Sunderland 6 Exeter City 3

JUST when you thought things couldn’t get any crazier at Sunderland, they decide to serve up a game like this. Goals galore, disastrous defending and chances aplenty at both ends of the field – and that was just the opening 20 minutes.

This wasn’t a performance to suggest the Black Cats are any closer to ironing out the problems that have besmirched the opening month of the season, but at least by scoring six goals they have booked a place in the League Cup third round and hinted at an attacking renaissance.

The less said about events at the other end of the field the better, but Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick confirmed the former England international’s effectiveness when given time and space in the penalty area – perhaps one of his new PA’s first tasks will be finding a home for the match ball – while Jack Rodwell’s double should boost the midfielder’s morale. Duncan Watmore, who scored Sunderland’s fifth, provided another eye-catching cameo that should propel him even closer to a maiden senior start.

Unpredictability reigned throughout, yet in one sense, last night’s game followed a familiar pattern. Sunderland’s defending was absolutely desperate, and for all that Dick Advocaat continues to urge Ellis Short to splash out on attacking players in the remaining week of the transfer window, it is surely defensive reinforcements that should be the priority if money is available.

The Black Cats have now conceded 11 goals in their opening four matches, and given that three of those came against League Two opposition tonight, it is safe to say that things are hardly as they should be in the back four. That the latest collapses came when Sunderland were in a position of strength makes them even more unforgivable.

With Advocaat having stuck with nine of the players that started last weekend’s draw with Swansea, the Black Cats looked to have put the game to bed in the opening 15 minutes.

Defoe had a hand in the first goal, releasing Patrick van Aanholt on an overlapping run down the left that saw him cut the ball back into Danny Graham’s path. The striker’s shot was blocked, but Rodwell was following up to drive home the rebound from 12 yards.

Three minutes later, and Defoe was celebrating a goal of his own as he plucked Rodwell’s floated through ball out of the air to enable him to round goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik and slot home.

So far, so good. But this being Sunderland, things were never going to remain that comfortable for long.

Sure enough, just four minutes after claiming a two-goal lead, the Black Cats effectively wrote off half of their advantage. Sebastian Coates has suffered an error-strewn start to the season, and he was at fault again as his ball-watching enabled Emmanuel Oyeleke to cruise beyond him in the left-hand side of the penalty area and convert Danny Butterfield’s floated pass.

In Coates’ defence, he is hardly the only Sunderland defender to have struggled in the opening weeks of the campaign, and having been dropped for the opening two matches, John O’Shea’s miserable start to the season continued as he switched off to enable David Wheeler to claim an Exeter equaliser.

Lee Holmes swung over an inviting cross from the left, and with O’Shea failing to get off the ground, Wheeler leapt between the centre-half and van Aanholt to head home.

The entire first half was a frantic, unstructured affair, but for all that Sunderland were wretched at the back, they threatened to score whenever they entered the Exeter box, and reclaimed their lead six minutes before the break.

Defoe was the decisive factor once again, with his speed of thought enabling him to receive Lee Cattermole’s through ball before wriggling inside two defenders to drill home.

Yet again, though, the lead proved short-lived. Holmes crossed from the left, Wheeler peeled away at the back post to cushion down a header, and Tom McCready gleefully converted from close range. In a game of remarkable unpredictability, Sunderland’s inability to defend crosses remained constant.

It was apparent again eight minutes after the interval, with Holmes beating Adam Matthews to Aaron Davies’ cross, only for his diving header to fly narrowly over the crossbar.

Steven Fletcher had been and gone at that stage, with the Scotsman introduced as a half-time substitute, only to collide with an Exeter defender and find himself unable to continue as he in turn was replaced by Watmore.

Matthews also suffered an injury, but Sunderland re-established their advantage when Rodwell’s aerial prowess enabled him to claim his second goal of the night.

Seb Larsson swung over a corner from the left, and with Exeter’s back four proving they were capable of being every bit as ineffective as Sunderland’s, Rodwell headed home.

Watmore made it 5-3 when he prodded O’Shea’s long ball past Olejnik before rolling into an empty net, and Defoe completed the scoring as he claimed his hat-trick with three minutes remaining. Larsson crossed from the right, and Defoe stole ahead of his marker to convert.