Exactly how it played out as Sunderland battle through injury concerns to seal hugely impressive win

A controlled finish from Charlie Wyke gave the Black Cats the lead in a first half they controlled without dominating, before Chris Maguire capped an outstanding break early in the second half with a penalty.

Despite their ongoing defensive personnel problems, with Jordan Willis the latest to pick up a concerning knock, Sunderland produced another clean sheet with another resilient showing that offered their opponents little.

The game was always set to be a test of Sunderland’s credentials, given the defensive issues Parkinson had suffered in the build up to the game.

Swindon Town had injury problems of their own, particularly up front, but boast a strong attacking record on their own turf.

Parkinson had opted to keep Luke O’Nien on the left side of a back three, a position where had impressed in his last outing against Carlisle United. That allowed Conor McLaughlin to make his first start since December last year on the right of defence, and there was an understandable rustiness to his game in the opening exchanges.

There was a contrast of styles on show, with Swindon determined to try and play out from the back as often as possible.

Sunderland sensed an opportunity, pushing high and pressing aggressively in the hope of forcing a mistake.

They came close to taking an early lead when Josh Scowen drove a fierce low cross into the box, which was deflected just inches wide with the home goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

That, though, was the only notable effort in an opening lacking a great deal of rhythm or tempo.

That owed much to some uncertainty in the an already reshuffled defence, with Willis clearly struggling for at least five minutes. Parkinson eventually had to make a change, giving Jack Diamond to impress and pushing McLaughlin into the back three, a position where he looked more settled.

The Black Cats were enjoying the vast majority of possession, with Swindon increasingly forced to go more direct in a bid to escape the press.

The question for Sunderland was whether they would be able to break the hosts down, given that their only meaningful effort in the opening half hour came when Grant Leadbitter almost caught out goalkeeper Kovar.

It was an ingenious effort, floating a free-kick from 40 yards towards the top corner. Kovar was well off his line, and was only just able to claw the ball away as he scrambled back towards goal.

When the breakthrough came, it seemed almost baffling in its ease.

Sunderland took a throw in deep in the Swindon half, and Lynden Gooch exposed the home defence with a superb cross on his left foot. Charlie Wyke, given an opportunity to lead the line, had not been given a great deal of service but took his chance well, steering the volley home on his right foot.

Their dominance in the first half was reflected in the fact that Swindon made two unenforced changes at the break, and that did help to turn the momentum of the contest slightly.

The home side were adamant they should have had a penalty when Jack Payne broke past O’Nien in the box. O’Nien appeared to bring him down but the referee waved play on, much to the fury of the home dug-out.

Midfielder Matt Smith flashed a shot just wide shortly after as the Black Cats were finally pushed back towards their own goal.

It was their nerviest spell of the game, but from that position of apparent vulnerability they were able to double their lead with a fine break. The referee played an excellent advantage after a foul on Scowen, allowing Diamond to carry the ball away from danger. He found Power, who cut open the home defence with an outstanding through ball. Maguire made the right decision as he broke into the box, cutting inside and drawing the foul from the despairing defender.

Maguire dusted himself down and fired the penalty straight down the middle of the goal.

Swindon continued to press, and did almost get themselves back in the game shortly after. Jack Payne, increasingly influential in possession, whipped in a free-kick from deep that he had won himself with a driving run. The header was flicked towards goal and dropped just wide, with Burge almost certainly beaten.

Swindon continued to dominate possession in the closing stages but other than one smart stop from substitute Hope, Burge was again largely untested as the Black Cats secured three points with relative ease.

Sunderland XI: Burge; Willis (Diamond, 18), Wright, McLaughlin; O’Nien, Leadbitter, Power, Gooch; Scowen, Maguire (O’Brien, 89), Wyke

Subs: Matthews, Graham, Grigg, Younger, Dobson

Swindon Town XI: Kovar, Hunt (Stevens, 45), Odimayo, Baudry, Grounds, Donohue, Smith, Grant, Jaiyesimi (Smith, 45), Payne, Smith (Hope, 57)

Subs: Fryer, Curran, Caddis, Grant

Bookings: Smith, 81 Grounds, 83

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