Jason McAteer chose the perfect moment to open his Sunderland goal account to clinch a precious victory over former club Bolton.

McAteer thumped Kevin Phillips' 42nd-minute pass beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen to secure a first victory at the Stadium of Light in 2002 for the Wearsiders and ease the pressure on manager Peter Reid.

Sunderland were reasonable value for the three points - and the double over Wanderers - in the end.

But keeper Thomas Sorensen had to save twice from Rod Wallace - the second just four minutes from time - and once each from Michael Ricketts and Gudni Bergsson to preserve his clean sheet.

Defeat left Bolton firmly in the dogfight at the bottom of the FA Barclaycard Premiership table, but the Black Cats were able to breathe that little bit more easily after safely negotiating a game they simply had to win.

After losing their last two games at the Stadium of Light to Middlesbrough and Newcastle, Reid's injury-plagued side ran out knowing that a third successive defeat would plunge them deep into relegation trouble.

Bolton had been contemplating just that situation for some time, and they too were in little doubt as to their predicament.

But on a night when a sticky pitch and a howling gale made pretty football something of a luxury, both at least tried, and at times, succeeded in raising the expectations of a tense crowd.

Indeed, Sunderland could have been two up inside six minutes, with Phillips seeing a first-minute header fall just wide with Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen out of position and then sending a less difficult effort high over the bar after Darren Williams had floated the ball behind the Wanderers defence.

With skipper Michael Gray again promoted to a midfield role, this time on the right, the Wearsiders tried to get the ball wide at every opportunity, and they sliced the visitors apart once again with 14 minutes gone.

This time it was Phillips, back on halfway, who started a slick one-touch move which saw Stefan Schwarz and Patrick Mboma combine to put McAteer in on goal, but good blocks from first Bruno N'Gotty and then Bergsson kept him out.

Bolton finally managed to get a foothold in the game as experienced duo Youri Djorkaeff and Stig Tofting brought their influence to bear.

Sorensen had to come from his line to block a 28th-minute Ricketts effort after Wallace had latched on to a Djorkaeff shot, and he was left exposed once again four minutes later.

Paul Warhurst robbed Phillips on halfway and slid a fine ball inside full-back George McCartney for Wallace to race in on goal, but he could not beat the keeper.

Jaaskelainen saved from McAteer seconds later after he collected Schwarz's pass and cut inside Mike Whitlow, but the home side finally got their noses in front three minutes before the break.

Kevin Kilbane's cross fell to Phillips on the right edge of the penalty area, but instead of shooting, he cut the ball inside for McAteer to take a controlling touch and then fire low past the keeper.

With so much at stake, there was little likelihood of an open second half as the home side closed up shop.

Indeed, neither keeper was called upon to make a genuine save until the dying minutes of the game as defences dominated and what service there had been to the front men dried up.

The Wearsiders became increasingly edgy as they struggled to make any headway going forward, although with Williams and Jody Craddock giving nothing away at the back, they were rarely in any danger of losing their narrow lead.

Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce threw on Anthony Barness, Dean Holdsworth and French loan signing Mario Espartero at varying stages, but with Djorkaeff and Tofting seeing too little of the ball to do any real damage, there was not much for the travelling supporters to cheer.

Tofting scuffed a 55th-minute volley wide of Sorensen's right post and Nicky Southall blasted a shot high over the bar 16 minutes later, but it was a Wallace header 12 minutes from time which dropped on to the roof of the net, which represented their best chance of an equaliser.

The Black Cats went little closer, full-back George McCartney firing high over on 70 minutes after cutting in from the left.

And the home fans were panicking nine minutes from time when Sorensen made a hash of collecting a deep Southall free-kick, but escaped unpunished.

Phillips had an 89th-minute header chalked off for offside, but Bergsson forced an injury time save from Sorensen with a downward header and then powered the resulting corner over to keep a crowd of 43,011 on its toes until the bitter end.

Teams

Sunderland: Sorensen, Haas, Craddock, Williams, McCartney, Kilbane, McAteer, Schwarz, Gray, Mboma (Quinn 90), Phillips.

Subs Not Used: Macho, Varga, Bellion, Butler.

Booked: McCartney, Phillips.

Goals: McAteer 42.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, N'Gotty, Bergsson, Whitlow (Barness 45), Southall, Tofting, Warhurst (Espartero 68), Gardner, Djorkaeff, Ricketts (Holdsworth 57), Wallace.

Subs Not Used: Poole, Nolan.

Booked: Ricketts.

Att: 43,011

Ref: G Poll (Tring).