Black Cats canter to victory

Darren Bent ended a run of five games without a goal as Sunderland eased to a 3-0 victory over Blackburn in the Barclays Premier League.

Danny Welbeck's deflected volley gave the Black Cats an 11th-minute lead, and Bent made sure with a 19th-minute header, his 10th goal of the season, before substitute Asamoah Gyan added a third at the death.

The former Tottenham frontman might have claimed a second-half hat-trick, but was guilty of a series of misses, one of them glaring, although El-Hadji Diouf had earlier blasted over from just two yards.

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.