It’s been a long time coming but Sunderland finally secured a Premiership victory at the fifteenth time of asking thrashing Bolton 4-0 at the SOL on Tuesday night. It proved to be a night of firsts as Darren Bent scored his first hat trick in red and white, Fraizer Campbell scored his first league goal for the club and the lads did their first league double of the season.

There was good news on the injury front with Lee Cattermole managing to shake off a hamstring strain to make the starting eleven though Sunderland had the most defensive subs bench of all time. We lined up with Gordon in goal behind a back four of Hutton, Turner, Mensah and Ferdinand. In midfield Campbell started on the right with Malbranque on the left with Cana and Cattermole in the middle. Up front Jones and Bent.

We got off to an absolute flyer taking the lead inside a minute when Fraizer Campbell who started on the right got on the end of Cana’s looping cross to volley past Jaaskelainen.

This settled Sunderland and we actually knocked the ball about on the deck with Cana and Malbranque looking more like the players we saw at the start of the season. Campbell had another chance on twenty minutes when he was found by Cattermole unmarked in the box but the forward come winger’s header looped harmlessly over.

Bolton, under Coyle, are obviously trying to change their style of play but we defended well and limited them to long range shots with Gardener and Elmander but shooting high and wide.

We should have doubled the lead after breaking well from a Bolton corner. Campbell and Malbranque combined to feed Bent but the strikers shot rolled agonisingly past the post. Just before the break, Alan Hutton almost notched his first goal for the club when he cut inside from the right wing but his right foot effort with the outside of his boot was off target.

After the break Bolton had their best spell of the game and Lee forced Gordon into action with a shot on the turn.

With half an hour to go Sunderland scored a fantastic goal to make it two nil. The move was started by Hutton on the right who resisted the urge to launch the ball forward by moving it to Turner who in turn found Ferdinand at left back. Ferdinand played the ball to Malbranque who neatly found the breaking Cattermole with a measured pass who then found Bent who did what he does best.

The move proved to be one of the final pieces of action for Cattermole who appeared to injury himself in a tackle. He was replaced by Phil Bardsley who bizarrely went into the engine room alongside Cana.

Bent made it three nil from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Ricketts when clean through after another wonderful pass from Malbranque. The Bolton defender was given his marching orders with a second yellow. Bent secured his hat trick and Sunderland’s fourth when he finished well first time from Campbell’s cross late on.

Final Score: Sunderland 4 Bolton 0

ALS Man of the Match: Darren Bent – Hat trick hero but Steed Malbranque was excellent also

Aidan Crowe

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