start for Daniel Farke's side, expertly turning home a cross just inside the box with a first-time finish to open the scoring.

Last season's losing play-off finalists wrapped up a comfortable victory in the second half with goals from Jayden Bogle - his first as a Leeds player - and Joel Piroe, who has now scored three in four as a substitute.

The victory sees Leeds climb to fourth, significantly taking the opportunity to cut the gap to the automatic promotion places with both West Brom and Sunderland losing.

Coventry, meanwhile, have lost four and drawn one of their last five matches in all competitions. They are fourth-bottom, with just goal difference separating them from the relegation zone.

Second-placed Sunderland missed the chance to go top as they were beaten 2-1 away to Watford.

Regis Le Bris' side went a goal down in the first half to a Festy Ebosele volley before equalising shortly after half-time through Wilson Isidor. They were unable to push on for a winner, with Tom Dele-Bashiru scoring a late penalty to win it for the hosts.

The win leaves Watford in seventh place in the Championship, outside the play-offs on goal difference, while Sunderland stay second.

Managerless Cardiff City lost their fifth straight match in all competitions and are still searching for their first league win of the season after being thumped 4-1 away to Hull City.

The Bluebirds initially went a goal up in the first half through Callum Robinson, which was just their second league goal of the season.

They could only hold the lead for four minutes, before Bachir Belloumi equalised for the hosts. He grabbed a brace 10 minutes before half-time and Hull never looked back.

Two second-half goals ensured another miserable afternoon for Cardiff, who remain bottom of the Championship with just one point after seven matches. Hull are up to 12th.

Daniel Farke's Whites required a response to move back into the automatic promotion places after a win for Sheffield United on Tuesday, but instead they were beaten 1-0 by surprise package Millwall.

A fourth straight 1-0 win for the Lions was secured with a first-half Japhet Tanganga goal and moved them up to fifth, now just four points behind Leeds in third.

Leeds are themselves four points behind front-runners Sunderland, but that gap could have been wider had the Black Cats beaten Preston North End.

Just as at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, though, Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away from home.

Jobe Bellingham was sent off against QPR and so missed out through suspension, and further bold changes from coach Regis Le Bris could have opened the door for Preston to snatch an unlikely win.

Instead, Preston remain among a clutch of teams just above the relegation zone, also including Luton Town and Cardiff City.

Luton beat Cardiff 1-0 with a Jacob Brown goal, while Coventry City lost 2-1 at home to Derby County. Stoke City were 2-0 winners at Blackburn Rovers.

While three of the top four were at home on Tuesday, Daniel Farke's side arguably had the toughest assignment.

But Boro were swept aside by Leeds despite the visitors benefiting from a Maximilian Wober own goal that cancelled out Wilfried Gnonto's early opener.

Leeds had to wait until the 74th minute to restore their lead through Daniel James, before Brenden Aaronson's stoppage-time goal made sure of a 3-1 victory.

Elsewhere, Burnley could muster only a goalless draw at home to Derby County, while Sunderland required a last-gasp leveller from Patrick Roberts at home to Bristol City, drawing 1-1.

Although Sheffield United could replace Leeds at the summit on Wednesday, Farke's side are now three points clear of third-placed Burnley and four clear of Sunderland in fourth.

Blackburn Rovers leapfrogged Boro into fifth after beating Sheffield Wednesday.

At the other end of the table, Portsmouth climbed out of the bottom three on goal difference after a 0-0 draw at home to Norwich City, but there was no respite for Wayne Rooney and Plymouth Argyle.

After back-to-back thrashings at Norwich and Bristol City, Plymouth suffered their first home defeat since August, going down 2-1 to Swansea City in a result that leaves them 23rd.