A solid team performance from West Brom has dealt Sunderland's survival hopes a blow after a 3-0 win at the Hawthorns.
Sunderland miss opportunity to boost survival hopes
A solid team performance from West Brom has given the club renewed hope of staying up after a 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Hawthorns.
The Baggies still remain six points off safety but will no doubt fight to the end of the season after their sublime attacking display dragged Sunderland deeper into relegation trouble.
The home side took the lead on 40 minutes thanks to Jonas Olsson directed his volley into the bottom corner after being left unmarked from a Jonathan Greening corner.
A lacklustre second half display from Sunderland allowed West Brom to enjoy themselves with attractive football and they were deservedly two goals up on 58 minutes through Chris Brunt.
The in-form winger got his toe on the end of Marc-Antoine Fortune's pull back to double their advantage. Sunderland's misery was complete when Argentine Juan Carlos Menseguez completed the scoring with a neat touch and finish on 88 minutes.
Sunderland will see the result as a missed opportunity to secure their safety against the Premier League's basement club and now face a relegation battle which will surely go down to the wire.
Clean Sheet
Albion also kept only their second clean sheet since their last victory - a 3-0 triumph over Middlesbrough in mid-January - as the Sunderland forward duo of Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse were kept under control.
The home side still have a mountain to climb if they are to repeat their Great Escape heroics of four years ago during the Bryan Robson era.
But at least they are showing signs of not going down without a fight and they were well worth the three points.
Olsson was solid as a rock at the back, youngster Graham Dorrans impressed in midfield and Brunt was a constant threat.
Only midfielder Kieran Richardson - a member of that Albion side which defied the odds in 2005 - threatened to deny Albion a rare victory.
Sunderland midfielder Andy Reid found the target with a dipping 20 yard effort but it did not trouble West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson.
A low centre from Albion's on-loan Arsenal striker Jay Simpson took a deflection and fell invitingly to Robert Koren 15 yards out but his left-footed shot was blocked by Teemu Tainio.
Sunderland responded and a quick break by Cisse found them with a three versus two advantage but Abdoulaye Meite rescued the situation with a solid tackle on the Black Cats leading scorer.
It was 26 minutes before Marton Fulop, who had replaced the injured Craig Gordon, was extended for the first time, holding onto a low left-footed shot from Brunt which took a slight deflection.
Carson could only palm a cross from Reid into the path of Edwards but he appeared to be taken by surprise and his header looped harmlessly over the bar.
Richardson brought a fine full-length save out of Carson with a swerving 30 yard drive which was turned around the post.
Deadlock Broken
Then after 40 minutes central defender Olsson broke the deadlock by putting Albion in front with his third goal of the campaign.
Skipper Jonathan Greening's inswinging corner flicked off the head of Abdoulaye Meite to Olsson at the far the post and his low left-footed half volley flew past Fulop.
Mowbray made a double half-time substitution with Youssouf Mulumbu and Shelton Martis replacing Simpson and Meite respectively.
The Black Cats made their first change after 52 minutes with Reid making way for Dean Whitehead and shortly afterwards Steed Malbranque came on for Edwards.
Fulop had to come racing out of his area to deny Brunt after he had attempted to run onto a fine pass from Koren in a rare moment of excitement.
But after 58 minutes Brunt scored his fourth goal in the last three games to double the Baggies lead.
Fortune showed his power to shrug off the challenge of Anton Ferdinand and his low cross from the by-line was turned home at close range by the former Sheffield Wednesday man.
The impressive Dorrans limped out of the action after 63 minutes as Menseguez became the third Albion substitute.
Cisse then missed a golden chance to reduce the arrears when he deflected a shot from Tainio over the bar from close range.
With a minute left, Brunt turned creator as his pass was turned home by Menseguez.
