Bent's hat-trick sinks Bolton
Darren Bent (l) scored a hat-trick for Sunderland against Bolton Photo: Getty Images
Wednesday March 10 2010
Darren Bent chose the perfect moment to score his first hat-trick for Sunderland, with owner Ellis Short in town to check on his investment.
The £10m striker lifted the pressure on the Black Cats and manager Steve Bruce with a well-taken treble, which helped lift the club six points clear of the relegation zone and into 13th place in the league.
Fraizer Campbell set the ball rolling after just 41 seconds with his first league goal for the club, but Bent took over after the break as he extended his personal tally for the season to 19, to the delight of a crowd of 36,087.
He struck after 64 minutes, from the penalty spot after, 74 minutes following defender Sam Ricketts' dismissal for a second bookable offence, and then again two minutes from time -- and that for a team which had previously scored just two goals in six games.
Bruce sent his side out determined to give Short something to shout about after chatting briefly with the Texan before kick-off, and he could hardly have been more pleased with their performance -- particularly that of red-hot striker, Bent.
Irish Independent
