Sunderland 3-3 Bolton Wanderers

  • Published
Simon GraysonImage source, Rex Features
Image caption,

Simon Grayson leaves Sunderland 22nd in the Championship after 15 games

Paddy McNair rescued a draw for Sunderland against fellow strugglers Bolton, in what proved to be Simon Grayson's final match as manager.

The Black Cats announced they had "parted company" with Grayson 17 minutes after the final whistle.

Sammy Ameobi put Bolton ahead from long range but Lewis Grabban netted twice to give Sunderland the lead.

Gary Madine poked in to make it 2-2 and Karl Henry volleyed Bolton in front, before McNair levelled with a low shot.

That equaliser kept Sunderland off the bottom of the table but their failure to win meant they equalled a English record of 19 home games without a win in all competitions - and left them two points from safety - while Bolton remain bottom of the Championship.

Ameobi opened the scoring as Sunderland went behind in a league game at the Stadium of Light for the 58th time since December 2011.

In a topsy-turvy match, on-loan Bournemouth striker Grabban upped his goal tally to eight from only 12 appearances for the north-east side, but the division's most porous defence let them down once again.

A change in goal for the game, which saw Robbin Ruiter replace Jason Steele, did not change their fortunes and they still await a first league victory since 13 August.

McNair's first career league goal, in only his second appearance after 11 months out, prevented another defeat but Sunderland must now find a new manager to turn around their awful form.

Bolton manager Phil Parkinson: "I feel for Simon. He is a tremendous manager, with a great record. Any manager who came here would find it a tough challenge.

"I had to turn Bolton round from a relegated team. Changing that mentality after relegation is difficult, but he will be back because there will be a lot of people interested in him.

"I shook hands as you normally do. You normally go for a drink in the office. I will probably just get on the coach and give him a call later in the week."

Sorry, we can't display this part of the article any more.

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.