McCarthy fails to stop Sunderland slide

Sunderland 0 Bolton Wanderers 2

Mick McCarthy’s welcome party turned into a wake as the lights effectively went out on Sunderland’s Barclaycard Premiership campaign.

There might have been a new manager and a new pitch at the Stadium of Light, but the result was just the same as the Black Cats slumped to a seventh successive Premiership defeat to leave them 10 points adrift of safety with just eight games to play.

Thomas Sorensen produced several excellent saves to keep the scoreline respectable, but it was his error in deflecting Jay-Jay Okocha’s 50th minute cross into his own net which started the slide.

When Henrik Pedersen capitalised on some lax defending five minutes later, the result was beyond any doubt.

Sunderland had chances but failed to make the most of them and ultimately were made to pay for it, although the price of failure is about to become even more costly.

The Wearsiders had seen today’s game as a chance to grab a lifeline in front of an expectant crowd of 42,124, but instead it was Bolton who dragged themselves a little further away from the drop zone to boost their own hopes of survival.

McCarthy insisted when he walked into the club on Wednesday that 99% of things were right, but knowing that what was very wrong were results on the pitch.

Defeat today was simply not an option as Bolton arrived at the Stadium of Light knowing that if they left with all three points, Sunderland’s hopes of avoiding the drop were all but over.

McCarthy’s first task was to try to dispel the fear and lack of confidence which have plagued the players he inherited for months, but with a yawning chasm opening up beneath them, that was never going to be easy.

The loss of influential quartet Gavin McCann, Jody Craddock, Jason McAteer and Kevin Kilbane through a combination of suspension, injury and illness did not help, but McCarthy sent his players out demanding passion and commitment.

However, the fact that he got that before the break did not disguise the shortcomings which have propelled the Black Cats into the mess in which they find themselves.

Sunderland have in Kevin Phillips one of the most accomplished finishers in the Premiership, but he did not have a single sight of goal in the opening 45 minutes as his side created few chances.

The best of them fell to Darren Williams on 38 minutes and Sean Thornton four minutes later, but neither could hit the target, and the only man to trouble Jussi Jaaskelainen was Tore Andre Flo, although the keeper will have been kicking himself for spilling the Norwegian’s tame effort five minutes before half-time.

Bolton played the neater football and created the better openings, and although there was not much in it, they came closest to taking the lead when Bernard Mendy cut in from the right and forced a fine 17th-minute save from Sorensen.

Michael Gray hacked an Ivan Campo header from a Youri Djorkaeff corner off his own line and Pedersen squandered a good opportunity late in the half, but the teams left the field locked together.

Julio Arca replaced the injured Stephen Wright at the break and almost made an immediate impact within seconds when he turned up on the end of Michael Proctor’s cross but saw his shot blocked by Per Frandsen.

But all McCarthy’s best-laid plans were torn apart inside a bewildering five-minute spell in which any hope of ending their barren run went out of the window.

Okocha’s trickery left Gray flat-footed on the Bolton left, and when he drove his cross in, Sorensen could only turn the ball into his own net at the near post to hand the visitors the lead.

And it was 2-0 with 55 minutes gone after Frandsen stepped over Djorkaeff’s pass to present Mendy with a shooting opportunity.

The Frenchman did not disappoint as he unleashed a first-time right-foot effort which Sorensen turned away superbly but, as Joachim Bjorklund watched, Pedersen steered the loose ball home to increase the lead.

Sunderland visibly deflated as they sensed the grip on their lifeline slipping but, to their credit, they did not throw in the towel.

They might have got themselves back into had George McCartney not hit his 71st-minute shot straight at Jaaskelainen and substitute Marcus Stewart gone for goal rather than trying to pick out Phillips in an offside position seconds later.

But it was Kevin Kyle, an 80th-minute replacement for Proctor, who wasted the best chance, side-footing his effort at Gudni Bergsson after Stewart had put the ball on a plate for him.

Sorensen had to pull off another magnificent save to deny Frandsen a third goal for the visitors with four minutes remaining, but that proved scant consolation as time ran out in more than one sense.