Abdoullah Ba's first goal in English football halted Sunderland's losing streak as it earned the Black Cats a priceless 1-0 win at play-off rivals Norwich City. Sunderland had arrived in Norfolk on the back of three successive defeats - and with just one point from their last four matches - which had seen them sink towards midtable.
But Ba's goal on the quarter-hour at Carrow Road, allied to a superb defensive display, saw the Wearsiders get back on course against a Canaries side that had come into this game in excellent form, having won three on the spin. Tony Mowbray's side moved up to tenth in the table and cut the gap between themselves and the play-off places to five points.
Mowbray made three changes to the side that started last weekend's defeat against Stoke City, all three of which were forced upon him through injury. Amad missed out with a muscle problem picked up in training and he was replaced by Abdoullah Ba, while Luke O'Nien came in for left-back Aji Alese who suffered a thigh injury against the Potters which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
