Kieran Richardson scored twice as relegation-threatened Sunderland enjoyed a morale-boosting 2-0 Premier League win at home to Portsmouth here Sunday.
Portsmouth, whose manager Harry Redknapp on Saturday turned down an offer to manage Sunderland's north-east rivals Newcastle United, arrived at the Stadium of Light having won seven of their 11 league away matches this season - a record matched only by Chelsea.
But former Manchester United midfielder Richardson struck twice before half-time to give Sunderland manager Roy Keane - himself an Old Trafford old boy - a valuable victory as his side won in the league for only the fifth time this season.
Sunderland remained in the bottom three but this result saw them go level on points with Wigan, Birmingham and Bolton, who play Blackburn in Sunday's other Premier League fixture.
Richardson, a youth team player at West Ham when Redknapp was manager of the London club, opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Kenwyne Jones, a player at Southampton during Redknapp's brief spell in charge of Pompey's south coast rivals, pulled the ball back. And he doubled Sunderland's lead a minute before half-time with a precise right-foot shot.
Niko Krancjar then went close for Portsmouth when the Croatia international's shot was well-saved by Craig Gordon. Sunderland though went ahead when Jones beat Sol Campbell for a Jonny Evans long ball with the Pompey central defender protesting he'd been fouled.