Sunderland boss Jack Ross said he was pleased with his side's display, despite some criticism from fans, writes JIM TATUM.
The Black Cats bounced back from their defeat to Peterborough last week, with a 3-1 win away to Accrington.
Stanley had taken the lead early on through Jordan Clark, before Sunderland fought back with goals from Lynden Gooch, Aiden McGeady and Marc McNulty, to take a two-goal lead in at halftime.
Despite the relative ease of their win, Black Cats fans were disgruntled by the performance, though Ross maintains he is happy with his team.
Ross said: “Every time this squad has been asked questions, it has responded, and it did that again today.
“They haven’t had to answer many questions because we haven’t lost many games, but every time there has been a question to answer they have responded in the right way.
“The pressure ramps up every time we lose a game, everyone knows that. It’s omnipresent but, by and large, I think we deal with that”
With results elsewhere in the league going Sunderland’s way, their win moved them up into the play-offs, two points off the top spot.
Coventry and Ipswich both dropped points, drawing 0-0 with Burton and Doncaster respectively, while Wycombe suffered their first defeat of the season, 2-0 away to Gillingham.
Fleetwood Town also dropped points, as they drew away to Southend in a thrilling contest which ended 3-3.
Also Joining Sunderland in the top six are Peterborough, who have now won four in a row after a resounding 6-0 victory against Rochdale. There were two more goals for Marcus Maddison, as well as an Ivan Toney hattrick, with Mohamed Eisa getting the other.
At the other end of the table, Bolton Wanderers took the lead in a game for the first time this season, though ended up losing 6-1 against Rotherham. Wanderers gave six players their debuts, as Keith Hill took charge of his first game as manager.
League One results in full:
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Sunderland
AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Blackpool 0-3 MK Dons
Burton Albion 0-0 Coventry City
Gillingham 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Ipswich Town 0-0 Doncaster Rovers
Lincoln City 0-1 Bristol Rovers
Oxford United 3-0 Tranmere Rovers
Peterborough United 6-0 Rochdale
Rotherham United 6-1 Bolton Wanderers
Southend United 3-3 Fleetwood Town
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