Sunderland 1-0 Bolton Wanderers

A Danny Welbeck goal in the first half was enough for Sunderland to record a hard-earned three points at the Stadium of Light.

Welbeck's header from close range proved to be the difference between the sides as the Black Cats clung on in the face of a spirited Trotters fightback in the second half. At the beginning of a lively first half, it was Bolton who started on the front foot as they looked dangerous on the break. Their first chance came in the ninth minute when Matthew Taylor's low cross found Kevin Davies, only for his effort to be blocked by Anton Ferdinand. Sunderland didn't take long to get going, though, and they had two opportunities to take the lead just a few minutes later. First, good work from Kieron Richardson on the left-hand side saw him cut the ball back to Danny Welbeck who was just about to pull the trigger before Gary Cahill got his foot in to clear. Then, Darren Bent had a great chance only for him to curl his effort comfortably over the bar from inside the penalty area. However, the home side did get their goal after 32 minutes as Bent did superbly to force a save from Jussi Jaaskelainen from a tight angle, before Welbeck produced a diving header into the net as the ball bounced in the danger zone. Bolton almost drew level on the stroke of half-time, but Craig Gordon produced a magnificent reaction save to deny Zat Knight from a couple of yards out. The second half began quietly, with the home side looking the more likely of the two to get on the scoresheet. On 70 minutes, Welbeck almost grabbed his second of the game as his placed effort from inside the area was deflected off the post. Bolton were always in the game as long as it was 1-0, and they kept going until the very end. Substitute Ivan Klasnic had two great chances to equalise late on, but he failed to connect properly with either as the visitors eventually ran out of time.