DAN NEIL has admitted even he was left drooling at Jack Clarke’s silky skills when he watched back the replay of his goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Norwich City.

Neil was focusing on the timing of his run into the penalty area as Clarke waltzed his way past the Norwich defence on the stroke of half-time at the Stadium of Light, with his team-mate’s subsequent pass enabling him to lift a delicate finish past Canaries goalkeeper George Long.

Neil knew Clarke had embarked on an effective dribble prior to playing the ball into his path – but he admits he hadn’t appreciated just how good his fellow Black Cat had been.

Clarke skipped past four Norwich defenders before teeing up Neil, with his run forming part of a virtuoso solo display that also saw him score Sunderland’s third goal from the spot.

Neil said: “I think my finish for the goal was good, but at the time, I didn’t realise how good Jack’s feet were for the goal because I was too busy scanning to see where I was on the pitch.

“I didn’t realise he beat three or four men and slid a lovely ball through so I’ll give Clarkey a bit of credit for that one!”

Neil’s goal completed a first-half turnaround after Sunderland had fallen behind in controversial fashion when Hwang Ui-jo’s goal was allowed to stand despite Pierre Ekwah clearly stopping because Gabriel Sara was in an offside position.

Trai Hume’s deflected strike levelled the scores, before goals from Neil and Clarke secured the victory that ended the Black Cats’ three-game losing run.

Neil said: “We hadn’t had the results, but I still think in the Middlesbrough first half, maybe not so much Stoke, but Leicester definitely, we have done enough to warrant results.

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“There was a bit of apprehension coming into the (Norwich) game to kind of break it and settle everyone down a little bit. We all believed in the qualities of the team and knew that at a full-house Stadium of Light we could get the job done - and we’ve done that.”

Having lost their three previous matches, there could easily have been a degree of apprehension when Sunderland fell behind at the weekend.

Instead, Tony Mowbray’s players stuck to the game-plan that was in place prior to them conceding the opening goal, with their superiority eventually seeing them run out comfortable winners.

Neil said: “It seems to happen quite a lot that we concede the first goal at the Stadium of Light, and there are maybe times when we don’t come back from it, going 1-0 down early or late or whenever.

“But there is a real coolness about the team at the minute because we have a way of playing. At the minute, it’s proving it’s working well and we’re picking up results.

“We all just stayed calm and said, ‘There are 60, 70 minutes left of this game and we’re more than good enough to score two if not three’ - and that’s what we did.”