EVEN after an atrocious first half that left Sunderland defeated and deflated, there was one man still being singled out for praise as he left the pitch.

Jermain Defoe, on the 500th league appearance of his career, had done it again; he had found the net.

As Defoe departed, after the latest loss during the latest sorry season for Sunderland in the Premier League, the few home supporters who had stayed around could still be heard applauding the 34-year-old and singing his name as he headed for the tunnel.

Only Seb Larsson, another to have at least provided some heart wearing red and white against Stoke City, was left to hear the ripples of applause. The two of them are going to be vital to the Black Cats in the remaining months of the campaign.

Defoe laid his bed in the summer by signing a new deal so should do everything he can to stay faithful to the club. Yet you do wonder what was going through his head as he trudged out of sight.

He had struck his 12th goal of the season; without them Sunderland would be completely adrift at the foot of the Premier League. Defoe has given fans at least a semblance of hope of catching the teams above them, even if the manner of the defeat to Stoke suggested otherwise.

Saturday was as bad as it has been. There was the horrific defensive collapse at Burnley on New Year’s Eve, but the woeful nature of the opening 35 minutes in front of the home fans at the Stadium of Light will take some beating.

There were a string of misplaced passes, half-hearted challenges and poor marking … not to mention dreadful goalkeeping which Stoke’s attacking triumvirate of Peter Crouch, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri didn’t need a second invitation to exploit.

Jack Rodwell, one of Sunderland’s better performers on the day, said: “Two wins and you are almost up to 14th but we have to get them, there’s no point us keep on saying it, we have to do it and this was a good chance to get the points.”

Stoke are hardly Champions League material, but do boast players capable of shining at that level in Arnautovic and Shaqiri. With the exception of, arguably, Defoe, Sunderland do not.

While Stoke’s main attacking talents light up the Premier League, Mark Hughes can turn to the likes of Glenn Whelan, Charlie Adam and Joe Allen to do the dirty work behind them; and that’s before mentioning the defenders.

That is why Stoke have climbed away from the trouble they found themselves in at the start of the campaign, while Moyes has been unable to lift the gloom on Wearside. There was a distinct lack of leadership and fighting spirit on the pitch.

Sunderland fans might be demanding action from owner Ellis Short during this month’s transfer window, yet even the players seem to have accepted nothing much will change on that front.

Rodwell said: “Last year’s January window was good for us. If anything in this one we have lost players because of the Africa Cup of Nations. You can’t dwell on that. We have to go out and play as the 11 he puts out. We have to fight in adversity. Whatever happens in the window is out of our hands.”

It is safe to say that a repeat of the Stoke shocker will lead to nothing but disappointment. Moyes claimed it was three mistakes that cost Sunderland, it was far worse than that.

There were far more errors made than for the three goals. The opener stemmed from Shaqiri’s glorious diagonal pass over the head of Donald Love, where Arnautovic cleverly brought it under control before beating Mannone at his near post at the second attempt after quarter of an hour.

Seven minutes later Arnautovic scored a brilliant second in the same corner after he had opened up the home defence by playing a couple of clever one-twos with Shaqiri and Peter Crouch.

The third goal arrived in the 34th minute when Crouch headed his 99th Premier League goal into an empty net from Charlie Adam’s cross when Mannone – who had almost fumbled a hopeful Shaqiri effort into his own net seconds earlier – dawdled and got lost as he came to meet it.

Rodwell said: “It’s a terrible result. Suddenly you are three down on the scoreboard and it is hard from there, it is a battle. Mentally when you are three down, where do you go from there? We stuck in and fought until the end and that’s all we can say.”

Defoe did pull one back five minutes before half-time when Love’s long ball sent him clear, while Sunderland looked better after the restart – arguably because they couldn’t play much worse and Stoke slowed things down.

Either way Sunderland suffered defeat in a home date they had eyed up for a result ahead of a tricky run of fixtures, which will see Tottenham, Southampton and Manchester City head to Wearside for the home games.

Rodwell admitted: “We looked at the matches coming up and we knew this was the one at home. We have to keep going.”