Source: Daily_Mail
Sunderland 2 Blackburn 1: Late Larsson stunner completes dream start for O'Neill
Sebastian Larsson fired Sunderland to a last-gasp victory over Blackburn to launch Martin O'Neill's reign as manager in style.[LNB]The Swede curled home an injury-time free-kick off the foot of the post eight minutes after David Vaughan had dragged the Black Cats back into a game they looked destined to lose with a stunning 30-yard piledriver.[LNB]Until Vaughan's intervention, it looked as though it would be Rovers easing themselves out of Barclays Premier League relegation trouble with a second successive victory after Simon Vukcevic's 17th-minute opener.[LNB] Jumping for joy: O'Neill savoured victory in his first game in charge of the Black Cats [LNB] [LNB]MATCH FACTS Sunderland: Westwood, O'Shea, Bramble, Brown, Bardsley, Larsson, Colback (McClean 76), Vaughan, Richardson, Sessegnon, Wickham (Ji 76).[LNB]Subs: Kilgallon, Meyler, Carson, Elmohamady, Noble.[LNB]Goals: Vaughan 84, Larsson 90+2.[LNB]Blackburn: Robinson, Lowe, Samba, Dann, Givet (Olsson 22) (Henley 46), Salgado (Hanley 51), Dunn, Pedersen, Vukcevic, Formica, Yakubu.[LNB]Subs: Bunn, Blackman, Goodwillie, Roberts.[LNB]Goal: Vukcevic 17.[LNB]Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)[LNB]Attendance: 39,863[LNB]Steve Kean's men also had a second goal ruled out for a foul by Chris Samba on keeper Keiren Westwood, but eventually succumbed as the home side improved markedly after a poor first half.[LNB]It was just Sunderland's fourth home win in 2011 and their second over Blackburn, and just what the bulk of acrowd of 39,863 had turned up to see.[LNB]Chairman Ellis Short, writing in his programme notes for the game, admitted he had ended Steve Bruce's tenurebecause the team had been under-performing for a significant period, and not as a knee-jerk reaction to the home defeat by Wigan in his finalgame at the helm.[LNB]The American had hoped for an immediate lift by replacing him with O'Neill, the man whose appointment Sunderland fans have dreamt of for years.[LNB]However, just as the Irishman had predicted, the goodwill with which he had arrived by virtue of his support for the club as a boy, would take him only so far.[LNB]In fairness, the boos which greeted the half-time whistle were not aimed at him, but at an insipid 45 minutes which summed up many of the problems which ultimately led to Bruce's demise.
