O´Neill proud of Sunderland fightback

Martin O’Neill could barely hide his delight after his first away win as Sunderland manager in a 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers.

Nicholas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon gave Sunderland a 2-0 lead before QPR drew level just after the hour. Wes Brown’s 89th-minute header won the game for Sunderland.

“This was a big win for us,” O’Neill told Sunderland’s official website.

“We deserved to win, we scored three goals away from home and it seems as though we have had to win the game twice tonight.”

“At 2-0 we were in a great position. I think after the referee went off due to injury, for a moment or two, we started to get carried away with ourselves.”

“We conceded the two goals, but we fought back and deserved the win.”

Despite a spirited comeback by QPR, Sunderland dominated proceedings at the close as Rangers keeper Paddy Kenny saved attempts from Craig Gardner and Phil Bardsley.

“We had a number of chances at 2-2, but their goalkeeper pulled off some great saves, particularly the one from Craig Gardner,” O’Neill said.

“I thought that was in, but we got the winning goal and that makes for a nice trip home.”

QPR manager Neil Warnock was gutted after seeing his side’s valiant comeback dashed by Brown’s late winner.

“All three of their goals were very poor – anyone looking at them would know that Sunderland got out of prison tonight,” said Warnock.

“I could accept it if Sunderland were better than us – or scored some fantastic goals – but I thought we were the better side.”

“We’ve had so many blows – it’s like a dagger to the heart tonight. I’ve said to the players that I’ll sort it out in January.”

“I know what I need – I can’t accept some of the things that are happening at the moment, but you’ve just got to get on with it. They can’t give me any more than they did.”

“It was exciting, entertaining, but at the end of the day we’ve conceded three poor goals – and you can’t do that in the Premier League.”

“The mistakes are a recurring theme, but I’m the Manager and I’ll sort it out in January. The board are really supportive.”

“I thought Adel did well – he did against Man United on Sunday, too.”

“The fans have been with me ever since I’ve been here. We’ve had some kicks in the teeth – but they know I’ll sort it out.”