Sunderland climbed into the Championship play-off places as they thrashed Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. The Latics had lost 4-1 at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day and Sunderland gave them more of the same, winning by the same scoreline.
Ellis Simms put the Black Cats in front inside 20 minutes, only for Will Keane to level just before half-time. But in the second half they took the game away from the Latics, with sub Ross Stewart converting from the penalty spot for the second game in succession after fellow sub Patrick Roberts had been fouled by Curtis Tilt.
And in the final five minutes, Sunderland added two more quickfire goals with Roberts adding the third with a deflected shot before Amad scored a wondergoal to wrap things up. The win meant Sunderland climbed to fourth in the table, while Wigan will go into the New Year propping up the Championship.
READ MORE: Wigan Athletic 1-4 Sunderland: Highlights and reaction from the DW Stadium
Tony Mowbray made five changes to the side that beat Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day. Trai Hume and Bailey Wright came into defence in place of the injured duo of Lynden Gooch and Dennis Cirkin.
Abdoullah Ba replaced Corry Evans in midfield, with Evans not included in the matchday squad. Edouard Michut made his first start for the Black Cats, with the midfielder replacing Patrick Roberts who dropped to the bench.
And Simms replaced Stewart up front, with Stewart on the bench to avoid starting him in two games so close together after such a long absence through injury. Wigan boss Kolo Toure made three changes, in his case to the side that lost heavily at Boro.
Tom Naylor, Tendayi Darikwa, and one-time Sunderland loanee Ashley Fletcher came into the side, with Ryan Nyambe, Jordan Cousins, and another ex-Black Cats loanee Nathan Broadhead dropping to the bench. Sunderland started on the front foot, with Ba crossing for Hume to bringing an early save out of Jamie Jones, with the Latics keeper tipping the ball round the post inside the first five minutes.
And then only a brilliant double save from Jones prevented the Black Cats taking the lead as Ba strode forward and released Amad inside the box, his initial effort was blocked by the keeper's legs and the loose ball came out to Ba who blasted it goalwards from 12 yards but Jones parried it away on the line. Sunderland thought the ball had crossed the line but referee Michael Salisbury tapped his watch to indicate that the technology said otherwise.
It proved to be only a temporary reprieve for the hosts, however, who fell behind just seconds later in the 19th minute. A Sunderland corner from the left was cleared only as far as Jack Clarke who put the ball back into the box when a defender could only glance it as far as Hume at the far post, and his volley down into the turf bounced up for Simms to head in from close range.
Wigan had barely threatened but five minutes before the break they almost levelled when they won a corner on the left, the ball was headed out as far as ex-Sunderland man James McClean and his volley beat Anthony Patterson but clipped the outside of the left-hand post and went behind. Almost immediately, Sunderland hit the woodwork at the other end through Amad as he rattled the crossbar with a powerful drive from inside the box.
Wigan then got back on terms in the 42nd minute, when Thelo Aasgaard hit a shot from 25 yards out which Patterson saved but could not hold and Keane followed-up to score from six yards out. Ba sent a shot just over the top shortly before the hour, but Sunderland were struggling to create clear-cut opportunities in the second period with Wigan looking defensively more resilient.
Mowbray made a triple change on 62 minutes, sending on Alex Pritchard, Roberts, and Stewart, and it paid off almost immediately. On 65 minutes, Roberts cut inside from the left and was felled inside the box by Tom Naylor, with the referee pointing to the spot.
Stewart stepped up to convert, with the ball kissing the base of the left-hand post before it found the net, beating Jones who had dived the right way, to put the Black Cats back in front. Sunderland were then hit by a double injury blow, with Pritchard limping off five minutes after joining the action, and shortly afterwards Ba was also forced off after suffering from cramp.
But Sunderland made sure of the points five minutes from time when a slick passing move down the right ended with Roberts receiving the ball inside the box and his shot took a big deflection of Wigan sub Ryan Nyambe which wrongfooted Jones and the effort found the net. And Amad then punished Wigan when he added the fourth goal in the 89th minute, collecting a pass from Roberts before bending a 25-yard shot into the bottom left-hand corner, leaving Jones no chance.
How they lined up
Wigan Athletic: Jones, Darikwa, Hughes (Nyambe 17), Tilt, McClean, Power, Naylor, Lang (Edwards 75), Keane, Aasgaard (Shinnie 62), Fletcher. Subs not used: Amos, Cousins, Scully, Bennett
Booked: McClean, Tilt
Sunderland: Patterson, Ballard, Wright, O'Nien, Hume, Michut (Pritchard 62, (Matete 68)), Neil, Clarke (Roberts 62), Amad, Simms (Stewart 62), Ba (Dajaku 71). Subs not used: Bass, Bennette
Booked: Ballard
Referee: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire)
Attendance: 14,615
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