Sunderland boss Roy Keane hailed the predatory instincts of striker Michael Chopra even though his winning goal at Aston Villa was his first in open play for seven months.
Chopra, signed in the summer from Cardiff for £5million, had been left out of the 16 for last weekend's home clash with Chelsea.
But he responded in the right way by coming off the substitutes' bench to grab an 83rd minute goal and earn the Black Cats their first away success of the campaign.
Story continues below...
It lifted them four points clear of the bottom three with only seven games remaining.
Chopra's previous goal in open play had come against Birmingham at St Andrews in the second game of the season and he again showed his liking for the Second City by putting a dent in Villa's European hopes.
Keane said: "Michael would have been disappointed to be left out last week but he has got his head down and he got his opportunity today.
"Before every game you ask which player is likely to get you a goal and Michael is up there with three or four players.
"If we create chances, Michael will score but we don't create that many. In defence of him, I have played him out of position on quite a few occasions.
"Maybe criticism of him is a bit unfair but myself and the staff are delighted with him."
Keane felt his side deserved to break their away duck against a Villa side who struggled to get out of second gear.
He said: "The longer the away run goes on, the longer people ask the same question about it. We have been unlucky in some away games.
"It is not as if we have been battered every week. We have played quite well without being able to get over the finishing line but today we achieved it.
"Every week I maybe do the players discredit by saying we play with good spirit but in the last couple of weeks we have also played with quality.
"We played some decent stuff today. Maybe we rode our luck a little bit but we got one clear-cut chance in the second half and managed to take it."
Villa manager Martin O'Neill took responsibility for his side's below-par performance which has realistically ended their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
They have taken only two points from the last 12 and now an Intertoto Cup place seems their most realistic aim.
He said: "Today was about winning what was a big game for both clubs and we were disappointing.
"We failed to take any chances that came our way but you can't just point the finger at that. Our overall play was disappointing and it is my responsibility.
"We did so well at Arsenal a fortnight ago when we came within a few seconds of winning but since then we have been really disappointing.
"You would not have expected us to collect only one point from our last two home games. I have to rectify it.
"If you don't perform, you have to make sure you win the game and then move on and this is very disappointing from our viewpoint.
"We went out knowing that Portsmouth, one of our main rivals had already lost, and we failed to take advantage."
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £40.98 ON CARLISLE v LEEDS
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Thursday evening's League One play-off clash between Carlisle and Leeds, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £40.98, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time (ninety minutes), you will be at least £40.98 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £73.00 on the Carlisle v Leeds match and we will collect £114.60 if Carlisle win, £115.00 if Leeds win and £113.98 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 56%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £22.00 on Carlisle at 2.80 (9/5) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Carlisle as well. You will now have £32.00 riding on Carlisle.
Back the draw with £26.00 at 3.55 (5/2) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Leeds at 2.37 (13/10) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Leeds.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £73.00 on the Carlisle v Leeds match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Carlisle win, you collect £114.60. That's £89.60 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £113.98. That's £88.98 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Leeds win you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Carlisle v Leeds match is a draw and you make £40.98 profit. However, if Carlisle win you make £41.60 and if Leeds win you make £42.00. That's a minimum profit of 56%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
