Wigan Athletic 1 - 4 Sunderland: Another win for Martin O’Neill as Sunderland thrash Wigan

With little over 48 hours between games and a squad seriously depleted by injuries, the DW Stadium performance exceeded O’Neill’s wildest expectations.

Craig Gardner gave the visitors the lead with a stunning free-kick right at the end of the first half before James McClean netted his first Sunderland goal. Hugo Rodallega pulled one back for Wigan but their hopes were quickly extinguished by a Stephane Sessegnon strike and David Vaughan added a fourth late on.

O’Neill said: “I thought it was the best result since I arrived. Manchester City was a great win for us, to score in the last minute, it seemed as if we’d played three games, particularly in the last 20 minutes of the game. We’ve had a day less to prepare [than Wigan]. I accept the fact the adrenaline’s still flying with us but to come here and win was a fantastic performance. I just don’t know where they got the energy and will to keep going from.”

The final scoreline looked distinctly unlikely in a first half that Wigan dominated, with Gardner clearing off the line from Steve Gohouri before David Jones and Ben Watson both hit the post in a crazy 10 seconds.

The key moment of the half came at the other end, though, when deep in injury time and with rain swirling around the DW Stadium, Nicklas Bendtner won a debatable free-kick and Gardner sent a swerving 30-yard shot into the top corner.

The visitors doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half, 22-year-old McClean heading in at the second opportunity, before Rodallega gave Wigan hope with a deflected shot for his first goal of the season seven minutes later. But the game was killed off in the 73rd minute when Bendtner crossed for Sessegnon and 10 minutes from time Vaughan added some gloss with a stunning strike from 20 yards.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Gohouri, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Stam (Sammon 58), Watson (Diame 86), McCarthy, Jones, Gomez, Crusat (Moses 39), Rodallega. Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Di Santo, McArthur, Boyce.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner (Elmohamady 83), Kilgallon, O’Shea, Colback, McClean (Ji 89), Cattermole, Vaughan, Richardson (Meyler 67), Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs Not Used: Carson, Noble, Lynch, Laing.

Referee: M Dean

Attendance: 15,871