More away woe for the Cats

SUNDERLAND sank back to the bottom of the table as their miserable away form continued at The Hawthorns.

Goals from Darren Fletcher and Chris Brunt saw West Brom return to winning ways following defeats to Derby and Tottenham, as the victory kept them in the frame for European football.

Sunderland, suffering with absences through injury and players away at the African Nations Cup, have now lost nine of their 11 away matches in the league, scoring just six goals.

David Moyes’ men began the game bottom of the standings after Swansea’s surprise 3-2 success at Liverpool earlier in the day, but controlled possession early on and looked assured enough, even if they failed to trouble ex-England stopper Ben Foster in the home goal.

It all started to go wrong for them just before the half-hour mark as West Brom applied some pressure for the first time.

Sunderland survived when Salomon Rondon’s goal-bound header hit team mate Matty Phillips inside the six-yard box and the ball deflected inches wide. Phillips then forced a diving save from Vito Mannone with a long-range effort.

With 30 minutes on the clock, the Baggies went ahead when veteran Fletcher brilliantly brought the ball down on his chest inside the box and sent a volley beyond Mannone and into the back of the net.

Rondon saw another goal-bound shot blocked, this time by Sunderland defender John O’Shea, but the visitors were rocking and they were soon two goals behind.

A Nacer Chadli strike hit the crossbar before Mannone denied Phillips once more, but Brunt pounced on the rebound to crash home a volley from the edge of the penalty area after 36 minutes.