Two penalty strikes from Jordi Gomez have helped Sunderland narrowly beat Southampton 2-1 in their Premier League clash at the Stadium of Light.
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The visitors were quickest out of the starting blocks as Ryan Bertrand drove into space on the left and produced an effort which bounced harmlessly wide of the far post.
Southampton continued to threaten in the early stages, but were nearly caught out by a set piece in the sixth minute as Sebastian Larsson's free kick fell to Billy Jones, but Kelvin Davis was on hand to catch the subsequent header.
Sunderland were then given the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot in the 20th minute as Danny Graham was felled by Jose Fonte in the Saints box.
Jordi Gomez stepped up and duly slotted the spot kick into the bottom corner, despite Davis diving the right way.
Southampton were not behind for long, however. A defensive mishap from Costel Pantilimon and his back line allowed Sadio Mane to rush in and tap the ball into the empty net.
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John O'Shea, who suffered a collision with Shane Long earlier in the game, was unable to continue and Santiago Vergini took his place in the Black Cats defence just after the half-hour mark.
Sunderland ended the first half on a high as Davis was forced to repel a number of dangerous Black Cats chances, but Southampton hung on to go in level at the break.
The visitors came within a whisker of grabbing a second not long after the restart as Filip Djuricic collected Sebastian Coates's miscued clearance before lashing wide of target from 25 yards out.
Dick Advocaat's charges were then given another chance from the spot when Jermain Defoe was downed by James Ward-Prowse in the box.
The Southampton midfielder was sent off for the challenge, and Gomez stepped up once again and sent Davis the wrong way to put Sunderland back in front.
There was controversy midway through the second half when Mane went down in some pain with the already-booked Lee Cattermole in the vicinity, but the referee took no further action before the Senegalese had to be taken off.
Pantilimon, who had been shaky all game, then helped his side secure the win with a late reaction save from Graziano Pelle.
The result lifts Sunderland to within one point of safety, while Southampton sit seventh in the Premier League table.
Giuseppe Labellarte
