There were boos from first whistle to last at the Stadium of Light. Stoke boss Alex Neil - formerly of this parish - was greeted by a cacophony of boos on his return to Wearside; bumbling referee Jeremy Simpson trudged off at half-time with boos ringing in his ears after a rookie error; and those Sunderland fans that stuck it out until the final whistle booed their side off after watching the team collapse like a pack of cards in the second half.
Yes, it was a day when boos reigned supreme. Neil was supposed to be the pantomime villain, last season's promotion-winning Wembley hero-leader turned target of the fans' ire after he left Sunderland to take over at Stoke back in August.
Yet by the end, as Neil was the last man to leave the field, the boos hurled in his direction as a parting shot were pretty half-hearted. Sunderland fans had bigger things to worry about.
