A Naill in the coffin

Flitcroft and Quinn were big buddies during their days together at Manchester City in the early 90s under Peter Reid.

But any thoughts of the giant Irishman rolling out the welcome mat for this reunion of the former Maine Road trio disappeared without trace as the veteran super-sub sank Rovers with two inspired interventions in a frantic finale.

Quinn -- who celebrates his 35th birthday next month -- looked set for a bit-part role this season following Reid's £3.5 million signing of Lilian Laslandes.

But, after his French replacement tried and failed to crack a Rovers rearguard in which Martin Taylor was coolness personified, Reid called in the heavy artillery.

Quinn then typically obliged, soaring to head home a brilliant winner to leave Flitcroft and Co still searching for their first away point.

And,ifthatwasn'tdamaging enough, he then proved his value at the opposite end, appearing from nowhere to head what looked a certain equaliser from Matt Jansen off the line in the dying seconds, much to Rovers' frustration.

"We're very disappointed not to have taken something away from the game because we had enough chances," said Flitcroft.

"But, in the end, we went down to my old mate Niall Quinn who's always lethal in that situation.

"He's a great targetman to have in your team because you know if you can get crosses into the box then he'll get on the end of them.

"And he was always good defensively, too, as he showed when he headed Matty's effort off the line at the death."

With Sven Goran Eriksson's assistant Tord Grip an interested observer in the crowd, expectations were high.

But a swirling north east wind hardly made free-flowing football conducive as misplaced passes became the order of the day.

And, in truth, neither side deserved more than a point from a game which failed to live up to its pre-match billing.

Missing Craig Short and John Curtis through suspension, Rovers boss Graeme Souness was forced into a reshuffle at the back, with Lucas Neill handed his debut at right back and Martin Taylor paired alongside Henning Berg in the centre of defence.

And both acquitted themselves well in testing circumstances with the lively Kevin Phillips eager to stake an England claim.

But, while Rovers defended solidly enough as a unit, they rarely clicked as an attacking force.

Wide-men Damien Duff and Keith Gillespie -- so effective in the previous three games -- were too often bypassed on the flanks.

And that left Jansen and strike-partner Marcus Bent to fight for the scraps up front.

Even then, the chances still came but, as at Derby on the opening day, Rovers were found wanting in the final third and that ultimately proved costly as Quinn landed the classic sucker punch.

One positive note was the performance of Turkish midfield ace, Tugay, however.

The former Rangers man made his Premiership debut as a second half substitution and he did enough to suggest he could have a massive influence on the team once he reaches peak fitness, barely wasting a pass in his cameo appearance.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between in a scrappy first half but the disappointing Laslandes should have done better with a gilt-edged opportunity in the 37th minute.

Bernt Haas released Alex Rae on the right and he wriggled to the byline before cutting back a low centre only for the Frenchman to fire wide of the near post.

That incident sparked Rovers into life and Marcus Bent should have broken the deadlock six minutes later when he rose to meet Alan Mahon's cross but his header sailed over from point-blank range.

The mercury rose after the break, no doubt as a result of a grilling from both managers.

And it was the Black Cats who seized the initiative as Phillips, Laslandes and Julio Arca all went close to an opener.

Big American Brad Friedel then made two stunning stops to deny both Phillips and Stefan Schwartz before Jansen saw a goalbound effort defelected wide at the other end.

But two incidents in the space of a minute then ultimately proved decisive.

Irish wing-wizard Damien Duff brilliantly slipped his marker before unleashing a left-foot drive which flashed agonisingly wide of the far past.

That miss proved costly as Quinn then pounced 30 seconds later to devastating effect.

Schwartz launched a deep cross from the left towards the far post where he knew the veteran striker would be lurking and Quinn towered majestically above his marker to plant a firm header beyond Friedel in off the far post.

Rovers weren't finished, however, and carved out two golden chances in a grandstand finish.

Sorensen denied Jansen with an outstretched boot then, in the dying seconds, substitute Mark Hughes found the Ewood hot-shot in acres of space again only for Quinn to pop up from nowhere and head his goal-bound effort off the line.

Even then, there was still time for Hughes to go down in the box under a challenge from Jody Craddock but, as the Stadium of Light held its breath, referee Mike Dean waved away Rovers' desperate penalty appeals.

"I thought we were worthy of a point," rapped manager Graeme Souness.

"We had some goodSUNDERLANMD chances but it was like our game at Derby on the opening day of the season when we lost 2-1.

"At the highest level, if you don't take your chances then you get punished.

"We certainly had enough possession and chances but we were guilty of wasting them.

"Give Niall Quinn credit, though. He's a handful and he's hard to play against. And he won them the game."

RESULT:

SUNDERLAND 1 ROVERS 0

Quinn 81