Kenwyne Jones has admitted he does not want to fall too far behind Sunderland strike partner Darren Bent.
Sunderland striker defends team-mate over penalty
Kenwyne Jones has admitted he does not want to fall too far behind Sunderland strike partner Darren Bent.
Bent took his goal tally for the season to six with a penalty against Wolves on Sunday but then allowed Jones to take the second spot-kick of the match.
The Trinidad and Tobago international duly slotted home and then scored again for his fourth of the Premier League campaign to date.
Speaking about the penalty, Jones told the
Sunderland Echo: "We always say that the one who wins it, takes it. Darren won the penalty and got hold of the ball, but I got to the spot first and didn't want to move!
"I don't want to fall too far behind him in goals and thankfully he handed me the ball. We both want to score as many goals as possible.
"I didn't really feel any more pressure because he gave me the ball. He has a 100 per cent record from the spot this season, but I was confident I would score, I wanted another goal and I stuck it away."
Tight unit
Black Cats manager Steve Bruce criticised Bent for his charity after the match but Jones has defended his team-mate, saying the gesture showed a strong spirit within the side.
Jones was also delighted with Sunderland's character as they prevailed 5-2 after being pegged back by Wolves.
He said: "I think the fact Darren did give me the ball for the penalty shows that we are a very tight unit this season.
"Whether we have won or lost, we have stuck together and we will need that if we want to take the club to the next level.
"We did get a bit nervous when Wolves equalised. We got anxious and we could sense the crowd was anxious.
"But we stuck to the task and believed in each other."
Sunderland are currently eighth in the Premier League table after an encouraging start to the season and Jones is looking forward to the upcoming games against Manchester United and Liverpool.
"It was an important win for us," he added. "Losing at Burnley (the previous weekend) was a disappointment, but we reacted in the right way when we beat Birmingham in the Carling Cup and continued against Wolves.
"We have two of the big boys coming up now so it was good to set ourselves up for them with a good home win."
