Blackburn continued their march towards Europe at the expense of doomed Sunderland with a narrow victory at the Stadium of Light.

Steven Reid's 15th-minute strike after he had run unchecked from halfway was enough to claim all three points, although the scoreline never really reflected the comfort with which Mark Hughes' side clinched their win.

The Black Cats, without a home victory in the league in 16 attempts this season, battled but simply lacked the quality to hurt their opponents, with former Rovers striker Jon Stead now having gone 29 matches for his current club without a goal.

Blackburn never really had to get out of second gear to contain their hosts in front of a crowd of 29,593, many of whom seemed ready to answer a fresh call to arms to protest against chairman Bob Murray and his Board.

Murray reiterated his willingness during the week to hand over control of the club if a buyer can be found but the investors are far from queuing up.

The writing has been on the wall for Sunderland for so long it is starting to fade, and there is a school of thought on Wearside that a merciful release sooner rather than later would be best for all concerned.

Kevin Ball, Mick McCarthy's temporary replacement, made four changes to the team which lost 2-0 at Bolton last week.

They emerged with a positive attitude - forcing three early corners in quick succession - and the home fans sensed winning a home match in the top flight might not be such a forlorn dream after all.

However, it was a comfort they were able to enjoy for only a few moments before the inadequacies were once again exposed in the cruellest of fashions.

Ryan Nelsen's astute pass found the impressive Reid on halfway and the Republic of Ireland midfielder set off towards goal with some intent but plenty still to do.

Or at least he would have had anyone in a red and white shirt attempted to stop him before he reached the edge of the penalty area and blasted a shot past the helpless Kelvin Davis.

In an instant, what confidence had been coursing through Sunderland's veins drained away as Rovers assumed control, with former Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy starting to bring his influence to bear.

The home side, however, did not fold, and might have had a penalty when Reid clashed with Rory Delap in a 39th-minute aerial challenge.

But it was not until three minutes into first-half injury time Brad Friedel was called upon to make a save when he dived full-length to keep out a Delap header.

Sunderland emerged for the second half with renewed intent but again left themselves too open at the back at times.

Bellamy might have punished them after 51 minutes when he slipped away from fellow Wales international Danny Collins but dragged his shot wide.

The home side should have been back on level terms within seconds as they were handed a rare slice of good fortune when a ricochet off a defender left striker Chris Brown through on goal but Friedel advanced and the youngster could not find a way past him.

It took an angry exchange between Bellamy and Davis after 64 minutes to ignite the crowd once again, although a rash of substitutes - four in two minutes - soon put an end to that.

Bellamy was replaced by Shefki Kuqi after 70 minutes but Rovers were almost in complete control as the first chants of "Sack the Board" echoed around the stadium.

The grew in volume with an announcement shortly afterwards that the Murray Gates, the scene of protests against the chairman after the defeat by Wigan earlier this month, would be closed off after the game.

Substitute Liam Lawrence forced a smart save from Friedel with six minutes remaining and there were more calls for a penalty in injury-time when the ball appeared to hit Lucas Neill's arm as he tried to clear Kevin Kyle's knock-down, but it was all to no avail.

Teams:

Sunderland Davis, Hoyte, Caldwell (Breen 64), Collins,McCartney, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Delap (Lawrence 73), Arca,Brown, Stead (Kyle 66).

Subs Not Used: Alnwick, Daryl Murphy.

Booked: Leadbitter, Hoyte, Whitehead, Arca.

Blackburn Friedel, Neill, Nelsen, Khizanishvili, Gray,Emerton (Bentley 64), Tugay (Mokoena 64), Reid, Pedersen,Bellamy (Kuqi 70), Dickov.

Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Todd.

Booked: Gray.

Goals: Reid 15.

Att: 29,593

Ref: P Walton (Northamptonshire).