I watched Sunderland's late win over Stoke City and here are the four key conclusions I drew from it

Sunderland returned to winning ways with an important 2-1 win over Stoke City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and here are four key conclusions he drew from the game…

SUNDERLAND DELIVER A CONVINCING HOME DISPLAY

That they had to come from behind and score inside the final ten minutes with a deflected shot should not detract from what a reassuringly dominant display this was from Sunderland.

Yes, Stoke City had more possession in the end and they certainly offered a threat through the first half in particular, but without the excellent Viktor Johansson in goal they could have been all but out of the contest by half time.

It has been a slightly strange segment of Sunderland’s season, a frustrating run of six games without a win but with some positives to take from each and every one of those contests. Frustration has never really threatened to bubble over but this was a game in which Régis Le Bris’s side needed to restate their qualities against a side struggling for consistency and in transition under yet another new boss.

Some sloppy early defending and some slack finishing aside, that is exactly what they did. The stats* reflect their dominance. They produced an impressive expected-goals tally of 2.47 in contrast to Stoke City’s modest 0.79. They had 25 shots (around 20 of which were inside the box) to Stoke City’s 11, with 10 of those on target. They created five big changes to Stoke’s 1. It was a deserved win by any metric.

Sunderland produced an entertaining performance and managed to play some attractive football despite the truly dire conditions produced by Storm Darragh. During that winless run the Black Cats had faced a lot of fellow promotion contenders, and also dealt with a fairly gruelling travelling schedule. Here they were able to offer some welcome optimism that particularly at home, they have this season taken a leap away from the Championship’s midtable sides.

Bristol City, a strong counterattacking side with some big scalps on the road already this season, will be another test of that thesis. But this was an excellent start to a really important week, and a Championship table in which Sunderland have a six-point buffer to seventh (as things stand) is a welcome one.

FAITH IN TOMMY WATSON PAYS OFF

Watson’s powerful performance had been the biggest positive from Bramall Lane, one that looked to have given the 18-year-old the confidence that he truly belonged on this stage.

After a couple of tricky first senior starts in the league, it would have been easy for Le Bris and Sunderland to reshuffle the side before that game, moving Wilson Isidor wide and bringing in Aaron Connolly or Eliezer Mayenda. It would still have been a big step forward for Watson and the decision would have been widely understood.

Instead Sunderland doubled down on a player whose natural ability has never been in doubt, and Saturday was the thrilling reward for that. It wasn’t just the goals, either. Watson tormented his full back, put in some good crosses, hit the post and even somehow managed to miss a glorious chance from inside the six-yard box.

There are aspects of Sunderland’s strategy that can frustrate and particular in the transfer market, but their commitment to ensuring the squad is not too bloated and that there is a pathway to the first team for players like Watson. Sometimes it’s vital to remember that without this Watson would, like Chris Rigg, already have decided to move to a Premier League club.

PATRICK ROBERTS DELIVERS AN IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE

It will not be the most memorable assist of his career, a pass inside to Watson whose deflected shot flew past Johansson. But it was an important and very much deserved end to a strong and timely performance from Patrick Roberts.

He had been very unlucky not to register an assist earlier in the game, one excellent cross into the six-yard box frustratingly cleared as no one in a red-and-white shirt had gambled. Then he produced a wonderful bit of play to tee up Watson for that close range chance that ultimately flew over the bar.

Roberts had undoubtedly dipped from his very high performance level in the opening weeks of the season but this was him back at his aggressive, incisive self. The wait for a goal from open play goes on but if he is creating this many opportunities for others, Le Bris will be more than happy to be patient.

LE BRIS FACES A BIG DEFENSIVE DILEMMA

It’s a problem he welcomes but Le Bris has a big decision to make on Tuesday night.

Not just at left back, where Dennis Cirkin is fit again and will be pushing to return to the starting XI given his attacking contributions over the course of the season. But also in central defence, where Luke O’Nien and Dan Ballard delivered a dominant display against Tom Cannon. Both would consider themselves very unfortunate to be left out when Bristol City visit the Stadium of Light but Chris Mepham has arguably been the player of the season since his deadline-day arrival from Bournemouth. So what gives? It’s impossible to predict, and will be fascinating to see when the team news drops.