Sunderland's hopes of securing an automatic League One promotion spot have suffered another setback as Peterborough United extended their advantage.
The Black Cats are now eight points adrift of the top two following the Posh's victory over Northampton Town on Friday night.
Sammie Szmodics handed Darren Ferguson's side a first-half lead, but Sam Hoskins levelled the contest from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, Szmodics struck again minutes after the restart to restore the hosts' advantage, and Jonson Clarke-Harris settled the contest from the spot in the 67th minute.
Sunderland have a game in hand on both Hull City and Peterborough in the race for automatic promotion, but will need to bounce back quickly from two straight defeats.
The Black Cats have a huge few days ahead of them, taking on fifth-placed Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday before travelling to the league leaders on Tuesday.
Lee Johnson and Co are looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Charlton and Wigan but will be without defenders Conor McLaughlin and Dion Sanderson.
