Substitute Chris Brown sent Sunderland to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship with a nervous but deserved victory over relegation-threatened Coventry at the Stadium of Light.

The 20-year-old, brought on by Mick McCarthy early in the second half, latched onto a Marcus Stewart flick and guided home a low shot in the 76th minute to claim his side their sixth Championship win in a row and maintain their promotion assault.

The Black Cats moved two points clear at the top after draws for Wigan and Ipswich, but only after Coventry had played their part in an entertaining contest, monopolising the chances early in the first half before being worn down by their hosts in the final hour.

Brown could have settled McCarthy's nerves long before when he crashed a shot against the woodwork, while fellow replacement Sean Thornton and Julio Arca also spurned good chances.

Micky Adams will be delighted by the battling display by his struggling team, but another defeat drags them closer to the foot of the table.

Sunderland made just one change from their 5-1 thrashing of Plymouth last time out, with midfielder Liam Lawrence coming in for injured Dean Whitehead, but they struggled to find the same fluidity as they showed against the Pilgrims.

The raft of changes Coventry manager Adams made after their creditable 1-1 draw at Millwall had the desired effect early on.

The visitors nearly notched the opening goal in the fifth minute when Stern John glanced a Michael Doyle corner just wide before right-back Richard Duffy's volley and the recalled Trevor Benjamin's header both slipped the wrong side of Thomas Myhre's upright.

The hosts finally awoke from their torpor as Carl Robinson found space but dragged a 25-yard shot the wrong side of the post while enigmatic left-winger Arca's weaving run ended in a shot that was saved by the legs of on-loan goalkeeper Ian Bennett.

Sunderland ended the half brightly, with hitherto anonymous strikers Stewart and Stephen Elliott both spurning half-chances, and they came out in the second period with far more urgency.

Arca blasted a 20-yard shot over when he should have at least hit the target before being booked by referee Alan Wiley moments later for a laughable dive in the Coventry box.

McCarthy then threw on Brown and attacking midfielder Thornton in the 55th minute to add some more attacking guile against a Sky Blues defence being well marshalled by veteran centre-backs Steve Staunton and Robert Page.

Coventry, sensing that the game was starting to slip from their grasp, began to defend deeper as Sunderland grew in stature.

From a Thornton corner, full-back Stephen Wright connected well but his header was matched by Bennett's smart save low down to his left.

Minutes later, Steve Staunton failed to deal with a long clearance, succeeding only to head the ball backwards into the path of Brown.

The substitute latched onto the ball, steadied himself, but guided a low shot against the post.

Arca was withdrawn with what appeared to be a hip injury with 20 minutes remaining but the home pressure was still relentless, Thornton collecting a weak clearance and crashing a shot inches wide.

A goal was coming and it duly arrived through substitute Brown with 14 minutes left. A neat move saw Stewart cleverly flick into the path of the youngster, who stroked his finish into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the area for his sixth goal of the season.

Gary McSheffrey could have equalised in the 80th minute but he skied over from close range after a series of ricochets in the home area while John headed over in the dying stages.

Teams

Sunderland Myhre, Wright, Breen, Caldwell, McCartney, Lawrence (Brown 55), Whitley (Thornton 55), Robinson, Arca (Welsh 68), Elliott, Stewart.

Subs Not Used: Ingham, Danny Collins.

Booked: Stewart.

Goals: Brown 76.

Coventry Bennett, Duffy (Shaw 83), Staunton, Page, Hall, Jorgensen, Doyle, Osbourne, McSheffrey (Adebola 77), John, Benjamin (Barrett 83).

Subs Not Used: Steele, Morrell.

Booked: Osbourne.

Att: 29,424

Ref: A Wiley (Staffordshire).