Sunderland 3 Burnley 2:Roy Keane may yet reveal the tactical prowess of 10 Dutchmen but if the formidable Irishman has one great gift for Sunderland it is the ability to transmit his unforgettable fire to these players. On a night of at times brutal excitement at the Stadium of light, in front of the Championship's largest crowd of the season, Sunderland forced their way to victory with a performance of infectious desire. One more win, perhaps even one more point, and they're are back in the Premiership.

Sunderland who travel to relegated Luton on the final day, moved four points above third-placed Derby - who face a trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday - but they had to show plenty of resilience against Burnley.

It was all the more admirable because just when Sunderland seemed to have stumbled, Carlos Edwards scored a winning goal that combined fantasy and power.

Burnley played their part in a frantic occasion that featured three penalty-kicks. Once was converted painfully by old boy Andy Gray to equalise Daryl Murphy's opener and Wade Elliott then rocked the stadium with a brilliant strike to make it 2-1.

But David Connolly, then Edwards, ensured that it is now up to Birmingham and Derby to stay the course.

Earlier Connolly had curled a right-footed centre into the middle where Murphy met it first and steered it beyond the unprotected Jensen. That looked that for Burnley.

When referee Kettle then awarded Sunderland a penalty for a weak foul by Wayne Thomas on Connolly, that feeling increased. But Jensen saved.

Eric Djemba-Djemba then hit a sharp pass from midfield that sent Elliott scampering into the Darren Ward's area. Ward dived at Elliott's feet and made no contact but the winger tumbled and Kettle pointed again. Gray, eased the ball in.

By half-time Sunderland had lost their momentum, and it got worse. When Paul McVeigh happened upon an unusually poor first touch from Whitehead the Northern Ireland international shifted the ball swiftly to Elliott. He was 30 yards out but the winger sent a blistering drive arcing over Ward.

Keane's men took just four minutes to get equal. Again the referee was involved as Edwards controlled a raking pass from Miller and bore down on Jensen. Jensen barged the slight winger who fell.

Having missed once from the spot, Connolly held his breath and tried again, this time with success. A night already crammed with action and drama took another twist when Edwards finished the job for Sunderland.

The hosts began with a sense of purpose that suggested they wanted to get the job done early and for the first 35 minutes it was one-way traffic.

Connolly had a low shot saved and Anthony Stokes fired wide inside the first seven minutes as Sunderland piled forward, before Edwards shot straight at Jensen with 12 minutes gone.

Just a minute later, Sunderland took the lead. Burnley failed to clear yet another attack and Connolly's low cross from the left was diverted home by Murphy from close range.

Shortly after the home side were generously awarded a penalty for Thomas' challenge on Connolly but the Republic of Ireland international's spot-kick was pushed away by Jensen.

And seven minutes before the break referee Kettle pointed to the spot again when Burnley's Wade Elliott raced onto Djemba-Djemba's pass and went down under Ward's challenge.

The goalkeeper touched the ball before making contact with the Burnley winger but Gray made no mistake from the spot.

Four minutes into the second half Elliott slammed in a second from 25 yards to give the visitors a shock lead.

That advantage lasted for just three minutes as Kettle awarded a third penalty of the evening for Jensen's trip on Edwards.

The nerveless Connolly rifled home the penalty to register his first in eight games to draw Sunderland level.

And the hosts continued to pile on the pressure, with Jensen pulling off a scrambling save from Edwards' powerful low effort just before the hour mark.

Burnley were refusing to sit back and Ward did well to palm away a dipping McVeigh cross before Joey Gudjonsson volleyed narrowly wide from the resulting corner.

With just under 20 minutes left, McVeigh cut in from the left, beating three men before his shot was turned away by Ward.

But in the 80th minute Sunderland got their noses in front again in some style.

In a sweeping move, Leadbitter flicked Murphy into space and after a driving run, he switched right to Edwards who hit the top corner from 25 yards.

Murphy, substitute Stern John and Edwards all went close to adding a fourth but Sunderland cared little as they picked up three crucial points.

Guardian Service

SUNDERLAND: Ward, Simpson, Nosworthy, Evans, Collins, Edwards, Whitehead, Liam Miller (Leadbitter 73), Stokes (Hysen 71), Murphy, Connolly (John 86). Subs not used: Fulop, Yorke. Booked: Liam Miller, Edwards.

BURNLEY: Jensen, Duff, Thomas, Caldwell, Harley, Elliott (Spicer 73), Djemba-Djemba, McCann (Gudjonsson 29), Jones (Akinbiyi 58), Gray, McVeigh. Subs not used: Coyne, Coughlan. Booked: Duff, Djemba-Djemba, Gudjonsson.

Referee: T M Kettle (Rutland).