GRABBED WHERE IT HURTS
Sunderland 0 Aston Villa 3 LEWIS GRABBAN returned to haunt League One-bound Sunderland.
The striker scored 12 goals for the Black Cats, before walking out on his loan move from Bournemouth in January.
Grabban will remain top scorer at the Stadium of Light this season, but dealt the club’s hopes of avoiding the drop a huge blow.
He struck for the third game in a row, after 32 minutes, heading home Albert Adomah’s cross, to keep Steve Bruce’s hopes of automatic promotion alive.
Sunderland have one win in 12 games this year. They have not won in eight attempts, losing five, and look doomed.
For the opener, Lamine Kone had given the ball away cheaply, and John O’Shea and Billy Jones failed to head clear.
The hosts’ shambolic defending of crosses was exposed again in first-half stoppage time.
Keeper Jason Steele failed to go for a Robert Snodgrass corner, and James Chester outjumped Kone to make it two.
Bruce is one of only two managers to achieve a top-10, top-flight finish at Sunderland in 60 years, but was driven out during a relegation struggle seven years ago.
Those Premier League days are a distant dream now, as boss Chris Coleman fights relegation. Villa made it a convincing win with the third on 68 minutes.
Ex-Black Cats kid Conor Hourihane fired into the danger area and Bryan Oviedo poked home an own goal.
Sunderland’s only bright spark was Liverpool loanee Ovie Ejaria, who impressed in midfield, but looks raw. Sub Josh Maja did his best to lift the attack late on.
Villa are flying with nine wins in 11 games, not bad for a “fat Geordie b ***** d”, as Cats fans dubbed Bruce at the end of his reign.
They are seven points behind leaders Wolves, who they host on Saturday.
There appears to be only misery ahead for Sunderland and Coleman, who has had little impact since taking over in November.