IF Mick McCarthy isn't a card player then he should be, because every time he shuffles his Sunderland pack at the moment he seems to come up trumps.

The Black Cats boss handed Darren Byfield his first Sunderland start at Reading on Saturday after watching the Jamaican international come off the bench to earn a valuable 1-1 draw with Stoke on Tuesday night.

And, after 73 minutes of almost total Sunderland control at the Madejski Stadium had failed to yield a goal, Byfield proved the ace in McCarthy's hand as he headed the Wearsiders back into the First Division play-off zone.

As if that wasn't proof enough of McCarthy's midas touch, the Sunderland boss then watched substitute Tommy Smith grab an all-important second less than two minutes later, despite just being on the pitch for four minutes after replacing Kevin Kyle.

In the style of the pools coupon it's perm any two from four at the moment with leading scorer Marcus Stewart nearing a return from an abdominal problem.

And, with all of Sunderland's strikers hitting form at the right time of the season, McCarthy is happy to adopt a mix and match approach. "If I have to keep mixing things around, and matching them up with each other to get performances and goals, then I'll keep doing it," he said.

"Tommy's been excellent and I know he was disappointed before the game when I told him I wasn't starting with him. He's worked his socks off in recent weeks and scored some important goals.

"But, just as Tommy took his chance when he came in for Marcus Stewart, Darren Byfield's come on and livened things up for us." Kyle is the one constant in McCarthy's current thinking - the burly Scotsman has started every game since early January - and his physical tussle with veteran centre-half Steve Brown perfectly encapsulated a stirring Sunderland display.

Fierce winds and driving rain meant, for much of the game, the Black Cats found themselves at the heart of a Berkshire battle.

And, while Jeff Whitley overstepped the mark to earn his second red card in the space of just ten days in the closing stages, it was Sunderland's willingness to scrap and compete that ultimately earned them a deserved three points.

The visitors were always the side showing the most adventure to force a breakthrough but, against a Reading outfit who had started the day above Sunderland in the league table, it was patience and perseverance that eventually proved key.

The Black Cats utterly dominated the opening hour but, despite the promptings of an impressive John Oster, stand-in Reading goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown found himself largely untroubled. Oster can infuriate at times but, on his day, the 25-year-old possesses all the attributes needed to influence the outcome of a game. His early centre saw Kyle only narrowly fail to hit the target on the turn, while his ninth-minute corner was perfectly flighted for Stephen Wright to direct his near-post header narrowly over the bar.

Sean Thornton whistled a shot just wide of the upright as Sunderland continued to press and, while Kyle saw his goalbound header deflected over the top by Ivar Ingimarsson, the visitors had to wait until the 37th minute for Byfield to tamely offer their first shot on target.

If Sunderland had failed to turn their superiority into goals before the interval, then Reading had produced so little it was tempting to assume that some of their starting line-up had succumbed to the mystery infection that had seen three of their squad hospitalised last week.

"Feed the goat and he will score" the Manchester City fans used to sing of Royals striker Shaun Goater. So ineffective was he in the hour he was on the pitch, someone must have been feeding him sedatives.

But still Sunderland couldn't make the breakthrough as Thirlwell lashed over when well placed ten yards out and Kyle's diving header crept wide following yet another well-judged Oster cross. Andy Hughes' downward header at the other end suggested Reading were finally about to wake from their slumbers but, just as Sunderland looked destined to endure a fruitless afternoon, Byfield fired them in front with his third goal since moving from Rotherham last month.

George McCartney fired in an inviting cross from the left and Byfield muscled in front of the Reading defence to plant a firm header into the roof of the net.

The former Aston Villa trainee had been paired with Smith by that stage and, before the celebrating Sunderland fans had time to catch their breath, the substitute made it two goals in the space of just 90 seconds.

That should have been that, but there was still time for the afternoon to end on a sour note with the dismissal of Whitley.

There's no doubt that Whitley took some of the ball, and the challenge was nothing like the horror tackle that saw him sent off against Preston 10 days earlier. But it was still a clumsy piece of decision-making by a player who doesn't seem to have learned from being forced out of the FA Cup semi-final against Millwall next week.

Result: Reading 0 Sunderland 2.

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