SAINTS saw their unbeaten start to the Championship season emphatically ended by a 5-0 defeat to Sunderland on Saturday.

The Black Cats raced into a two-goal lead inside seven minutes thanks to early strikes from Jack Clarke and Pierre Ekwah.

Further goals on either side of half time from Ekwah and Bradley Dack put the game out of Saints' reach just after the break.

Chris Rigg, just 16 years old, headed home in added time of his league debut to round off a comfortable win for Tony Mowbray's side.

Russell Martin made four changes to his starting XI against QPR with Mason Holgate making his debut, while Flynn Downes got his first start after coming on last weekend.

Will Smallbone also returned to the side after recovering from injury – Sekou Mara rounded out the changes, despite being linked with several deadline-day moves.

Any hope of a quick Saints start on Wearside was dashed as a poor corner allowed Sunderland to take the lead through Clarke on 54 seconds.

The winger, who was the subject of deadline-day interest from Burnley, was free in the box to head home and cap off an incisive counter-attack.

Southampton’s disastrous start soon got worse as Sunderland quickly made it 2-0. Ekwah’s long-distance strike took a slight deflection off Downes on its way past Bazunu.

Abdoullah Ba wasted a fine chance to put the game to bed inside 12 minutes before Saints managed to wrestle control of the game.

Smallbone and Sam Edozie flashed wide from distance after Ryan Manning was unlucky not to earn a penalty when he was tripped inside the box by Dack.

Southampton were lucky not to concede a third on 41 minutes when Bazunu palmed Dack’s free-kick straight back into the danger area, but Dennis Cirkin couldn’t adjust his feet in time to capitalise.

The third did come, however, just before the break. Holgate gave the ball away on the edge of the box allowing Ekwah to drill past Bazunu at the near post.

With the half time words of Russell Martin still ringing in his ears, Bazunu was again picking the ball out of his net just two and a half minutes after the restart.

The Saints defence failed to clear the danger after the 21 year old made a fine close-range stop which led to Dack tapping in from close range.

Martin would have hoped the halftime introductions of Che Adams and Ryan Fraser could turn the tide of the game, but it was Holgate who went closest, testing Anthony Patterson from range.

Substitute Shea Charles then headed just wide after he climbed highest to meet a Manning corner as Saints failed to convert 68 per cent possession into a goal.

Rigg, 16, closed out a disappointing afternoon for Southampton with a headed goal on his league debut.

Sunderland: Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin; Neil, Ekwah, Ba (Rigg, 81'), Dack (Pritchard, 64’), Clarke (Bennette, 81'); Bellingham (Hemir, 64’).

Unused subs: Bishop, Huggins, Taylor, Seelt, Triants.

Yellow cards: Ba, O’Nien.

Saints: Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Holgate (Charles, 64’), Manning; Downes; Smallbone (Alcaraz, 81'), S. Armstrong (Adams, h-t); Edozie (Fraser, h-t), Mara (Aribo, 71'), A. Armstrong.

Unused subs: McCarthy, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Amo-Ameyaw.

Yellow cards: Mara, Adams.

Referee: David Coote.

Attendance: 41,459.