(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
David Nugent was the man of the moment for Burnley, as the on-loan striker scored two great goals on his home debut to give his side a surprising 3-1 victory against Sunderland at Turf Moor.
Nugent, who has a 100% record in the England national team (with one goal in one game), scored twice to give Burnley the win after coming off the bench, with the score delicately poised at 1-1 at the time.
Sunderland, who have had their best ever start in the Premier League with nine points in their first five games, dominated play in the opening exchanges and completely played their opponents off the park.
However, it was Burnley who took a suprise lead, very much against the run of play.
Graham Alexander scored his first ever Premier League goal with a well-taken penalty on 13 minutes, after Wade Elloitt (who scored the Wembley winner to take Burnley into the top-flight) was brought down rather clumsily and unnecessarily by Anton Ferdinand.
Despite conceeding against the run of play, Sunderland did not stagnate and continued to control the proceedings.
And their dominance turned into a goal in the 39th minute, when defender Clarke Carlisle was caught daydreaming and enabled Darren Bent to beat the offside trap and coolly slot past Brian Jensen to equalise for the Black Cats.
The second half started in similar vein to the first, with the visitors really pressing forward in search of a winner and again having the better possession.
However, on 67 minutes came the turning point of the match. David Nugent marked his home debut for Burnley with a goal after only being introduced to the game 10 minutes previously.
Ex-Manchester United winger Chris Eagles began the move, finding Tyrone Mears down the right flank, with Mears playing the ball to Elliott, whose first time cross found Nugent, who headed home to give the Clarets a 2-1 lead against the run of play.
And for all the dominant possession Sunderland continued to have, they just could not find an equaliser.
It got even worse on 86 minutes, as Nugent had a home debut to remember following a superb goal to kill the game off completely.
After receiving the ball from Elliott, Nugent turned inside the box and unleashed a superb curling shot into the top corner, giving his side a 3-1 lead and wrapping up another valuable three points for Burnley.
The result leaves the Clarets on level points with Sunderland, having won all three of their home games this season, including that famous 1-0 victory over Manchester United last month.
As for Sunderland, the game at Turf Moor was a stark reminder of how harsh football can be in the Premier League; it's converting those chances that's important, not just creating them.
Attendance: 20,196
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