Bent treble sinks Bolton

Darren Bent chose the perfect moment to score his first hat-trick for Sunderland, with owner Ellis Short on Wearside to check on his investment, as the Black Cats recorded a 4-0 win over Bolton.

The 10million-pound striker lifted the pressure on the club and manager Steve Bruce with a well-taken treble which helped lift the club six points clear of the relegation zone and into 13th place in the Premier League.

Bolton was the fall guys on a night when the home side ended its wait for a league win at the 15th attempt, a run which dated back to November 21 last year.

Fraizer Campbell set the ball rolling after just 44 seconds with his first league goal for the club, but Bent took over after the break as he extended his personal tally for the season to 19, to the delight of a crowd of 36,087.

He struck after 64 minutes, from the penalty spot after 74 following defender Sam Ricketts' dismissal for a second bookable offence, and then again two minutes from time, and that for a team which had previously scored just two goals in six games.

Birmingham gained revenge for its weekend FA Cup exit against Portsmouth after sending the Premier League's bottom club closer to relegation with a 2-1 triumph at Fratton Park.

Despite going down 2-0 on the South Coast last Saturday, two goals from Cameron Jerome gave Birmingham the three points.

Substitute Kanu pulled one back in the dying minutes but with Pompey already five points from safety and facing a likely nine-point deduction, this proved of little consolation in their uphill battle for survival.