Jack Clarke stars as Sunderland hit three against Sheffield Wednesday

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray says he wants his side to be 'feared' by their league rivals after they ran out 3-0 winners over embattled Sheffield Wednesday.

Jack Clarke starred as the Black Cats bounced back from a first defeat in four games with a dominant performance against the bottom-of-the-table South Yorkshire side.

Dan Ballard opened the scoring rising to meet a corner five minutes into the game.

The visitors added a second just minutes later as Clarke cut in from the wing to firing a deliciously struck strike into the Sheffield United net.

Sunderland dominated the ball and continued to pose problems for the home side. Just after the half hour mark, Mason Burstow was brought down in the box. Clarke duly forward to fire home his second of the afternoon and his seventh of the season so far.

After the break, goalkeeper Anthony Patterson made two impressive saves to shut Wednesday out. Sunderland had more chances to score but were delighted to leave Hillsborough with the three points and a clean sheet.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Tony Mowbray said: To get three goals before half-time was great. The only thing, and I said it in the dressing room, I was a little disappointed we didn't go on and score more.

"If anything, we had to let them feel our threat more in the second half and be more clinical; score some more goals. I want every team to fear us and sit players behind the ball as a result. We were happy to keep the ball but moving forward, I would like other teams in this league to feel our threat - that if they get it wrong we are going to score."

Sunderland sit on sixteen points from their opening nine league games, ahead of a trip to face Watford at Vicarage Road in midweek.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...