Shambolic Sunderland Slain By Bolton

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EPL: Roy Keane, Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers (PA)

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Whisper it quietly around Roy Keane, but the wheels are beginning to loosen, if not come off, the Sunderland bandwagon. The Black Cats’ dismal form continued with this resounding defeat at a concerned Stadium of Light by Gary Megson’s Bolton, until recently floundering near the foot of the table themseloves.

Keane made two changes from the Sunderland side that lost to West Ham last weekend, Craig Gordon returning in goal and Pascal Chimbonda replacing Anton Ferdinand in defence. Bolton manager Gary Megson kept the same starting XI that beat Middlesbrough away.

But it was a disastrous day for the Black Cats, who slumped into the bottom three as Bolton made hay on Wearside.

Yet Sunderland had taken an early lead through Djibril Cisse's e excellent finish. But within a few minutes Bolton equalised through a Matthew Taylor header - and they were soon in the lead through Gary Cahill's low drive.

Inept defensive mistakes then allowed Johan Elmander to score twice, either side of half-time, as Sunderland crumbled to a fifth defeat in six League games, prompting many Sunderland fans to leave before full-time, with boos ringing out around the Stadium.

This was Keane's 100th game in charge of the Wearsiders, but there wasw nothing to celebrate as his team suffered their third straight home defeat.

Yet Bolton moved up to seventh on the strength of their fourth win in five Premier League matches, as they shrugged off going behind in the tenth minute. The goal was by far Sunderland’s best moment of the match.

Kieron Richardson played a pass through to Steed Malbranque, who timed his ball perfectly for Djibril Cisse to run onto it and place it expertly beyond Juuski Jaaskelainen and in off the far post for his sixth goal of the season.

Bolton were not bowed though, and were soon level, Taylor rising above Chimbonda to head the ball over Gordon, just back from injury, and in off the underside of the bar from a Gretar Steinsson cross.

Two minutes later Bolton were in front. Andy O'Brien’s free-kick into the area saw Sunderland struggle to contain Kevin Davies, the ball dropping for Cahill to slam it a crowd of defenders into the net from 12 yards.

Cisse had the ball in the net on 30 minutes, but it was disallowed for a foul by Kenwyne Jones on Jlloyd Samuel.

Elmander rounded keeper Gordon but put the ball wide of an open goal, but he made up for that in the 38th minute, capitalising on Collins’s awful attempt to intercept a long Cahill pass forward by slotting the ball through Gordon's legs.

Jones nearly pulled one back for Sunderland just before half-time with a header from Malbranque's cross, but after the break, despite, no doubt, a verbal blasting from Keane, Sunderland again contributed to their own downfall.

Captain Dean Whitehead took too long to clear the ball, lost possession to Kevin Nolan who squared it for Elmander to blast it high into the net for his second goal of the game.

The Swede should have had a hat-trick on 73 minutes when her missed an easy chance as Sunderland toiled in vain.

Sunderland: Gordon, Bardsley, Nosworthy, Collins, Chimbonda, Malbranque, Whitehead, Richardson, Reid, Cisse, Jones. Subs: Fulop, Tainio, Diouf, Miller, Murphy, Leadbitter, Ferdinand.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel, Muamba, Davies, Nolan, McCann, Taylor, Elmander. Subs: Al Habsi, Smolarek, Gardner, Riga, Shittu, Basham, Obadeyi.