Goals either side of half-time from Emile Heskey and James Milner handed Aston Villa a 2-0 win at Sunderland.
O'Neill's men claim third consecutive success
Goals either side of half-time from Emile Heskey and James Milner handed Aston Villa a 2-0 win at Sunderland.
The Villans move into third place in the Premier League table on the back of the Stadium of Light success while the Black Cats have now suffered three defeats in their last four outings.
The hosts could have edged ahead inside the opening two minutes, but a whipped corner from Andy Reid on the right somehow evaded a host of bodies in the box.
Jordan Henderson then fizzed a crashing volley inches past the post as Sunderland continued to threaten, but Villa soon found a foothold in the game.
Stewart Downing saw a delicate free-kick from the edge of the box rebound off the top of the crossbar, but Martin O'Neill's men did not have to wait long for a breakthrough.
Some sloppy defending from Sunderland gifted the ball to Villa and after some good work by Stiliyan Petrov and Milner, Heskey rifled low into the bottom corner on 34 minutes.
Reid spurned a glorious opportunity to haul Sunderland level moments after the interval, lashing wide after collecting a clever flick from Darren Bent.
Villa were also proving to be wasteful in front of goal, with Heskey firing high over the top when well placed and Ashley Young rattling a post from a tight angle.
Milner showed them how it should be done, though, on 61 minutes when he lashed an unstoppable drive into the top corner from 25 yards to wrap up the points.
Kenwyne Jones and Lorik Cana came close to offering Steve Bruce's men a lifeline as Villa began to sit back, but they were unable to find a way past Brad Friedel.
Cana was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Milner after 79 minutes to round off a miserable night for Sunderland.
Frustrating
If ever they needed a reminder that football can be a game of fine margins, Sunderland were given it in a frustrating 90 minutes.
Having surrendered a 1-0 lead with literally seconds of injury time to play against struggling Portsmouth at the weekend, they found themselves trailing at the end of a first half during which they had gone toe-to-toe with one of the Premier League's form teams.
Henderson might have set the visitors back on their heels within eight minutes of kick-off when he rifled a blistering long-range drive inches wide of the angle of bar and post.
By the same token, Villa went even closer with 16 minutes gone when, after Heskey had been felled by George McCartney, Downing, who had a loan spell at the Stadium of Light earlier in his career, struck the crossbar with a free-kick that had keeper Fulop beaten.
The breakthrough finally arrived eight minutes later, and again McCartney was the culprit.
His aimless cross-field ball was picked off by the ever-alert Petrov and, when he fed Milner, the England midfielder slid the perfect pass into Heskey's path for the striker to smash home.
Sunderland's response, however, was spirited and, after Jones had stabbed a 35th-minute shot wide, they were very nearly back on terms.
The impressive Henderson found space on the right to float a cross to the far post, where Reid volleyed right-footed towards goal, only for keeper Friedel to save with his legs.
Kieran Richardson sliced wide from 20 yards after Richard Dunne had only just beaten Jones to Reid's cross and Henderson fired high over the bar with a minute of the half remaining, with the home side pressing hard.
Jeers
There were boos from the locals as the whistle sounded, although they were reserved exclusively for referee Kevin Friend and his assistants amid a red and white perception that their side had been on the wrong end of too many tight decisions.
But they were on their feet within four minutes of the restart as the path to goal opened up invitingly for Reid.
Bent climbed well to flick McCartney's long ball perfectly into the midfielder's pass and he looked certain to score but sliced his left-foot shot harmlessly wide.
The game was becoming increasingly open, with Heskey and Paulo da Silva firing in efforts at either end in quick succession.
However, Sunderland needed the help of the woodwork for a second time with 57 minutes gone when Ashley Young made the most of the space he was afforded on the edge of the box to run on to Heskey's pass and shoot against the post under pressure from Michael Turner.
But no-one could help Fulop four minutes later when Milner picked up the ball 25 yards out and, having steadied himself, launched a missile into the top corner with the Hungarian powerless.
Dunne had to be at his best to prevent Jones from converting McCartney's low cross five minutes later but Sunderland's dwindling hopes effectively died with 11 minutes remaining when Cana, who had been booked for a first-half foul on Gabriel Agbonlahor, picked up a second caution for a late challenge on Milner and was dismissed.
Substitute Phil Bardsley flashed a late header just wide but there was to be no consolation for the home side.
| Sunderland |
Team Statistics |
Aston Villa |
| 0 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
1 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
15 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 68.6 |
Passing Success |
64.9 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 75 |
Tackles Success |
87.5 |
| 58 |
Possession |
42 |
| 57.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.1 |
|
