City 2, Sunderland 0

THE chant reverberated around Valley Parade just seconds after Jon Stead had kept up his record of scoring in every FA Cup round.

"Are you watching BBC..." crowed the fans as they bathed in the glory of one more Premier League giant biting the dust.

Only giant was probably an exaggeration on Sunderland's part because the Black Cats never looked up for the battle in front of City's biggest home crowd since 1960.

By the end, this was as comfortable and one-sided as Millwall in round three. The cock-a-hoop packed stands could almost be excused for getting blasé as another wonderful chapter unfolded before them.

The Beeb may have shamefully decided to send their cameras to Villa Park instead but we all know the real narrative of this year's competition continues to be written large by those in claret and amber.

In monetary terms, victory yesterday earned around £310,000 in terms of prize money and their share of the gate receipts. The next round guarantees nearly £250,000 for a start – in TV money because all four quarter-finals WILL be shown live.

But in terms of pure magic, City march on to within one game of Wembley. That's what the FA Cup is surely all about.

Buoyed by a dream start as Billy Clarke's shot flew in off John O'Shea, City's first appearance in the fifth round since 1997 was always going to be a celebration party.

Typically, almost predictably, Stead settled matters in the second half. He needed 30 games to get off the mark for Sunderland – but just 62 minutes to score against them.

Phil Parkinson had kept faith with the outfield players who dominated the MK Dons match on Monday, with Clarke staying in the side after his goal-scoring return. That meant Stamford Bridge scorer Andy Halliday had to settle for a bench spot.

The biggest stir of the team news came from the non-appearance of Jermaine Defoe for Sunderland.

Gus Poyet had been highly critical of the Valley Parade pitch in the build-up and it appeared he did not want to risk the striker, who was carrying a little niggle, on the heavy surface. It was a decision that cost the Uruguayan dear.

Poyet had vowed to go with a more direct approach and targetman Danny Graham was pitched into battle with his old Middlesbrough team-mate Andrew Davies.

But neither had seen a sniff of the ball before City roared into a third-minute lead.

The Bantams set off at the same high-octane pace that had destroyed Millwall in the last cup tie at home – and Sunderland did not know what hit them.

Filipe Morais' free-kick flew unhindered across the goalmouth to the feet of Clarke. His shot was heading wide but struck Black Cats skipper O'Shea and the big deflection completely wrong-footed keeper Vito Mannone on its way to the net.

Valley Parade was on the verge of exploding and the opening blast set the tone for a chaotic spell.

City threatened to floor Sunderland with a second blow as James Meredith's cross was glanced across goal by Stead, with James Hanson just unable to reach it.

At the other end, Rory McArdle was playing like a monster. With his head bandaged from an early collision, the centre half smothered Adam Johnson's attempt from close range and then picked Steven Fletcher's pocket when the striker seemed certain to level.

Sebastian Larsson's miscued shot fell perfectly for the Scottish international ten yards out. The flag stayed down but Fletcher delayed sufficiently for McArdle to nip in with the most precise of last-ditch tackles.

TV replays later backed up Sunderland's claims that he played the striker not the ball but City got the crucial break.

There was no time for anyone to catch their breath as Clarke weaved his way through two tackles to the edge of the Sunderland box, where his angled shot was beaten away by a diving Mannone.

The Premier League side had steadied the ship after their shocking start but the pace continue to rattle along at 100mph.

Morais was in the thick of the action whenever City attacked and bent a free-kick over the wall but wide. Then Sunderland hit back as Patrick Van Aanholt's deflected effort was parried by Ben Williams.

Johnson cut inside to test the City keeper from distance but the home side bounced straight back, with Stephen Darby's cross just eluding the hovering presence of Hanson. You couldn't take your eyes off it.

Winger Johnson fired a free-kick over in first-half stoppage time but City were worth their advantage at the break – they had been first to the ball, snapping into every tackle and had not given Sunderland a second to settle.

Sunderland replaced the anonymous Graham with Connor Wickham for the restart as they looked to go even more direct. Mannone's long clearance was flicked on by Fletcher but Johnson blazed over from a difficult angle.

"Premier League, you're having a laugh," sung the taunting fans on the Kop but there was less pattern to the resumption.

Not that the speed had dipped as Sunderland looked for any kind of lifeline – but City were not offering one. Williams punched away confidently from an away corner but the hosts refused to slacken their grip on proceedings.

There were big Bantam performances across the pitch – a never-say-die attitude that was epitomised with the build-up to their second goal after 62 minutes.

Johnson had been arguably Sunderland's most effective player – or least poor – but his brain went to mush as Meredith pressured him by the away penalty area.

Rather than booting safely into touch, the Black Cats man inexplicably decided to turn inside where his clearance was picked off by Hanson.

He headed it to Stead, who was in acres of room and well onside courtesy of the hapless Johnson. The striker coolly took his cup goal tally to five despite Mannone getting a hand on his shot.

With the place bouncing, City looked to heap more humiliation on the visitors as Stead shot straight at the keeper and Knott curled a free-kick over with his final touch before making way to a standing ovation.

There was no urgency or desire about the despondent visitors, although Wickham did manage to conjure their first on-target effort of the half with a header that Williams clutched on his line. It did not matter.

City love a Twitter hashtag and #whynot was the motto for yesterday. One round from Wembley now – why not indeed...

Attendance: 24,021

City v Sunderland match pictures