If Paul Jewell is the man with the Midas touch, it seemed to desert him yesterday. He looked set to escape with a point from his first match as manager of Derby County until his team succumbed in stoppage-time to a winner by Anthony Stokes. The long, hard road that lay ahead of him when he agreed to end his exile from the game just got longer and harder.

The league’s bottom club were on the back foot for most of the second half, but looked set to win a rare point at the Stadium of Light, when Stokes popped up to score another of the late goals that are becoming Sunderland’s stock in trade. When Stephen Bywater parried a header by Kenwyne Jones, the substitute forced the goalkeeper into another point-blank save before turning the loose ball in with an overhead kick. Sunderland have now secured nine of their 13 points this season with goals in the last five minutes of play.

Not that Sunderland should be carried away. Their manager, Roy Keane, who dropped his £9m goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, said his team needed to start winning ugly and there was nothing pretty about this. They were no better than Derby in the first half, and had only possession in the second until Stokes arrived.

Gordon was a surprising scapegoat for Sunderland’s 7-1 defeat by Everton. While the Scot has not covered himself in glory since joining the club from Hearts last summer, neither has he been offered much protection by the defenders in front of him. His replacement, Darren Ward, was reminded of that late in the first half when a mistake by Danny Higginbotham allowed Kenny Miller a scoring chance. The goalkeeper did well to touch a rasping volley on to the right-hand post. A few minutes later, Ward dropped a cross on the edge of the six-yard area, and had Dean Whitehead to thank for clearing Steve Howard’s shot off the line.

All of which must have been gratifying for Jewell on the touchline. After a six-month rest, he needed no time to reacquaint himself with the technical area, barking instructions as though he had never been away. Derby’s approach to the challenge was lively enough. They were combative in the tackle, willing to throw men forward, and despite a swirling wind on Wearside, quick and smart with their passing. Scott Oakley almost gave them the lead with a shot that drifted narrowly high and wide, and it wasn’t long before Jewell was answering the obligatory call for a wave from the travelling support.

Sunderland, though, were not without menace, thanks mainly to the home home debut of Andy Cole. Now 36, the former Manchester United striker linked up well with Jones and almost scored before the interval, first when he scooped a half-chance on to the roof of the net and then when he looped an optimistic header wide. Jones, though, is the best of Keane’s summer signings, and was expected to do better when an easy chance presented itself on the stroke of half-time. When Bywater spilled Grant Leadbitter’s shot, the big striker strode on to the loose ball and lashed it against the post.

Jewell, who had worn only a suit in the first half, opted for an overcoat in the second, but out on the pitch temperatures were rising. Jay McEveley’s tackle on Whitehead was bad enough for the home support, but when referee Mark Halsey decided not to produce his yellow card, the defender bore the brunt of their abuse. When the same player then clattered Carlos Edwards, the booking prompted a sarcastic roar.

After each offence, Ross Wallace curled his free kick into the six-yard box, and each time, it prompted a panicky punch from Bywater. The balance, slowly but unmistakeably, was swinging towards Sunderland.

When Cole made way for Michael Chopra midway through the second half, there was an unfortunate product of the substitution. Just three minutes after Chopra had taken to the field, there was a bizarre Sunderland attack that reflected a growing anxiety to capitalise on their possession. Edwards, Leadbitter and finally Whitehead all had goalbound shots blocked in the box, the last of them by the luckless substitute. Soon, Anthony Stokes was on for Edwards, which meant the home side had three strikers on the pitch.

The goal, when it did arrive, was more or less their first major chance of a second half they had dominated. However deserved, it was cruel on Jewell.

Match stats

Star man: Dean Whitehead (Sunderland)

Player ratings:

Sunderland: Ward 7, Halford 6, McShane 6, Higginbotham 5, Collins 6, Edwards 6 (Stokes 74min), Whitehead 7, Leadbitter 7 (Miller 84min), Wallace, 6, Jones 7, Cole 6 (Chopra 64min, 5)
Derby: Bywater 5, Griffin 6, Davis 6, Moore 6, McEveley 6, Barnes 6 (Fagan 70min), Oakley 7, Pearson 6, Teale 6 (Leacock 84min), Howard 7, Miller 6 (Earnshaw 86min)