Jones double sparks Sunderland win

A double from Kenwyne Jones gave Sunderland their best start to an English Premier League season on Saturday as they cemented a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Blackburn.

Sunderland, keen to impress new boss Steve Bruce, went into the match on the back of a home loss to Chelsea in their first Stadium of Light outing of the campaign which followed on from an opening-day success at Bolton.

Blackburn, coached by former Sunderland player and ex-Bolton and Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce, were looking to avoid their 1000th top flight loss in their history and, more pertinently, their sixth in succession.

Instead, this latest reverse leaves the 1995 champions without a point from their first two games following on from a home slip-up against big spenders Manchester City.

The visitors began brightly and enjoyed swift reward as Gael Givet fired them into a 21st-minute lead with a low effort from the edge of the box.

But Sunderland, roared on by a fanatical home crowd, were level just after the half hour, French midfielder Steed Malbranque feeding Jones, who fired in unerringly from close range.

Buoyed by that, the hosts began visibly to believe increasingly in their ability to take the game to Blackburn and seven minutes after the restart Jones was again milking the plaudits, heading home Lee Cattermole’s cross from six yards out.

Morten Gamst Pedersen and Jason Roberts tried to spark a revival but both men spurned half-chances in the final quarter while Benni McCarthy cut a forlorn figure as he had barely a quarter of an hour to impress after coming off the bench to replace ineffectual former Sunderland man El-Hadji Diouf.

Sunderland’s big summer signing from Spurs, Darren Bent, failed to make it three goals in three games but made himself equally useful in the dying minutes at the other end after clearing a Pedersen corner at his own near post to ensure the Wearsiders bagged the points to head towards the top six.