Sunderland 2 Albion 3

Paul Scharner fired a fabulous winner to hand Albion victory in a thriller at the Stadium of Light.

Albion twice fought back from behind through Peter Odemwingie and Youssouf Mulumbu before Scharner struck with 18 minutes to go to hand the Baggies a second straight victory.

Roared on by almost 3,000 travelling fans on Wearside, the Baggies extended their unbeaten run to seven matches despite trailing first through a Nicky Shorey own goal and then a thunderous Phil Bardsley strike.

They have now collected 12 points from six games under new boss Roy Hodgson and have won four away games in a Premier League season for the first time.

And Odemwingie's 11th goal of the season equalled Robert Earnshaw's record for a Baggies player in the Premier League.

Albion had a couple of early sighters with Scharner firing off target and Odemwingie shooting over.

But they were behind on 10 minutes when Asamoah Gyan peeled out to the left flank and crossed to the far post, where Shorey rose with Ahmed Almohamady but only succeeded in heading into his own net.

Gyan hit a shot on the turn just wide for the hosts but the Baggies were level on 28 minutes.

A Chris Brunt free-kick was half-cleared, Jerome Thomas's cross ballooned into the air and, when Jonas Olsson flicked the ball goalwards, Odemwingie prodded home for his 11th goal of the season.

However, parity lasted just three minutes before Bardsley struck to make it 2-1.

A free-kick was rolled short to the full-back, whose blistering 25-yard shot took a slight deflection off Odemwingie and flew past a helpless Scott Carson in the away goal.

But Albion were on level terms again nine minutes into the second-half courtesy of a fabulous move.

Mulumbu, Simon Cox and Steven Reid combined on the right flank to get Mulumbu in possession on the edge of the box.

Mulumbu then exchanged passes neatly with Odemwingie before hitting a right-footed shot that deflected off defender Michael Turner and nestled in the bottom corner.

It could have got better for the Baggies just after the hour-mark when Odemwingie broke down the left and crossed to the near post, where Cox's flick towards goal was blocked by Turner.

With 21 minutes to go, the Baggies were agonisingly close to a lead when Brunt's free-kick from the right was met by Jonas Olsson, whose header was palmed away brilliantly by home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

The Baggies were now in charge of the game and their pressure paid off with the goal that put them ahead after another fine passing move.

Brunt and Cox combined to find Steven Reid, who fed Odemwingie on the right flank to reach the byline before squaring for Scharner, unmarked 10 yards out, to fire inside the near post.

They could have even extended their lead when poor defending gave Cox a chance, but his shot was beaten away by Mignolet.

However, there was a late scare for the Baggies when Gyan's flick found Welbeck, but his shot dipped just over the bar.