SUNDERLAND's wingers might not have "ripped Norwich to bits" as they've done with other teams this season - but Tony Mowbray was as proud as he's ever been of his wide players after the win at Carrow Road.

Mowbray knows what his widemen are capable of with the ball at their feet going forward but they had a crucial defensive role to play at Norwich and were key to the 1-0 success as the Black Cats stopped the rot in the Championship after three successive defeats.

"We knew it was going to be a different challenge for us - and for the wide players particularly, you know that you're going to end up getting pushed back and Roberts and Clarke had to track their full back all the way to the back stick," explained Mowbray.

"We found a way and got it done. I thought we worked really hard. Roberts has had better games but he worked extraordinarily hard, and that was Jack Clarke's best performance since I've been here. He didn't score but his work ethic and ability to ask questions of Max Aarons was so impressive.

"It's great credit to the players and it takes away that negativity of not having won for a while. We've got some really hard games coming up. It's a great challenge for them.

"The compactness was what was good from the team today, we've had moments this season where we've conceded goals and the wide players are wandering over the halfway line shaking their heads. As I keep saying to them, that isn't acceptable.

"I told Patrick that he was going to have to break a world record for distance covered today, because I knew Norwich would overload us and hit those diagonals. We were in trouble if they didn't run back, and they did. They were amazing, they weren't ripping the opposition to bits as they can because they were running back."

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Sunderland moved up to 10th and within five points of the play-offs thanks to Abdoullah Ba's first half winner, his first goal in Sunderland colours - which Mowbray predicted ahead of the game.

He said: "Abdoullah is a really talented player, he needs to learn to move the ball and run without it sometimes, because he always wants to dribble.

"I did say before the game that I expected him to score, but we were having a laugh there because I said he'd stick it in the top corner and he's stuck it in the bottom."