Sunderland 2-2 Birmingham: Daily Mirror match report

Darren Bent could have sulked and returned to Sunderland a demoralised player.

But he has used his World Cup heartbreak as a spur – and against Birmingham on Saturday picked up where he left off last season.

Seventy four days after being left out of the England squad, Bent returned to action and did what he does best – put the ball in the back of the net.

His goal may only have been a penalty, but it still strengthened his bid to prove the doubters wrong.

“After missing out on the World Cup I was desperate to come back and start playing again,” he said. “It was an added incentive for me to go on and show I should have been there.

“It’s always nice to score in the first game of the season. You always feel better when you get that first goal. That’s out of the way so I can look to my next target now.”

The big problem for Bent at Sunderland is that his goalscoring prowess is being undermined by a streak of indiscipline at the club.

Sunderland set a Premier League record for red cards last season, nine in total.

And on Saturday newly-appointed club captain Lee Cattermole picked up the fourth dismissal of his career when the Black Cats were 1-0 up an in control.

First he kicked the ball away, then he clattered Lee Bowyer from behind. Cattermole has also amassed 43 career bookings. Who needs a skipper who is always walking a tightrope?

Bent said: “The gaffer talked to us in the week about red cards and silly tackles. Catts was unfortunate to get sent off but it’s something we need to stamp out. We were 1-0 up and cruising. We got 2-0 up, but with 10 men it was only going to get harder.

“If it’s a tackle then you can take it, but when you kick the ball away you are asking for trouble.

“When we go a goal up we need to hold on to it. We dropped too many points last season by failing to do that. The team played really well and this feels like a kick in the teeth.

“What is most disappointing is that before the game the gaffer was stressing how dangerous Birmingham are at set-pieces. He said not to give any free-kicks away yet two set-pieces were our undoing.”

Bent was awarded a penalty after Stephen Carr was ruled to have fouled Fraizer Campbell by rookie ref Anthony Taylor – even though replays showed the challenge was just outside the box. Then Carr headed an own goal from Jordan Henderson’s punt forward.

But Alex McLeish’s men fought back. Scott Dann headed in late on through Simon Mignolet’s legs from a set-piece and Liam Ridgewell bundled an equaliser from a free-kick.

Dann said: “Last season even though we had a good campaign we didn’t score too many goals so it augurs well that we can come from 2-0 down at a place like this.

“Goals were something we lacked last year and we are looking to improve our tally this season.”

And the Blues centre-half reckons new signing Nikola Zigic, the 6ft 8in striker, will help them do just that.

“Zigic is going to be a real handful,” he said.

“He is a big lad and will be a great asset for us. I don’t think he is match-fit yet but he showed glimpses of what he can do. Hopefully he can give the attack a bit more bite in the months ahead.

“Not only will he get his share of goals he will get a few assists as well.”