Welbeck fires Sunderland into sixth place

Danny Welbeck scored his fifth goal in six games as Sunderland beat Bolton 1-0 on Saturday to remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light this season.

The victory, which moved Sunderland above Bolton into sixth place, would have been more convincing if Welbeck had added a second goal when he hit the post midway through the second half.

However, Sunderland were fortunate to survive after coming under pressure in the closing stages, with Bolton boss Owen Coyle most frustrated when substitute Ivan Klasnic miskicked from only eight yards in stoppage time.

And only a remarkable save by Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon had prevented Zat Knight equalising in the closing moments of the first half.

It ensured Sunderland a third successive clean sheet, despite being forced to reshape their side after only a quarter of an hour when John Mensah suffered an ankle injury after a strong, but fair, challenge from Kevin Davies.

The defender, whose stay at Sunderland has been disrupted by a succession of injury setbacks, limped on for a further six minutes before being replaced by Ahmed Elmohamady.

But, with right-back Nedum Onuoha switched to centre-half, Sunderland still managed to build on a solid start when Kieran Richardson almost created a goal for Asamoah Gyan and Darren Bent steered a shot wide from a promising position.

Bolton were largely occupied in the first-half with the task of stifling some imaginative attacks by Sunderland, which peaked just after the half-hour.

Gyan almost put Sunderland ahead in the 31st minute when his deflected shot was saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen.

But their opening goal was delayed for only 60 seconds as Welbeck opened the scoring.

Jordan Henderson started the move with a cross which found Bent unmarked beyond the far post, where good control and a snap shot from the striker forced another excellent reaction save from Jaaskelainen.

This time, though, the ball rebounded off the keeper to leave Welbeck with a close-range opportunity to head in.

It was a goal Sunderland deserved, but they only retained the lead at half-time thanks to an astonishing 44th minute save from Gordon.

Knight looked a certain scorer when he shot from inside the six-yard box following a corner, but Gordon somehow diverted it over the bar.

The second-half could have developed differently if referee Chris Foy had spotted a 49th minute foul by Sunderland skipper Lee Cattermole on Johan Elmander.

Cattermole had been booked in the first-half and could count himself fortunate not to have become the first player sent off by Foy this season.

Coyle certainly believed Cattermole should have seen red and had a touchline argument with Sunderland chief Steve Bruce.

Goal threats were rare in a far more mundane second-half. But Welbeck almost added to his earlier strike when he struck the outside of the post at the end of a sweet move in the 70th minute.

Bolton went close to an equaliser when shots from Klasnic and Gary Cahill were blocked during a goalmouth scramble in the 86th minute.

But their best opportunity came in stoppage time when Klasnic miskicked from eight yards.