Winning start for Sunderland

Sunderland opened their Premier League campaign with a win at Bolton, thanks to a Darren Bent goal.

Debutant Bent on target in 1-0 victory

Darren Bent made a dream start to his Sunderland career as he scored the only goal in an opening-day victory over Bolton. The former Spurs striker sent the visiting fans into raptures when he rose to head in Steed Malbranque's cross with only five minutes gone. Sunderland could have increased their lead before the break, but Bent was unable to add to his tally when presented with other chances. In the second half, the hosts twice threatened an equaliser through Johan Elmander and were denied a point right at the death when Marton Fulop saved Sean Davis' close-range effort. With new recruits Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana also making impressive debuts in midfield, Sunderland totally dominated the first half and could easily have been 3-0 up at the break. Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen denied both Bent and Kieran Richardson and other opportunities were squandered during the half.

Support

A travelling support of 5,500 Sunderland fans saw in new manager Steve Bruce's first game in charge and will leave hopeful of a more accomplished season than the previous campaign. Sam Ricketts, Paul Robinson, Zat Knight and Sean Davis all made their debuts for the Trotters following their arrivals from Hull, West Brom, Aston Villa and Portsmouth respectively. But it was the visitors' who were soon celebrating as they opened the scoring inside the fifth minute with a classic header from Bent. Malbranque flighted in a wicked cross from the left channel, and Bent rose above Robinson to plant a firm header past Jaaskelainen. The visiting fans celebrated wildly but they were almost silenced moments later when Fabrice Muamba sliced a fierce 20-yard shot wide of Fulop's goal. Kenwyne Jones collected possession in the eighth minute and drove a thunderous shot goalwards that Bolton were relieved to see deflected out for a corner. Cattermole covered a huge amount of ground in midfield and twice within the space of as many minutes Sunderland could have scored. In the 20th minute, Bent and Malbranque combined to send Richardson clear through on goal but Jaaskelainen raced off his line to parry the midfielder's left-foot shot from 14 yards. Sunderland pressed again moments later when a vicious low cross from Richardson found Bent at the far post and he turned sharply before driving a low left-foot shot inches wide of the far post with Jaaskelainen beaten.

Chances

Jones then headed over from 12 yards out and in the 25th minute Bent played a fantastic one-two with Malbranque before forcing another fine save from Jaaskelainen with a low drive. Bolton's game-plan seemed to be playing it long to Kevin Davies or Elmander but Sunderland's centre-back pairing of Anton Ferdinand and Danny Collins never looked in any serious trouble. In the 40th minute, Bent raced onto a lofted pass from Richardson and looped the ball over Jaaskelainen but just wide of the post as Bolton were given another reprieve. Fulop was finally tested on the stroke of half-time when Matthew Taylor's inswinging corner was headed goalwards by Gary Cahill, but his close-range header was kept out by Fulop's instinctive save. Bolton handed a debut to South Korea midfielder Chung-Yong Lee in the 67th minute when he replaced former Black Cats midfielder Gavin McCann. Elmander drilled a wicked cross-shot just wide of Fulop's goal a minute later as Sunderland continued to hold firm. Campbell came off the bench to replace the injured Richardson in the 76th minute, but Bent and Jones continued to spearhead the attack. It was Fulop who emerged the hero in injury-time when Davis drove goalwards from close-range but saw the Sunderland goalkeeper deny him with a brilliant parry.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Sunderland
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
3	Shots on Target	5
8	Shots off Target	9
2	Blocked Shots	6
4	Corners	7
16	Fouls	13
0	Offsides	3
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
60.1	Passing Success	64.9
19	Tackles	16
68.4	Tackles Success	100
55.2	Possession	44.8
48.3	Territorial Advantage	51.7