STRUGGLING Sunderland can have no complaints about a third consecutive away defeat which does not augur well for the season ahead.

The gulf between the sides - but certainly not the fans - was huge at Old Trafford and while Peter Reid's men briefly threatened to pinch a point they might easily have been put to the sword.

Reid knows that he now has his work cut out to get his new-look team back on the rails as the alarm bells ring louder than ever at the start of a new campaign which started with supporters expecting great things.

Instead they have so far been served up a diet of disappointment and this performance, apart from the usual degree of whole-hearted effort, hardly served to instil any new confidence in a team which has started to scratch around for chances.

Against Manchester United Sunderland were totally outplayed in a blistering first half hour when they were on the rack against a rampant Manchester United side which should have had far more than one goal to show for their undoubted superiority.

The fact that they were able to battle their way back into contention, backed by a vociferous following which refused to give up hope of a miracle, was due more to United taking their foot off the pedal and wasting great chances more than any marked improvement in their own play.

The star-studded home side pinged the ball about with meticulous accuracy and wingers David Beckham and Ryan Giggs tormented their opponents, engineering a series of golden opportunities for strikers Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham.

Sunderland were fortunate to ride out the storm, conceding only a 14th minute goal by the quicksilver Paul Scholes, though the England man went on to rattle the upright with a cracking shot just before the half hour.

Scholes - watched by England coach Kevin Keegan - was a constant threat, making chances for England team-mates Nicky Butt and Cole, and the over-worked Sunderland defence looked shell-shocked and they faced wave after wave of penetrating thrusts which promised goals galore.

But the barrage sudedenly subsided and the impetus seemed to drain out of the defending Premiership champions.

Sunderland gradually found their feet, though never too impressively, and it took a scare to shake United out of an uncharacteristic complacency which angered their manager, Alex Ferguson.

The 3,000 Sunderland fans, who taunted and, for long periods, out-shouted the home supporters in the huge crowd of 67,503, rose as one in the 75th minute when they thought their favourites had snatched an equaliser.

Scottish international Don Hutchison had the ball taken off his toes as he tried to juggle his way into a shooting position near the penalty spot and from the corner central defender Emerson Thome powered in a header which French World Cup winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez managed to claw away, despite being distracted by the challenging Niall Quinn.

The shock sparked a furious reaction from Manchester United, who went straight upfield to score, Cole slipping the ball through for Sheringham to fire home from close range.

The goal seemed to take the wind out of Sunderland's sails and they found themselves having to go on the defensive again, with Thome and Jody Craddock again bearing the brunt of United's formidable aggression.

Scholes claimed his second goal with a tremendous right-foot shot from the edge of the box in the 82nd minute and was only inches away from a hat-trick in the last minute when his lob over the head of the advancing goalkeeper Jurgen Macho bounced inches wide. Sunderland, in contrast, struggled up front and ace striker Kevin Phillips, looking only a shadow of the marksman who fired home 30 goals last season, did little to impress the watching Keegan.

Quinn tried hard to separate himself from the grip of Norwegian defender Ronny Johnsen, who had a superb game, but he, too suffered from a disappointing lack of support from an unimaginative and generally ineffective midfield.