CONTROVERSY and good fortune surrounded Sunderland's first Premiership victory since September, but manager Mick McCarthy didn't care a hoot.

The industrious Liam Lawrence appeared to have fouled former Black Cats loan signing Darren Carter on the halfway line, but referee Phil Dowd and his assistant waved play on at the Hawthorns.

Lawrence then fed Anthony Le Tallec in the inside right channel, who displayed great balance and composure to turn West Brom defender Steve Watson.

But before the Frenchman could get his shot in, fullback Paul Robinson slid in and deflected the ball onto the former Newcastle United star and it bobbled past a helpless Tomasz Kuszczak.

"Am I bovvered (sic)," quipped McCarthy, in his best impression of Lauren, the petulant teenager, from the Catherine Tate Show. "How many times have I sat here and tried to have a real nice disposition, smile at you and say yeah, it was a bit unlucky and, we have had a decision against us, well bollocks!

"We've got a decision, we've won the game and got three points and let everyone else here feel as bad as I have been for the last seven or eight weeks. So no, I have no sympathy for anybody.

"It doesn't make up for the times we got beat and got nothing, but we got our just reward. It can't make up for it because we've had games, which I think Bryan (Robson, West Brom boss) will probably think that was, that he's had it nicked.

"They nicked a point or two points off us earlier in the season, so it doesn't make up for it, but it makes for a nicer feeling than getting beat on a Saturday.

"It is about time we got a bit of a break."

The Wearsiders just about deserved their victory, if only because their passing was crisper and they retained possession better than their relegation counterparts.

Tommy Miller probably gave his best performance in a red and white shirt.

His distribution was confident, his overall display was energetic and he was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet with a couple of half chances.

But there were very few clear chances at the Hawthorns.

Kelvin Davis had only one shot of real difficulty to deal with, turning Junichi Inamoto's deflection around for a corner from Ronnie Wallwork's shot from outside the area after 25 minutes.

The Baggies only other clear opportunity was when Nathan Ellington blazed over from close range after being set up by the impressive Watson ten minutes later.

The Black Cats' best chance fell to Julio Arca five minutes after the break. Lawrence whipped a ball in from the right but a combination of Le Tallec running across his path and an ungainly bounce, just as the Argentine was about to strike from close range, saw the ball bobble agonisingly wide.

Former Black Cats favourite Niall Quinn last week opened a window into how the Wearsiders last Premiership campaign faltered.

Quinn made known how a few bad eggs in the club's dressing room ultimately cost the club its top-flight status and, boss Peter Reid his job.

"Nothing is worse than having a sulker suddenly in your ranks," reflected Quinn. "When things start to go wrong they were the ones who came in and immediately complained that anything that went wrong was everybody else's fault but theirs.

"If you get the wrong type of player in, his arrival can exacerbate an already grim situation. At Sunderland there were some bad signings, whingers who did nothing for the dressing room and, ultimately, nothing.''

A refreshingly honest McCarthy revealed after the victory that had he lost his dressing room then, like his counterpart Reid, he probably wouldn't have a job at the Stadium of Light.

But there is no doubting McCarthy has a group of hungry footballers who are determined to feed on any scrap in the feint hope of sitting at the Premiership table again next season.

Anyone who has witnessed the majority of Black Cats' performances this term will admit as much. Unfortunately, they haven't always had the rub of the green.

"I would like us to be scrapping to the last and, while we're cast adrift at the minute, the players are up for it and trying to get involved," said McCarthy.

"It has been like that every week and there's no criticism levelled at them from everybody and that is what has kept me in a job because, quite clearly, I haven't lost the players.

"The fans can see the response from the players week in and week out and the board can see it.

"The first sign (the board) will look for is apathy towards the manager and if you get that you're in trouble.

"Thankfully, I have a good group of lads that have been slapped around the head a bit this year but keep coming back for more.

"Most of the players I have got have come from a slightly humbler background, in terms of playing, and they're all hungrier individually and as well as collectively.

"Had they all been regular Premier League players they might have thrown the towel in. I have had nothing of that and a huge part of that is down to the players."

Result: West Bromwich Albion 0, Sunderland 1.

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