Inside the bizarre and brilliant night Sunderland saw their injury issues mount but played like Barcelona

There were times, pretty long stretches in fact, during Sunderland’s promotion from League One where even amid positive results one fear would nag away: What happens if Ross Stewart gets an injury?

Alex Neil would later describe Stewart’s form and perhaps more importantly his robustness during that spell as ‘remarkable’, the inference very clear that Sunderland couldn’t afford to take such a gamble again.

When Stewart felt a thigh muscle pop at Middlesbrough we were back there again, only now the question was: What happens if Ellis Simms gets an injury? As it transpired, we didn’t have to wait long.

It had been a cagey start at Reading, the hosts defending deep and happy to let Sunderland control the ball. Mowbray had warned about this in the build up, that the danger was in producing a performance that looked good but didn’t yield an end product. The challenge was to flood the box without then leaving his side open to the counter, the strategy that had served Reading so well in their surprisingly productive start to the season.

After half an hour Sunderland finally found Patrick Roberts in an advanced area, Simms then seeing an effort deflected over the bar. The sting in the tail was considerable, a whack to the foot leaving the Everton loanee in visible discomfort every time he tried to run. Twice he tried to play on, and twice he crumpled to the floor in need of more treatment.

Wearside held its breath, and Mowbray began looking for solutions: It looked a long way back from here.

What followed still feels like something of a blur, Paul Ince saying afterwards that his team has made Sunderland look like Barcelona. When he sits down to watch the goals, Xavi will be flattered.

Three minutes passed, Roberts scored twice, Elliot Embleton produced two assists, and Ince’s side disappeared in a whirlwind of clever rotations and first-time passes.

It was inspired by Mowbray, wisely deciding not to try and replicate Simms’ physicality and orthodox centre-forward play like-for-like.

Embleton came on in a deeper role than you might have expected, and with Alex Pritchard operating as a false nine Reading’s defence and midfield suddenly seemed unsure who to pick up.

The finishing touches from Roberts were sublime, an immensely talented player who had sensed his opportunity.

In the away end the sense of delirium increased as Sunderland added their coup de grace in the second half, a goal so absurdly good you didn’t know whether to roar or laugh or both. All you could say for sure is that you wouldn’t want to hear the noises you made back.

Those 2,000 who had travelled for hours midweek may have wondered when Simms went down what on earth they were doing with their lives, but now they realised they were witnessing another surreal, sublime chapter of mini Sunderland history.

Twelve touches and just under twenty seconds from their goalkeeper to the bottom corner, a goal already shared thousands of times and that you just have to watch just one more time.

What made this hour of play all the more remarkable was that it showed a Sunderland side finding a very different way to make an impact in the Championship. From day one they have attacked every opponent, but their USP in those opening weeks of the season was that they had two traditional number nines the envy of just about every team in the division. It was enjoyable, it was attacking and it was also very often unashamedly direct.

Here, to even consider a long ball forward was a fool’s errand - not a single 6ft target in sight. The game ended with Amad and Jewison Bennette driving into space time and time again, Reading desperate for the game to end.

Ince’s side, it should be said, were truly abject. Their defence sluggish, their energy in forward areas for large parts genuinely pitiful. At one stage in the first half, a long ball went forward and Lucas Joao simply stood and watched as Luke O’Nien leapt above him to head away any danger.

READ MORE: Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray gives Ellis Simms injury update and his verdict on brilliant win

It was a brilliant Sunderland performance in testing circumstances, but they might well not face such a compliant opponent again this season.

Which is a point worth reflecting on, when the next challenge is a Watford side who though beaten by Blackburn on Tuesday night, will propose an altogether different threat. There will be no element of surprise, either, as Simms seems certain not to be involved and a gameplan will therefore be specifically designed to deal with Sunderland’s freewheeling band of playmakers.

Debate will quickly return to the make-up of this squad, and in so many ways this was a night that underlined the excitement but also the tension that has come with this very new and very distinct project.

Sunderland’s football hierarchy have made very clear their belief that it is better to run a small squad, full of versatile players where everyone feels they are close to having an important role to play.

Here there was some strong vindication of some of the assessments they have made. After a challenging start to the season Luke O’Nien has settled into a defensive role, and on his full league debut Aji Alese was superb. He stepped out with the ball well and won the vast majority of his duels. When Mowbray was forced to change shape in the aftermath of Simms’ injury, he seamlessly moved out to the full-back areas and excelled there, too. He looks another real find, another player of talent who could become a real asset for the club.

That the value of this squad has risen exponentially over the last 18 months is inarguable, and that third goal was symbolic of the possibilities trusting youth and technical talent has opened up. Nobody knew quite what to expect from this season but nobody could have anticipated that nine games in it would be this much fun. Shock managerial exits notwithstanding.

READ MORE: Paul Ince delivered this brutal verdict on Sunderland defeat and what went wrong for his side

What’s also inarguable is that there have been times, and here is another, that Sunderland have left themselves alarmingly light in some key positions. Though they are still hopeful that Simms has not suffered a break, he seems certain to face a spell on the sidelines and an injury to say Corry Evans or Anthony Patterson would leave them similarly exposed in other crucial areas of the pitch.

Mowbray has warned that with such a young squad there will inevitably be days where it doesn’t quite click and when against proven Championship opposition they are overpowered. That you can understand and accept, a price worth paying for the fearlessness and bravery this side has shown along the way. Harder to accept will be the days when a simple lack of cover costs Sunderland, as it surely will next month if Simms remains absent.

Or maybe that’s doing this band of young players a disservice, maybe you really do just need attacking midfielders and wingers. Only time will tell. In the meantime… watch that third goal again? Oh, go on then.