IT IS as well for Sunderland that they are becoming as handy at home as they are hopeless away. With a goal in each half - one a header by Dickson Etuhu, the other a stunning strike by Daryl Murphy - they claimed their fourth straight league win at the Stadium of Light, which just about makes up for the two measly points they have secured on the road.

Goodness knows why their manager, Roy Keane, is in favour of plans to play Premier League games in far-flung corners of the globe. Twice they have been thrashed by Wigan this season, once away from home, and once when their own ground was only half full, but this rousing display, with the help of a little luck, laid to rest talk of a bogey team.

Slowly but surely, Sunderland are beginning to obscure their obvious limitations, but it is thanks in large part to the backing of their passionate support, and a marked improvement in fortune. Keane said long ago that he wanted to hear no more hard-luck stories, no more complaints that his team had played well enough to deserve more, and there was certainly no cause for them here.

Wigan were thwarted by the woodwork twice, and once in the closing stages by Craig Gordon, who pawed the ball away just as Steve Bruce was about to celebrate. “We needed a bit of luck, but it deserted us,” said the Wigan manager. “There was nothing wrong with our performance. We were the better team, totally committed, but you are only as good as your strikers.”

This was a big day for Sunderland. Not only did their fans have endless fun at the expense of Kevin Keegan, they roared in every full-time result as it was flashed up on the scoreboard.

Keane’s side now occupy 14th place, three points ahead of Wigan, and four clear of third-bottom Reading.

On a pitch ploughed up by winter, this was the kind of scrap we have come to expect between two of this year’s relegation candidates: not exactly pleasing on the eye, but engaging all the same. Until the match opened out just before half-time, both defences restricted their opponents to long-range efforts, albeit good ones.

Paul Scharner’s early volley, which was just too high, would have been singled out for praise had it not been overshadowed by Wilson Palacios, who can at least claim full marks for optimism. He was barely out of the centre circle when he spotted Gordon off his line and sent a dipping shot over the bar. Phil Bardsley did his bit for the home side with a rising effort that whistled past Chris Kirk-land’s right-hand post, but the Sunderland full-back was to produce a more telling contribution just before the interval.

Not only was he responsible for the free kick from which Sunderland went ahead, tumbling as he did under Ryan Taylor’s clumsy challenge, he was the one who used it to set up the breakthrough. When Bardsley picked out Etuhu at the back post, the Nigerian midfielder, only just back from the African Cup of Nations, had time and space to pick his spot. He chose the far corner with a neat header back across the goalkeeper.

Wigan almost came up with an instant response when Emile Heskey hooked wide, and Sunderland substitute Rade Prica seemed to panic in the act of shooting, succeeding only in stumbling over his bootlace. Wigan’s response was vigorous, but they were found wanting up front. When Marlon King’s shot was blocked, the ball fell to Michael Brown, who reacted to the open goal with a connection so poor that Dean Whitehead had time to track back and clear off the line.

Having replaced Mario Mel-chiot with Jason Koumas at half-time, Wigan had rather more guile about them in the second half, not least when the substitute cut inside and dinked a cross on to the penalty spot. Heskey rose between two defenders and directed a header against the crossbar. Kevin Kilbane, the former Sunderland player, also rattled the frame of the goal with a shot from 25 yards out.

All of which Wigan came to regret when the home side scored their second with 15 minutes left. Andy Reid, recently signed from Charlton Athletic, wasn’t supposed to be making his Sunderland debut so soon, but when he came on as a substitute for Michael Chopra, his impact was immediate. The Irishman slipped an intelligent cross-field pass behind the full-back that Murphy rewarded with a spectacular finish. After cutting inside, he looked up and let fly with a rising shot that crashed in off the underside of the bar. “We rode our luck, I can’t argue with that, but his goal was worthy of winning any game,” said Keane.

Match stats

Player ratings: Sunderland: Gordon 7, Evans 6, Bardsley 7, Nosworthy 6, Collins 6, Etuhu 7, O’Donovan 4 (Prica 26min, 5), Etuhu 7 (Leadbitter 84min), Whitehead 6, Murphy 8, Jones 6, Chopra 6 (Reid 74min)

Wigan: Kirkland 6, Melchiot 5 (Koumas h-t, 6), Boyce 6, Scharner 7, Kilbane 6, Valencia 6, Palacios 6, Brown 6, Taylor 5 (Olembe 56min, 4), Heskey 7 (Bent 68min), King 6

Star man: Daryl Murphy (Sunderland)

Yellow card: Wigan: Valencia

Referee: M Dean

Attendance: 43,600