Sunderland grab last-minute winner in friendly (From Durham Times)

Sunderland grab last-minute winner in friendly

11:49am Sunday 22nd July 2012 in Sport By Scott Wilson

SUNDERLAND'S Peace Cup campaign ended in dramatic fashion as Ryan Noble's last-minute winner secured a 3-2 win over Dutch side FC Groningen.

However, the victory came at a cost as both Wes Brown and Carlos Cuellar were forced to hobble out of the action in the first half.

Cuellar lasted just 13 minutes before he was replaced by Titus Bramble, but Sunderland claimed the lead shortly after as Connow Wickham profited from Bramble's knockdown.

Brown became the second player to limp off nine minutes before the break, and Groningen levelled moments later as Jun Suk found the net with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

The Dutch side claimed the lead three minutes before the break when Mitchell Schet evaded Kieran Richardson to slot the ball past Black Cats goalkeeper Ben Wilson.

Sunderland pressed for an equaliser throughout most of the second half and got their reward when Fraizer Campbell converted Noble's cross from close range.

And Noble provided a grandstand finish when he drove home a winner from long range in injury-time.

Sunderland therefore finish third in the Peace Cup after losing their opening game to Seongnam on Thursday.

Sunderland: Wilson (Pickford 64), Gardner, Brown (Egan 36), Cuellar (Bramble 13), Richardson (Noble 77), Colback, Cattermole, Meyler, Lynch (Laing 60), Campbell, Wickham.