ON a bitterly cold night on Wearside, Sunderland demonstrated why the relegation flames are licking at their coat-tails.

Marc-Vivien Foe and Sun Jihai were the unlikely Manchester City executors as they seized on mistakes by goalkeeper Jurgen Macho to put Sunderland on course for their fourth successive defeat in front of just 36,511 spectators at the Stadium of Light.

Many of those had already left, knowing the game was over as a contest, by the time Shaun Goater supplied a sumptuous finish in the dying stages to compound Sunderland's misery.

A massive 478 minutes have now elapsed since Howard Wilkinson's team scored a goal - a statistic that screams out the phrase "relegation material".

The result was met with widespread apathy by Sunderland's fans, who have come to expect the sort of inept display that their team produced last night.

They are just one point and one place off the foot of the Premiership - a spot occupied by West Ham United, whose performance at Middlesbrough on Saturday oozed the class and passion that Sunderland lacked.

Kevin Phillips and Tore Andre Flo, Sunderland's much-heralded but misfiring strikeforce, were unceremoniously hauled off after 65 minutes.

But they are being forced to live on scraps served up by a midfield that can barely string two passes together.

How Sunderland miss the guile of Claudio Reyna - the only player with the brain to match the brawn that his teammates possess.

Sunderland's defence, the one aspect of their game that must have given Wilkinson heart over recent weeks, was unusually porous last night.

And the empty seats outnumbered those occupied by home supporters by the time referee Steve Dunn put the remaining faithful out of their misery.

The Sunderland fans who braved the Arctic conditions can rarely have been treated to such an anaemic display from their side.

The home players were insipid rather than inspired, and as Sunderland faltered so City flourished as they became increasingly aware that three points were there for the taking.

Phillips scuffed a volley wide after Kevin Kilbane's back-post cross had eluded the City defence, but it was to be a rare scare for the visitors.

City went ahead through Foe a minute before half-time, but they could easily have led before then after Joachim Bjorklund turned Kevin Horlock's deep free-kick against his own post.

Bjorklund, a late replacement for Jody Craddock after last season's Player of the Year was injured in the warm-up, scrambled the ball clear after Goater missed his kick three yards out.

But it was a temporary reprieve for Wilkinson's woeful team, who were undone by a long ball from Sun. Foe raced on to the pass and nicked the ball beyond Jurgen Macho, who looked on helplessly as the Cameroon midfielder slotted home from seven yards.

One would have hoped Sunderland would be stung into action after half-time, but they had just a long-range Michael Proctor drive that flashed wide to show for their efforts by the time City doubled their money in the 62nd minute.

Foe and Sylvain Distin exchanged passes down the left, and after Macho could only palm out the low cross, Sun turned home the loose ball.

Wilkinson then tried a desperate triple substitution, introducing Marcus Stewart, David Bellion and Kevin Kyle for the two forwards plus captain Michael Gray.

But Sunderland continued to make little impression against a City rearguard that was barely troubled.

Bellion's deflected shot was clawed away by Peter Schmeichel, but City always looked more likely to add to their lead rather than see it reduced.

Macho made a good save to deny Richard Dunne, and from the rebound Nicolas Anelka lashed his shot against the bar. But City were not to be denied a third goal, and Anelka and Eyal Berkovic combined to set up Goater.

His fierce volley from 15 yards flashed past the stationary Macho, and Sunderland's players were a bedraggled bunch by the end.

Result: Sunderland 0 Manchester City 3.

Read more about Sunderland here.