Sunderland 4 MK Dons 2: Wickham late show rescues Di Canio's blushes in six-goal thriller



Connor Wickham was the Sunderland hero on Tuesday night as they came from 2-0 down to beat League One MK Dons.



The 20-year-old striker came off the bench to first provide the assist for Jozy Altidore to score his first Sunderland goal in the 78th minute. He then netted two late goals, the second a speculative long-range strike, before Adam Johnson added a late effort to complete a remarkable comeback at the Stadium of Light.



Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio said: ‘I was worried but for 15 minutes the ambition, desire and pride was enough to get us through.’



Hero: Sunderland sub Connor Wickham scored the two goals that rescued his side from an embarrassing defeat

Match facts

Sunderland: Mannone, Celustka, Colback, O'Shea, Valentin, Cabral (Larsson, 61), Johnson, Vaughan, Karlsson (Mavrias, 65), Altidore, Ji Dong-Won (Wickham, 49)

Subs not used: Westwood, Cuellar, El-Hadji Ba, Fletcher

Goals: Altidore 78, Wickham 87, 89,

Johnson 90

Booked: Valentin, Johnson

MK Dons: McLoughlin, Williams, Reeves, Baldock, Kay, Gleeson, Smith, Alli, Bamford (Otsemobor, 67), Carruthers (Banton, 66), McLeod (Chadwick, 82)

Subs not used: Burns, Hodson, Galloway, Rasulo

Goals: Bamford 7, McLeod 55

Booked: McLoughlin, Baldock, Bamford

Patrick Bamford on loan from Chelsea, had blasted the visitors into a seventh-minute lead with his third goal in four games, a rasping long-range drive.

It could have been even worse for the Black Cats, who needed keeper Vito Mannone to keep out a glancing header from team-mate Cabral and enjoyed a rare slice of good fortune when striker Izale McLeod fired just wide inside a turbulent opening 20 minutes.

But they did fall further behind within 10 minutes of the restart when McLeod produced the cheekiest of finishes to extend his side's lead and put them within touching distance of victory.

A much-changed Sunderland, who misfired badly for much of the contest, gave themselves a lifeline with 12 minutes remaining when Jozy Altidore made the most of Wickham's through-ball to claim his first goal for the club, but the fireworks had only just begun.

Wickham dashed MK Dons' hopes of hanging on to their lead when he converted full-back Ondrej Celustka's cross four minutes from time and the tie looked to be heading into extra-time.

But the Ipswich striker snatched even that crumb of comfort from Karl Robinson's men when his 89th-minute shot deflected off defender Ben Reeves and flew past wrong-footed keeper Ian McLoughlin.

Midfield battle: MK Dons' Izale McLeod vies for possession with Sunderland's Valentin Roberge (right)

In the space of 11 minutes, the mood inside the Stadium of Light had altered dramatically, and there was more to come for the home fans six minutes into added time when Johnson cut in from the right and drilled home a fourth from the tightest of angles.

Writing in his programme notes before the game, Di Canio, who had earlier forecast that his team would face a difficult test against a strong League One side, voiced the opinion that 'to change six or seven players is too much', and then promptly made six changes to the side which drew 1-1 at Southampton at the weekend.



He may have wished he could overhaul significantly once again at the break after seeing the Black Cats play second fiddle to the visitors for long periods.



Indeed, having taken a seventh-minute lead when Bamford accepted Dele Alli's pass, switched it to his left foot and then smashed a long-range effort past debutant Mannone, they threatened to increase it on more than one occasion.



Lifeline: Jozy Altidore scored Sunderland's first goal as they began their comeback at home to MK Dons

Worried faces: MK Dons' keeper Ian Mcloughlin was among those who knew his side faced a difficult end to the game

For their part, Sunderland created little of note, despite right winger Johnson and striker Altidore causing problems, with midfielder David Moberg-Karlsson and Ji in particular struggling to make an impact. But the Swede might have marked his first competitive appearance with an equaliser after Altidore's 44th-minute shot had come back off a post, only to miss his kick and then head tamely at keeper Ian McLoughlin from the rebound. Whatever he said in the dressing room at half-time, Di Canio sent out the same 11 men for the second half and saw them almost fall further behind with barely a minutes played. Livid: Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio knew his side were staring at an embarrassing defeat Supersub: Wickham's introduction proved the difference between the two sides Bamford caused problems down the right once again before laying the ball off for skipper Gleeson to blast a right-foot drive inches over the angle of crossbar and post. Ji Dong-won's departure was far from mourned by the home fans, but things took an even uglier turn for the home side within six minutes when Samir Carruthers pounced on Cabral's loose ball to play McLeod through the heart of a static defence and he raced away before audaciously chipping over the advancing Mannone and into the empty net to make it 2-0. But, having seen Moberg-Karlsson and Wickham pass up glorious opportunities, Altidore struck to spark the late onslaught before handing the baton to Wickham to win the game. Johnson's injury-time strike served to erase the memories of much of what had gone before as Sunderland claimed a first victory of the season by inflicting the visitors' opening defeat. ‘We came to entertain,' said MK Dons boss Karl Robinson. 'We did that but Premier League players can produce a moment of brilliance and they did that to us.’

Unlikely hero? Izale McLeod put his side 2-0 up Relief: Di Canio is already under pressure to deliver at Sunderland



