Sunderland came from two goals down to earn a point against West Brom at the Stadium of Light.
Bendtner and Elmohamady cancel out Morrison and Long efforts
Sunderland came from two goals down to earn a point against West Brom at the Stadium of Light.
James Morrison put the Baggies ahead on four minutes with a header from a Chris Brunt free-kick and the visitors were two goals to the good within a minute when Shane Long seized onto a Craig Gardner ball from the halfway line to slot home.
But Nicklas Bendtner reduced the arrears on 24 minutes with a deflected shot after a fine back flick from Sebastian Larsson.
And the Black Cats were level two minutes later when Ahmed Elmohamady headed home Bendtner's cross.
In the second period, Sunderland skipper Lee Cattermole, who was on a yellow card, caught Steven Reid with a late challenge but stayed on the pitch as the game ended in a draw to leave both sides having won just one of their seven Premier League games to date this season.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce went into the game having endured the kind of week which is the stuff of nightmares for a football manager.
A poor display at Norwich on Monday night ended in a 2-1 defeat which piled the pressure back on the former Manchester United defender, and the fall-out from defender Titus Bramble's arrest over allegations of sexual assault and possession of a class A drug barely 24 hours later did little to ease his pain.
Vociferous critics
By 3.05pm, he could have been forgiven for starting to contemplate the fate his most vociferous critics have been demanding for several weeks.
A must-win game in the eyes of some could hardly have started in any more depressing fashion for Bruce when Morrison, one of the smallest men on the pitch, was allowed to meet Brunt's fourth-minute free-kick to head home from close range.
However, it was to get much, much worse for Sunderland within seconds.
Gardner's efforts to spark his side into life backfired spectacularly when he launched himself into a midfield challenge with Youssouf Mulumbu and saw the ball ricochet into the path of striker Long.
The Republic of Ireland international took full advantage of a flat-footed home defence to slide the ball past Simon Mignolet.
But as a chorus of "Bruce out" rang around the Stadium of Light, Sunderland's players responded to drag themselves back from the brink of disaster.
As Gardner and skipper Cattermole finally managed to make an impression in the middle of the field, the lively Stephane Sessegnon was able to make his presence felt and start to link with lone striker Bendtner.
They grabbed themselves a lifeline with 24 minutes gone when Larsson back-heeled Sessegnon's pass into Bendtner's path and the Dane fired past keeper Ben Foster with the help of a deflection off Gareth McAuley.
The on-loan Arsenal striker turned provider two minutes later when he crossed for Elmohamady to head home an equaliser which blew the game wide open once again.
Impetus
Having dragged themselves back into the contest, Sunderland had the impetus and went close to taking the lead in injury-time when Foster had to beat away Gardner's shot on the turn.
But they continued to look fragile at the back with Wes Brown and Michael Turner struggling to keep Long and Peter Odemwingie at bay, and with Morrison and Brunt probing from midfield, the danger was far from over.
That said, the Black Cats should really have been in front within three minutes of the restart when Larsson floated a free-kick over Jonas Olsson's head to find Brown at the far post.
The former Manchester United defender seemed surprised to see Larsson's cross reach him and having reacted late, headed it down into the turf and harmlessly over the bar.
Elmohamady too might have done better with 59 minutes gone with Sessegnon once again the architect.
The Benin international cut inside from the left and rolled the ball into the Egyptian's path into the box, but Foster's positioning was perfect to make a vital block.
West Brom were retreating ever deeper into their own half as Sunderland assumed control with Sessegnon terrorising the visitors' back four, although at times over-elaborating.
But both sides seemed to run out of steam towards the end after the blistering start to the game as the game finished in a stalemate.
