Feather in Ince's cap as sloppy Sunderland bow out

Sunderland 1 Notts County 2:THERE HAVE been some dark days in Lee Hughes's life. Three years were spent in prison for causing death by dangerous driving and there were difficulties in finding a club once he was released. He was a vilified figure when he returned to the game with Oldham Athletic in 2007 and some argued that he should not have been given another chance to make a living in the sport.

Saturday, then, provided a welcome opportunity to demonstrate his full rehabilitation into the game.

Hughes, now 34, played a part in both Notts County’s goals as they dumped a strangely insipid Sunderland out of the FA Cup, helping to unsettle the goalkeeper Simon Mignolet as he allowed Craig Westcarr’s looping effort to fall into the net before scoring a wonderful second himself from an acute angle.

The home side pulled a goal back through Darren Bent’s penalty but were sloppy and slack throughout and did not deserve an equaliser. “I never even thought I would play on a stage like this when I was in prison,” said a player who played in the Staffordshire County Senior League for Featherstone FC, the prison football team, during his time in jail.

Although Hughes was the match-winner, this was also a notable feather in the cap for Notts County’s manager, Paul Ince. The former England international, like Hughes, has gone back to the lower leagues to rebuild his career. Sacked by Blackburn after six months, he had almost turned his back on management but he is doing a good job in Nottingham, this victory being their seventh in the past eight games.

As for Bruce, he was fuming. Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on a Sunderland side who are sixth in the Premier League and, worryingly, with a derby game against Newcastle United next weekend, his squad players do not look up to the task. He is trying to sign the midfielders Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon on loan from Internazionale and PSG respectively, but whether they arrive in time to face another set of Magpies remains to be seen.