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Jobe Bellingham proved the hero for his Sunderland teammates as well as their fans after scoring the winner against Swansea. The 19-year-old netted his first away goal of the season to seal a 3-2 win that pushed the Black Cats into third, five points behind first-place Sheffield United. Swansea's Zan Vipotnik opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a well-taken volley after the ball was headed high up. The Welsh side then doubled their lead via Liam Cullen from a free kick. A shot curling away from Anthony Patterson was almost unreachable as it smashed in after hitting the bottom of the crossbar. The visitors got one back before the half-time whistle thanks to Daniel Ballard. Another free kick, this time crossed in by Trai Hume to connect with the diving head of Ballard. Then, in the 73rd minute, Bellingham made a smart tackle and pass into Dan Neil who drove through the middle of the pitch before letting off a screamer to beat Lawrence Vigouroux. Bellingham then turned scorer as Chris Rigg sent in a first-time low cross into the running midfielder, who beat two Swansea players to the ball.   It sparked wild scenes in the away end as Rigg ran over to celebrate with the former Birmingham starlet and dived over the advertising boards back first. The 17-year-old had suffered a minor back issue at the start of the season and risked aggravating the problem with a painful landing. However, Bellingham showed great awareness and reflexes when stretching out an arm to pull Rigg into the Sunderland team huddle. The former was soon given his moment to celebrate personally with the fans and chose to send a poignant message following continued transfer speculation surrounding his future. Bellingham shouted: "Up the f****** Sunlun man - The f****** best club in the world, man", as he pointed at the club badge. “I try and calm myself down most of the time, to be honest with you, ” Jobe reflected on his celebrations after the game. “But when I score, I just seem to lose it, but I don't know why. I just lose it, especially when it's in front of the away fans and the manner of the win, which it was. He added: “They're unbelievable moments and that's why you play football. They're moments that you live for and when there is a bit of adversity, that's the reason you build your character so that you can come back from those moments and they don't beat you up. Unbelievable, unbelievable moment. I love the fans, they're amazing. “The support we get is second to none. In the country, I think they're the best in the country. “I'm so glad that they've come this far and they've seen a victory and there's some big away days coming up as well, which, you know, Blackburn, where they've sold it out against 7, 000, they're insane, really. “The connection between all of us is massive, but for me personally, I just feel the fondness between the fans, and I love it. Long may it continue. ” Bellingham's heroics saw Sunderland take a huge stride towards their overall aim of promotion to the Premier League. Le Bris, who switched Bellingham’s role within the side to play deeper, has been full of praise for the 6ft 3ins midfielder. Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this season, Le Bris said: “He's still a young player with the ability to play in many different roles, " says the Sunderland boss. “But I like him as a No 8, because I think he's an offensive midfielder. He can express his power, his ability to run and his ability to press - to link defence and attack. ” Jobe, of course, is the brother of Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham. The England sensation has been in excellent recent form, netting five goals and registering four assists in 12 La Liga games. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited

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