Southampton striker James Beattie scored the only goal as Sunderland's relegation worries took a turn for the worse at the Stadium of Light.

Beattie pressed his claims for an England call up with a second-half winner to send Howard Wilkinson's side to their seventh league defeat at home this season.

Sunderland were rarely at the races against a determined and organised Saints side, who remain unbeaten on their travels in the Premiership since mid-November.

Key moments

36 mins: Fabrice Fernandes hits the post for Southampton 50 mins: James Beattie opens the scoring 69 mins: Kevin Phillips is denied by Antti Niemi

The blustery conditions in the North-East made sure that pretty football was never going to be on the agenda and that was confirmed by the early stages of the opening half.

Both sides struggled to carve out any opportunities and appeared more than happy to settle for long shots.

Michael Proctor was the first to try his luck for the hosts while Anders Svensson and Rory Delap responded for Southampton but neither keeper was troubled.

No matter how much you look for reasons, the bottom line is the fans are not getting what they deserve here at the moment. Howard Wilkinson

The first real chance of the game fell to Delap when Paul Telfer crossed dangerously but the midfielder's header flew just over the bar.

A succession of offside decisions against Sunderland only added to the home fans' frustrations.

Southampton were forced into a change when Delap went off injured 10 minutes before half-time.

But Sunderland will have been far from happy at seeing the sight of substitute Jo Tessem, who scored the winner deep into injury time at St Mary's earlier this season.

Tessem, who also grabbed a late equaliser at the Stadium of Light last season, was straight into the action when he was fouled on the edge of the box.

From the free-kick Fabrice Fernandes saw his well struck shot hit the post.

Tessem was back in the thick of things moments later as he broke dangerously and was only denied by a smart stop from Thomas Sorensen.

Sunderland were given a warning sign deep into the half when Beattie drilled in a shot that was blocked by George McCartney.

The Saints striker threatened again early in the second half when he beat his defender but his off-balance shot was over the bar.

Southampton were a step ahead of Sunderland

But the Premiership's leading scorer did not have to wait long before he got his 17th goal of the season.

A long ball from Anders Svensson found him in acres of space and he raced into the box before rounding Sorensen and slipping the ball home.

Sunderland showed increased urgency after the goal but still struggled to cause the visitors any sort of problems.

They finally threatened the goal when Phillips slipped in a shot that was just wide of the post.

Phillips was handed an even better chance when he found himself one-on-one with Antti Niemi but was denied by the keeper's feet.

When the rebound fell to the striker he was denied for a second time by the Saints keeper.

The victory sees Saints manager Gordon Strachan complete the double over his former boss within the space of a month.

Sunderland: Sorensen, McCartney, Babb (Thirlwell 64), Craddock, Gray, Arca, Stewart (Kyle 71), McCann, Kilbane (Clark 64), Proctor, Phillips.
Subs Not Used: Macho, Oster.

Booked: Proctor.

Southampton: Niemi, Benali, Williams, Michael Svensson, Telfer, Anders Svensson, Oakley, Delap (Tessem 36), Fernandes (Dodd 70), Beattie (Davies 87), Marsden.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Ormerod.

Attendance: 34,102

Referee: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).