Everton 2 Sunderland 0

IF STEVE Bruce did not think much of Liverpool yesterday morning, it’s a fair bet he’s even more sick of the sight of the place now.

It might have been the blue half of the city, rather than the red, attracting his ire last night, but the upshot was the same.

The Sunderland boss could only fume as his problems piled ever higher, and while the quandary surrounding Kenwyne Jones’ possible move to Liverpool will be solved one way or the other in the next four days, the weaknesses exposed by Everton’s 2-0 victory could prove much longer lasting.

Bruce’s task in the remaining three-and-a-half months of the season is to ensure he is not solving them in the Championship come May.

That scenario can no longer be discounted after first-half goals from Tim Cahill and Landon Donovan left the Black Cats just three points above the relegation zone and extended their dreadful recent run to one win in the last 13 Premier League matches.

That isn’t just relegation form – it’s akin to anything that was recorded in the dark days under Mick McCarthy.

Last night’s game followed a grimly predictable script, with a cobbled-together back four contributing greatly to Everton’s two goals and yet more injuries presenting themselves as both Kieran Richardson and Lee Cattermole failed to last beyond halftime.

Throw in the continued malfunctioning of Sunderland’s midfield, and the ongoing fall-out from the Jones saga, and you have all the ingredients needed for a fraught end to the campaign. The importance of Monday’s home game with Stoke hardly needs reinforcing after an 11th successive Premier League away game without a win.

Given the events of the last week, the make up of Bruce’s starting XI was always going to attract as much interest as the outcome of last night’s game, and Jones’ demotion to the bench will be interpreted in some quarters as further proof of the Sunderland manager’s willingness to sell the Trinidadian.

The situation is less clear cut, but if Jones’ head has been turned this month, it is unlikely to have been cleared by an enforced return to the substitutes’ bench.

And quite what the Trinidadian made of the Sunderland fans joining in a chorus of ‘Rafa, sign him up’ after he shanked a shot wide in the second half is anybody’s guess.

Bruce clearly has a difficult decision to make before Monday.

His other key choice last night was to field a remodelled back four, with Matt Kilgallon making his debut alongside Nyron Nosworthy, and John Mensah returning from injury at right-back.

It hardly looked the most secure defensive unit on paper and, predictably enough, it took just seven minutes to prove every bit as porous on the pitch.

Marouane Fellaini lobbed an innocuous-looking ball into the box, but Nosworthy somehow misjudged its flight and failed to win his header.

That enabled Cahill to glance a back-header of his own, and the Australian diverted the ball beyond Craig Gordon and into the net.

After bemoaning the concession of a brace of sloppy goals at the weekend, Bruce must have been tearing his hair out at the reappearance of his side’s defensive frailties at such an early stage of proceedings.

His mood will hardly have improved as the evening wore on, as Sunderland’s failure to get tight enough to Everton’s midfielders cost them time and time again.

Nosworthy was pulled here, there and everywhere as Cahill, Donovan and Leon Osman changed positions at will, and neither Cattermole nor Lorik Cana proved able to prevent Fellaini from prompting a series of attacks from the base of Everton’s midfield.

A second goal looked inevitable almost as soon as the hosts had scored their first, and it duly arrived in the simplest of fashions in the 19th minute. Cahill was barely challenged as he chested a long ball from defence into Donovan’s path, and the American calmly stroked a 20- yard shot into the corner.

Osman came close to claiming a third goal while Sunderland’s attacking was all but non-existent, with Bent ploughing his now-traditional lone furrow and suffering from a chronic lack of support despite the unplanned introduction of Jones.

The visitors’ only real chance of note came in firsthalf stoppage time, with an under-pressure Jones stabbing over from close range.

Bolo Zenden forced Tim Howard into a smart save with three minutes left, but Everton were then denied by two excellent pieces of defending.

George McCartney’s goalline clearance prevented Donovan from scoring after he had taken Cahill’s through ball and waltzed around Gordon, while Mensah produced an excellent sliding challenge to dispossess Louis Saha just as the striker was poised to pull the trigger.

Match facts

Goals: Cahill (7mins, 1-0), Donovan (19, 2-0)

Bookings: Zenden (48mins, foul)

Referee: Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent) 7

Attendance: 32,163

Entertainment: ✰✰✰

EVERTON (4-5-1): Howard 6; Neville 6, Distin 7, Heitinga 6, Baines 6; Donovan 8 (Arteta 75), CAHILL 8, Fellaini 7, Osman 7, Pienaar 6 (Anichebe 90); Saha 6 (Vaughan 77).

Subs (not used): Nash (gk), Senderos, Coleman, Bilyaletdinov.

SUNDERLAND (4-4-1-1): Gordon 5; Mensah 4, Nosworthy 4 (Da Silva 59, 5), Kilgallon 5, McCartney 4; Henderson 5, Cana 4, Cattermole 5 (Reid 46, 5), ZENDEN 6; Richardson 4 (Jones 25, 4); Bent 5. Subs (not used): Fulop (gk), Meyler, Malbranque, Campbell.

MAN OF THE MATCH

TIM Cahill – the Australian was back to his best as he scored one and set up the other.