Coleman looks set for drop

Sunderland 1 Norwich 1

NORWICH skipper Ivo Pinto scored an 89th-minute equaliser to virtually condemn Sunderland to relegation.

Chris Coleman’s side are now six points adrift of safety with just four games left and are hanging on to Championship life by the thinnest of threads.

Aiden McGeady missed Sunderland’s first penalty in more than six years before setting up George Honeyman to throw the Championship strugglers a lifeline.

Honeyman was on hand in the 63rd minute to fire home his seventh goal of the season after McGeady’s drive had come back off the post.

The Black Cats haven’t done much right in recent times but scoring from 12 yards hasn’t been a problem – until now.

Smacked

After Ashley Fletcher was brought down by Grant Hanley on 40 minutes, McGeady sent Norwich keeper Angus Gunn the wrong way but smacked his effort against the post – becoming the first Sunderland player since Seb Larsson in December 2011 to fluff a penalty kick.

Fletcher had tested the keeper straight from the kick-off but it was the Canaries who carved out the better chances in the opening half an hour when Nelson Oliveira could have had a hat-trick.

The Portugal star was denied by Lee Camp early on, hit the woodwork from James Maddison’s corner in the 26th minute and scuffed an effort across goal after Josh Murphy found him at the far post.

And he was a whisker away 11 minutes into the second half with a 20-yard curler.