Sunderland returned to winning ways with a comfortable win over Luton Town at the Stadium of Light

It was just what Sunderland needed: a routine home win with only the very occasional scare.

In truth that said as much about Luton Town as it did the hosts, with Matt Bloomfield's side unrecognisable from the force that caused the Black Cats so many issues on their rise to the Premier League.

The visitors were dire and lacking any invention, but it was a professional performance from Sunderland that will hearten supporters that they remain right in the race. And after facing criticism for his selection decisions after the last two home draws, there was no doubt Régis Le Bris got his key calls right here.

Le Bris had made a bold call in dropping Chris Mepham to the bench, recalling Dan Ballard to the starting XI for the first time since suffering an injury before Christmas. He also resisted the urge to change formation, and they were decisions that paid off for much of the first half.

Luton Town have been in dire form of late, especially away from home, and Sunderland quickly assumed control. The only real outlet for Matt Bloomfield's side was to play long into Carlton Morris, but he was often left isolated and struggled to win his duels against Ballard anyway. Sunderland were having by far the better of the chances, Isidor firing wide from a good position after Roberts found him in space.

They took the lead when Trai Hume, excellent both offensively and defensively throughout the first half, drove infield and found Le Fee in space on the edge of the box. Luton dropped off rather than engaging, inviting the Frenchman to shoot. He duly obliged, curling his effort through a crowd of bodies quite perfectly into the far corner.

Sunderland continued to dominate the rest of the half, but without really putting their foot down and putting a struggling Luton side to the sword. It almost cost them when Luton won a very rare set piece in the Black Cats half (something the hosts generally did very well to avoid), Carlton Morris's header turned onto the post by Anthony Patterson. It was a familiar warning to Sunderland to make their dominance count and though they stepped up the intensity again with some nice football before the interval, it remained firmly in the balance.

Though Luton did apply some pressure early in the second half, Sunderland recovered their poise relatively easily and were quickly able to take control of possession again. There was a touch of fortune about their second goal as Lamine Fanne diverted a pass from Le Fee straight into the feet of Isidor, but it was an excellent finish on the turn from the Frenchman. It was a tougher chance than he had missed in the first half, and did much to ease any nerves that a repeat of the last two home games was on the cards.

Luton briefly rallied after two making two double substitutions, but an attempt to go more direct fizzled out quickly and in truth it was Sunderland who looked the more likely to score again as the game concluded. There were strong performances all over the pitch, with Roberts and Hume particularly superb down the right flank.

In truth the Black Cats might not face a worse opponent here this season, but they did what they to do with relative ease as Le Bris got it spot on with his key calls.