Stadium of Light plunged into darkness during Sunderland win

FC’s Mark Donaldson and Shaka Hislop predict who will be relegated at the end of the Premier League season.

It continued his fine form over the last year and a half, after he scored 15 goals in the league last year despite Sunderland’s struggles.

Sunderland boss David Moyes reflected on Victor Anichebe’s performance after his side’s first win of the season.

Sam Clucas forced Pickford into another save low down, but Defoe gave Sunderland the lead with a typically clinical finish. They might well have had a penalty when David Marshall charged into Duncan Watmore, who had escaped Ahmed Elmohamady’s attentions, sending the winger crashing.

The emergency lights came on and after a 10 minute delay, the lights were back on and play resumed.

That profligacy came at a price in the 34 minute as Sunderland’s captain found a predatory streak that had been beyond Sunderland’s guests.

However, it was the home side who broke the deadlock 11 minutes before the break when Defoe ran on to Watmore’s flick-on and side-step first Curtis Davies and then Michael Dawson before depositing the ball in the bottom corner.

Reaction from Mike Phelan following Hull’s 3-0 defeat at Sunderland.

Billy Jones’ cross was flicked on by Defoe into the path of Watmore, who was looking to add to his spectacular goal on global duty midweek, but it was straight at David Marshall.

A solid stop kept the Tigers alive. The Stadium of Light clash represents a meeting of the two relegation favourites, with the Black Cats 15/8 to stay up while their visitors are marginally shorter odds at 13/8. Pickford’s poor clearance presented the visitors with possession but Snodgdrass’ pull-back to Mason was wasted when the England worldwide dragged wide.

Sunderland recovered from a poor start and mustered their first attempt on goal 13 minutes in.

Sunderland: Pickford; Jones, Kone, Djilobodji, van Aanholt; Denayer (O’Shea), Watmore, Ndong, McNair, (Love) Anichebe, Defoe.

A mix-up at the back then nearly allowed Clucas in.

A toothless City only had themselves to blame. Refusing to abandon hope of somehow rescuing things, Snodgrass attempted an audacious, extremely clever, overhead kick which forced Pickford to perform acrobatics before somehow tipping the ball to safety.

For the two teams, however, there is more at stake than just revenge. The manager identifies flaws with this system in the modern game, but both players also offered useful defensive backup at Bournemouth and Moyes does not rule out a repeat in his preparations for Saturday’s game, provided Anichebe is fit. Before that, Mason had volleyed woefully across face of goal from a Robert Snodgrass centre, and Pickford saved brilliantly from the Scotland midfielder to seal a first clean sheet this season as Sunderland negotiated injury time a man light after Papy Djilobodji received a second yellow card for a late challenge on substitute Jarrod Bowen.