SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid admitted afterwards he didn't think a goal would come in this festive famine - but new boy Claudio Reyna spared his blushes with a scrambled match-winner.

Until then most of the fans in the 48,013 crowd must have wished that the pre-match inspection after a heavy fall of snow had received the thumbs down from referee Barrie Knight as both sides struggled to put a decent move together.

But then up popped ace striker Kevin Phillips - so often Sunderland's saviour when things haven't been going right - to pick out Reyna, and when the £4.5m midfielder's first shot was parried he gobble up a second chance to earn the biggest cheer of the afternoon.

But it was awful stuff on a bitterly cold afternoon when only the military band was in tune - another dreadful performance which left the sell-out crowd disappointed with just about everything except the result.

And as Reid admitted: "The most important thing was the three points.

"I was just concentrating on us keeping a clean sheet - goals have been hard to come by and I didn't think we'd get one.

"But Claudio showed that apart from being very tidy on the ball he has the ability to get into goalscoring positions - and he go us the winner."

Reid said that the swirling wind and snow flurries made condition difficult, but he made no attempt to brush over the deficiencies on the pitch.

"It wasn't a classic but the three points were important," he said.

The fans at least had the chance to compare two players who have played for England - Phillips, whose international career could be just beginning, and wayward genius Paul Gascoigne, who must now regret wasting his best years.

Phillips was again a shining light for Sunderland, fetching and carrying and never allowing the frustration of not being fed the right ammunition to blunt his determination to help Sunderland win a game in which defenders always held the upper hand.

Gascoigne, in contrast, was a pale shadow of his former self, never showing the slightest glimpse of the prodigious talent which might well have earned him a place on the world stage.

Even without the extra inches on his midriff Gascoigne lacked mobility and his old assurance, balance and touch were missing as he was caught in possession too many times by younger, quicker opponents who cared nothing for his reputation. And sadly he failed to produce the deft telling pass which was his old, much-envied trademark.

Only once did he threaten the Sunderland goal, with a curling first half free-kick which was a little too close for comfort.

The only thing that Gascoigne retained from his prime was his cheeky sense of humour.

When the Everton contingent chanted: "There's Only One Paul Gascoigne" he waved his thanks to them and then held his hands to his ears and turned to the Sunderland fans - only to be rudely maligned about his Geordie roots.

And the man who once showed a yellow card to a referee in Scotland, impudently imitated Mr Knight as the referee used his finger to point to the places the midfielder had earlier transgressed three times before booking him.

It was sad to see Gascoigne struggling to make the kind of impact which had come so easily to him a few short years ago before his life-style caught up with him and cruelly eroded his talents.

But Phillips - a totally different character who is eternally grateful for his second chance in football - demonstrated just why he is so important to the Sunderland cause. His unstinting persistence finally paid off with the move which made Reyna's home debut so memorable.

And Reid said afterwards: "Strikers don't have to score to be the best player on the pitch - Kevin Phillips was absolutely outstanding.

"I just think he is a top drawer player and well as being a finisher - he was the best player on the pitch by far."

To be honest he didn't have a lot to beat as neither side looked any great shakes.

Sunderland goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen made a couple of decent saves just before half time and Everton's Steve Simonsen managed to parry a wicked drive from Phillips before Reyna blasted a follow-up wide from the edge of the six-yards box.

But it was generally a dreary affair and the fans must have been glad to get home to the warmth of their firesides.