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It left us with yet another mountain to climb, an although substitute Steven Thompson pulled one back in the second half it proved nothing more than a consolation goal and left our search for a first win at this particular stadium to continue.
Manager Brian Laws had hoped to name an unchanged team from the one that had played at the KC a week earlier, but he was forced into a late change due to David Nugent suffering with a tight hamstring.
Needless to say, as is the way right now, rumours spread that Nugent had been involved in a bust up with the manager and was back at Portsmouth, a somewhat strange one given that Nuge had travelled with the team to the Stadium of Light but was limited to a watching brief.
Chris Eagles came in for him with Stephen Jordan passed fit enough to take his place on the bench after recovering from injury.
After a quietish opening it was the home side who took the initiative and only a superb save from Brian Jensen kept us level. He got down brilliantly to his right to deny John Mensah following a Sunderland corner with first Michael Duff and then Tyrone Mears mopping up after the ball had gone clear.
From their next corner, again from the right, Kenwyne Jones hit the post although Jensen had it covered, and then the Burnley goalkeeper was forced to tip a ball over the top.
You sensed a goal would come, and it duly did. Again we were very much the architects of our own downfall with much of the fault with Eagles. He failed to go with Sunderland right back Alan Hutton and when he was found he got in a cross from the right that was turned in by Fraizer Campbell who had got in front of Leon Cort.
Laws spoke recently of the importance of getting the first goal. Again we found ourselves 1-0 down and facing a battle to get anything out of the game.
We struggled to get back into the game and a further Sunderland goal would not have come as a surprise, but when it did we were once again pointing fingers at the officials. It was another poor goal from our point of view as Eagles again failed to react and his left wing partner Danny Fox got caught out.
But the simple fact is that Campbell was offside as he got to a Jordan Henderson ball into the box and the assistant's flag failed to go up. Campbell headed the ball back across and Darren Bent made absolutely no mistake.
That was four minutes before half time and ended the scoring for the first half. I don't think anyone could complain at the 2-0 half time scoreline but had the officials done their job we would have gone in just one goal behind. Who knows whether that might have made a difference!
Sat just behind me was a Newcastle fan, appropriately placed in the away end of this particular stadium I would suggest. He'd gone to the game with Burnley supporting relatives and he spoke of our first half performance.
He thought we had some good players, looked good at times on the ball, but added that we lacked pace and certainly lacked aggression. I don't think anyone could disagree with him.
Martin Paterson didn't come out for the second half. He was replaced by Steven Thompson and he made a real difference. I've always believed Thommo to be Owen Coyle's best Burnley signing and have been surprised, given our struggles, to see him involved as little as he has been this season.
There was no doubt that the second half saw a real upturn for the Clarets and we finally started to ask some questions of the Sunderland defence. Thommo came close to setting up Eagles and then almost got on the end of a ball in from Mears.
He thought he should have had a penalty too, as did every Burnley fan in the away end. Having seen it again since I would have to say it would have been a soft one but the decision to award Sunderland a free kick by the hapless Howard Webb was just downright ridiculous.
Sunderland had their chances, and Jensen had a couple of saves to make, but you sensed that if we could get one we might just be in with a chance. Fox put a free kick onto the roof of the net and that was the closest we came.
With nine minutes remaining Robbie Blake, who played the last game of his first spell with the Clarets on this ground, replaced Jack Cork who had turned in yet another good performance in the midfield. Robbie, with Thommo, made the difference.
He got the ball on the left hand side and turned his man before laying it back to Fox. He took the return and then played a delightful ball through to Thompson who took the ball in his stride before stroking it home right footed from the end of the box.
That gave us a lift, but I don't think we really came close to an equaliser. Even so we had the home fans worried for a while. It didn't happen and we didn't forced Craig Gordon into making a save during the closing minutes.
Overall you have to say Sunderland deserved the win, but again it might have been so very different. It was the sort of game where you hoped we might get something yet in reality couldn't expect anything.
Sunderland are a better side than us, have pace up front which we struggled with yesterday, and have a striker who, in terms of goalscoring, is as good as anything in England right now.
We've had some nightmares away from home this season. Yes, we struggled at times in the first half here but we showed the sort of resolve in the second half that too often we haven't done.
Our time in the Premier League for now is coming to an end, unless there are some remarkable results before the end of the season. Away from home it is still an enjoyable experience and again the Burnley supporters at the Stadium of Light were something else. It's a pleasure to be amongst them and to be part of this support.
One pundit on television said we'd probably been promoted a couple of years too early. I'm never so sure you can be promoted too early, only Billy Davies ever thinks that, but when you see the quality of some of the other sides you do realise how tough it is.
If we do go down, as I expect, then I'll look forward to returning and pitting our wits again against the top teams in the country.
The teams were;
Sunderland: Craig Gordon, Alan Hutton, Michael Turner, John Mensah (Anton Ferdinand 45), Kieran Richardson, Fraizer Campbell, Jordan Henderson, David Meyler (Boudewijn Zenden 88), Steed Malbranque, Darren Bent (Benjani 90), Kenwyne Jones. Subs not used: Trevor Carson, Phil Bardsley, Matt Kilgallon, Paulo Da Silva.
Yellow Cards: Steed Malbranque, John Mensah, David Meyler.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Michael Duff, Leon Cort, Danny Fox, Graham Alexander, Martin Paterson (Steven Thompson 45), Wade Elliott, Jack Cork (Robbie Blake 81), Chris Eagles, Steven Fletcher. Subs not used: Nicky Weaver, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan.
Yellow Cards: Michael Duff, Steven Thompson.
Referee: Howard Webb (Rotherham).
Attendance:
41,341.
Footnotes
Yesterday was our fourth appearance at the Stadium of Light and we still await our first ever win there. We have scored on all four visits, with the goals beating four different goalkeepers - Mart Poom, Thomas Myhre, Darren Ward and Craig Gordon. Burnley's goalkeeper in all four games has been Brian Jensen.
We have now conceded 50 goals away this season, the most in a 19 game Premier League season beating Leeds United's total of 48 in the 2003/04 season. In a 21 game season, Swindon Town conceded 55 in 1993/94.