Sunderland 4 - 0 Cardiff City. And so, the end is near

Last updated : 28 April 2014 By Michael Morris

C:WindowsTempphpDE19.tmpCardiff's late hopes of surviving their first Premier League season took a hefty blow at The Stadium of Light on Sunday.

The winners faced a climb out of the bottom three and unfortunately on the day the team that wanted that more was Sunderland.

The home side were on the font foot and took the lead midway through the first half from a resurgent Connor Wickham. Then controversy and disaster.

Cardiff seemed to have quietened down the home when in the 45th minute Juan Cala messed up a back pass, he then fouled Wickham as he chased the loose ball. Despite allowing an advantage referee Phil Dowd called play back when Wickham failed to convert or create a goalscoring chance.

Because Cala was still in contact with Wickham inside the box (after the initial contact was outside) Dowd awarded a penalty and sent Cala off.

Fabio Borini scored from 12 yards and Sunderland went on to dominate the second half with further goals from Emanuele Giaccherini and a second for Wickham.

Cardiff drop to the bottom of the table and even two wins will probably not be enough.Sunderland and Aston Villa have three games left each. Villa need just one point to keep Cardiff at bay and Sunderland need 4 points. The Black Cats are away at Man Utd next Satuday before two much easier looking home games against West Brom and Swansea, both of which will have nothing to play for.

I fancy Sunderland to get the points they need and send Cardiff down with Fulham and Norwich.

That shows just how crucial Sunday's game was and just how much it cost City.