Spineless Sunderland crashed to their heaviest ever third-tier defeat as they ran up the white flag at Bolton.
The Black Cats let down the 5,300 fans who made the journey across the Pennines, with many making an early start home long before full-time - which at least spared them witnessing Bolton's two late goals which turned a rout into an abject humiliation.
At full-time, Sunderland players tried to apologise to those fans who had stayed until the bitter end but it was no surprise that they were given short shrift.
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A bad error from goalkeeper Thorben Hoffmann gifted the first goal to Dion Charles, before Dapo Afolayan doubled the hosts' lead just before half-time.
Charles added another soon after the break, and Kieran Lee made it 4-0 on the hour.
January addition Danny Batth put through his own net five minutes from time, before Declan John scored the sixth a couple of minutes from the end.
It was an abysmal performance and a shocking result, and one which will do immense damage to the mood on Wearside and which will put Lee Johnson under pressure.
Sunderland have now won just one of their last five games and have dropped out of the automatic promotion places to third in the table, while for Bolton this was a third successive win which lifted them to 14th in the table.
Johnson made one change to the side that started last weekend's win against Portsmouth on Wearside with Carl Winchester coming into the starting line-up and Tom Flanagan making way, which meant a return to a back four.
Bolton manager Ian Evatt also made one change, in his case to the side that started last weekend's win at Shrewsbury Town, as Afolayan came into the side in place of Amadou Bakayoko.
Bolton made a high tempo start but after weathering that early storm, Sunderland began to press the hosts back with the Trotters' defence looking uncomfortable on the ball when put under pressure.
But the Black Cats were unable to test home keeper James Trafford, and instead they gifted Bolton the lead on 19 minutes.
Trafford played a long ball downfield and when Thorben Hoffmann came off his line to deal with it, he got there too late and Charles lifted his shot over the keeper and it bounced into the empty net.
It was a calamitous mistake from Hoffmann, and Bolton almost doubled their lead a couple of minutes later when Marlon Fossey got away down the right and his low cross found Kieran Lee unmarked but he blazed over the bar from 12 yards when he should have scored.
Afolayan saw a shot saved soon after, but he did find the net on 42 minutes when a Sunderland attack broke down and Bolton hit them on the counter.
The ball was swept out to Charles on the right and his low cross was touched by Lee into the path of Afolayan, which left him with a simple finish six yards out.
Sunderland offered minimal goal threat in the first period, with Dennis Cirkin firing over the bar from long range while Elliot Embleton sent a shot straight at Trafford from outside the box.
If Sunderland were poor in the first half, they were diabolical in the second as Bolton added two more goals before the hour mark.
Jones' cross from the right was headed down by Afolayan at the far post for Charles to volley home from inside the six yard box on 51 minutes.
Johnson responded by making a double substitution with loan signing from Spurs Jack Clarke making his debut and Alex Pritchard also coming on, with Dennis Cirkin and Dan Neil making way.
But on 59 minutes Lee took advantage of more woeful defending added the fourth, steering his finish past Hoffmann from six yards out after he had been set up by Charles.
Johnson sent on another new boy in Patrick Roberts for the final 25 minutes, but by then this was a lost cause.
Bakayoko's cross was headed past a startled Hoffmann by Baath on 85 minutes, and three minutes after that Fossey crossed from the right and John struck a volley which went in off the inside of the right-hand post.
How they lined up
Sunderland: Hoffmann, Winchester, Batth, Doyle, Cirkin (Pritchard 53), Evans, Neil (Clarke 53), Dajaku (Roberts 66), Embleton, Gooch, Stewart. Subs not used: Patterson, Flanagan, O'Brien, Hume
Booked: Doyle, Gooch
Bolton Wanderers: Trafford, Jones, Santon, Johnston, Fossey, Williams, Morley, John, Lee (Sadlier 71), Charles (Bakayoko 71), Afolayan (Bodvarsson 71). Subs not used: Dixon, Aimson, Thomason, Baptiste
Booked: Bakayoko
Referee: Steve Martin (Staffordshire)
Attendance: 20,059
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