Sunderland lifted as Reyna denies Foxes

Peter Reid and the Sunderland public have waited four months for Claudio Reyna to deliver the moment which would match his record transfer fee.Yesterday he produced two.

The £4.5million United States captain's double gave Sunderland a vital win which will go some way to ensuring manager Reid's side do not go down with Leicester.

It may have been nervy and it was far from pretty, but the relief which greeted his two fine strikes and the final whistle was massive.

The Sunderland boss said: 'I am really pleased and there is some relief. Although we are not safe, that has given us breathing space. It was a massive game for us.

'Claudio was excellent and, along with Kevin Phillips, did us a massive favour by playing despite injuries. The crowd were also outstanding.' Spirited Leicester, who included three players with just three starts between them, tested Sunderland's nerve after Reyna's opening goal, a left-footed strike from the edge of the area, in the third minute.

Leicester quickly replied when Matt Elliott headed Stefan Oakes' free-kick and despite Thomas Sorensen's efforts, the ball appeared go over the line before Paul Dickov smashed it into the net. Dickov said: 'I'm claiming it. Matt is too and he is bigger than me, but I'm quicker. Now we need snookers to stay up. We have Manchester United on Saturday but we will enjoy it. This run-in is about getting pride back.' Sunderland's response to the equaliser was spectacular as Reyna scored with a sweetly-struck free-kick. Ian Walker then made vital saves to deny Phillips and Kevin Kilbane, while Reyna hit a post seconds before the break. Leicester launched an aerial bombardment in the second-half but to no avail, although boss Dave Bassett can take encouragement from the contributions of Matthew Piper, Jon Stevenson, Martin Reeves and Jon Ashton.

Bassett said: 'Sunderland have enough points to stay up but, with results elsewhere, it looks increasingly difficult for us.'