In a match which saw Everton promote a testicular cancer awareness charity, it was only apt that Sunderland turned in a performance that was a load of balls.

Dean Whitehead made his return to the Sunderland side, replacing the injured Nyron Nosworthy at right back. Also making his return was Dwight Yorke, replacing Ross Wallace as Grant Leadbitter moved to an unfamiliar left wing role, as our subs bench saw Andy Cole's name on it for the first time since his free transfer to the club earlier this season. That side may look slightly mis-shapen, with the best players being picked for the side, rather than the best players in each position... and you would be right.

Sunderland started fairly well, with Ian Harte's early free kick hitting the wall after a foul on Kenwyne Jones, before Everton took the lead on 12 minutes when a long goal kick down from Tim Howard bounced into the bath of Yakubu, who somehow managed to fire the ball into the turf, with the bounce bamboozling Craig Gordon as the ball went into the back of the net.

Shell-shocked by that, Sunderland fell further behind five minutes later when Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville combined for Neville's cross to find Tim Cahill, who himself had no problems hitting the back of the net as we were at sixes and sevens. We did have a few throws forward, with another Harte free kick coming to nothing, while another set piece from Arteta almost resulted in a goal on the half hour mark when Leon Osman headed wide.

Our rare attacks often broke down, with Michael Chopra missing an unmarked Carlos Edwards in the box, but things got worse just before the break when Steven Pienaar played a one-two with Nuno Valente as our back line just watched the on-loan Borussia Dortmund midfielder Pienaar find the back of the net. The deficit was reduced on the stroke of half time though, when Grant Leadbitter's cross was pushed away into the path of Carlos Edwards, with the rebound from that eventually being turned in by Dwight Yorke for his first goal of the season.

Dwight Yorke and Dickson Etuhu went off at half time, with Danny Collins coming into the back line as Dean Whitehead returned to midfield, while Ross Wallace replaced Etuhu to go on the left wing. We did apply a little pressure to the Toffees, but it didn't result in much as Paul McShane headed a Whitehead free kick wide, before Wallace fired over the bar from 25 yards out.

Everton extended their lead on the hour mark when another long ball forward was missed by McShane, allowing Tim Cahill through on goal again, with the Australian this time rounding Craig Gordon to slot the ball home to restore the hosts' three-goal lead. With the game almost beyond our reach, Michael Chopra missed a good shout to drag us back into things, only to miss an open goal from four yards out, as we brought on Andy Cole (eventually) for his debut, replacing the misfiring Chopra.

The move didn't pay off though, and we fell further behind on 73 minutes when Yakubu fired a low shot past Gordon from inside the area as Sunderland became an embarrassment - something further highlighted seven minutes later when substitute Andy Johnson made it 6-1 to Everton, slotting home after another long ball from Neville. Just moments later, Andy Cole saw a shot blocked by Neville at the other end, as things worsened with five minutes left with Leon Osman made it seven, converting yet another long ball (this one from Phil Jagielka), before Dean Whitehead appeared to limp off with an injury.

McShane rounded off a bad afternoon with a yellow card for hacking down Pienaar as Cole's futile attempts to get us back into the game were blocked. The game finished 7-1: is it time to start panicking?

Sunderland: Gordon, Whitehead, McShane, Higginbotham, Harte, Edwards, Etuhu (sub 46, Wallace), Yorke (sub 46, Collins), Leadbitter, Chopra (sub 66, Cole), Jones. Subs: Ward, O'Donovan.

Everton: Howard, Neville, Yobo (sub 80, Jagielka), Lescott, Valente, Arteta, Carsley, Osman, Pienaar, Cahill (sub 74, Anichebe), Yakubu (sub 74, Johnson). Subs: Wessels, Gravesen.