John Hartson continues to give Coventry City fresh heart. Yesterday the Welshman's sixth goal in eight games brought Gordon Strachan's team their third win in four to keep alive Highfield Road's hopes of cheating relegation yet again.
Coventry are now two points behind Middlesbrough, back in 17th place in the Premiership, with four matches to play. But in reality, given their much worse goal difference, they are three points from safety. So the chances of Coventry extending their 34-year run in the top division are still in the balance.
After yesterday's match Strachan accepted that his side remained favourites for the third relegation place. "That has to be the case," he admitted, "but as long as we stay in there annoying people the others will not be able to shake us off."
A Sunderland side once hopeful of a Champions League place but for whom the prospect of European football is now almost lost over the horizon will understand what Strachan means after this defeat.
Coventry snapped at their heels from the outset, and only after the dismissal of Stanislav Varga, following a second booking, early in the second half did Peter Reid's team get the semblance of an act together.
Even then Sunderland's hopes were only preserved by Coventry's wastefulness. Three chances fell to John Eustace in the space of eight minutes just past the hour; the first he miscued, the second bounced over the bar and the third drew a point-blank save from Thomas Sorensen.
This was the Coventry of old, and once more Highfield Road thanked its lucky stars that Hartson had agreed to join the club from Wimbledon for £15,000 sterling a game.
As early as the third minute Jay Bothroyd, the coltish 18year-old striker for whom Coventry paid Arsenal £1 million last summer, caught George McCartney with an ugly foul. Given the benign view Dermot Gallagher took of these incidents, Sunderland doubtless felt hard done by when Varga was sent off after two similar though less blatant fouls on Bothroyd.
Yet Sunderland's problem lay with their lack of organisation and failure to support Kevin Phillips and Don Hutchison in attack. Part of this was due to the tirelessness with which Lee Carsley and Paul Telfer denied Sunderland's midfielders time and space in an untidy, windswept match.
Coventry's goal was a delight. After 20 minutes an attack launched through Craig Bellamy on the left seemed to be breaking down - "We were screaming for Bellamy to cross it," Strachan admitted - but the midfielder kept possession and the ball found its way to the opposite flank.
Then Bothroyd chested a centre from Eustace down to Carslake, who chipped the ball square to Hartson, who nodded it past Sorensen. Hartson might have had a second immediately after Varga's dismissal but his far-post header bounced on and over the bar.
Sunderland did better with 10 men, and once Niall Quinn had joined their attack Coventry lived on their nerves. In fact Quinn could have forced a draw in stoppage time but shot tamely into Chris Kirkland's hands.
COVENTRY: Kirkland, Quinn, Breen, Shaw, Hall, Eustace (Thompson 89), Telfer, Carsley, Bellamy, Hartson, Bothroyd. Subs Not Used: Hedman, Williams, Chippo, Zuniga. Booked: Breen, Eustace. Goals: Hartson 21.
SUNDERLAND: Sorensen, Williams, Thome, Varga, McCartney, Kilbane, Schwarz (Quinn 69), McCann, Arca (Craddock 52), Hutchison (Thirlwell 69), Phillips. Subs Not Used: Butler, Macho. Sent Off: Varga (49). Booked: Varga, Arca, Schwarz, Thome, Williams.
Referee: D Gallagher (Banbury).
