Kyle Lafferty lifts the lid on his sensational Sunderland debut and 'superb' Charlie Wyke battle

A recurrence of Charlie Wyke’s troubling back issue caused concern, and led to Phil Parkinson insisting the striker received an injection. A first start, therefore, was heading to Lafferty.

But there was nothing fortunate about his stunning debut brace which served to showcase the touch of quality he hopes to bring to Sunderland.

So too did the goals demonstrate his versatility as a forward - the first a powerful, stopping header and the second a calm finish after a burst of pace to get onto an inch-perfect ball from George Dobson.

It looked to be a dream debut for the Northern Ireland international, until Mikael Mandron’s late sucker-punch saw the Black Cats robbed of three points at the death by a resilient Gillingham side.

For Lafferty, those dropped points bear more relevance than any personal accomplishments.

“Getting two goals on my full debut is nice for me, but at the end of the day it's about the team,” he said.

“To drop points the way we did is disappointing, but we've got two very important games away from home so we'll focus on them.”

Lafferty had been forced to bide his time since becoming the Black Cats’ first winter signing, with Charlie Wyke holding onto his place in the side having become a regular under Phil Parkinson.

And there were no qualms from Lafferty, who hailed the ‘superb’ work done by his fellow forward since the turn of the year.

“I've been biding my time for six or seven weeks now.

“I think Charlie has done superbly well, scored goals, his link up play and everything else - I've been impressed with him myself.

“But he's injured, so that's given me the nod today and two goals is a good start.

“At the end of the day, dropping points is more important and that's took the shine off it a bit.”

The battle between the two is set to continue in the final weeks of the season and, with Parkinson hopeful of Wyke returning for the trip to Bristol Rovers, Lafferty knows he will have a fight on his hands to retain his place in the side.

But the former Rangers man sees no reason why the duo can’t play together, suggesting that they both bring vastly different attributes to the Black Cats.

Lafferty said: “I don't really score many headers, for the size of me you're probably thinking 'what', but I don't score many goals with my head.

“I enjoy the physical battle, but I think I've only scored six or seven in my career with my head. But if I'm there I'll try and score them.

“Today obviously it was a great ball in by Denver and I've managed to get in front of my marker and score.

“I think I'll offer something slightly different than Charlie. His hold-up play is slightly better than mine, but I'll get in behind defenders more than him I'd say.

“It’s good that the manager has that option for both of us and if he decides to play one of us or both, then I think we'll thrive off it.

“Missing Charlie is a blow, but I think he'll be back in the next couple of games.

“From a personal point of view, it's nice to get my first start and to get the two goals is nice as well, but it's disappointing not to leave the game with three points.”

Sunderland’s dropped point bear even more significance given teams around them also surrendered victories – representing a missed opportunity in the race for the top two.

Lafferty, though, insists that the Black Cats will continue to ‘fight’ in their bid for automatic promotion, and was keen to take the positives from a point gained against an in-form side.

“In a way we've gained a point,” he said.

“If we had won the game then we would be sitting third, but we've got nine games left, 27 points, plenty of football left to play and we're still hungry.

“We still want to go out there and fight. I think overall two long balls into the box lost us the three points, but it's a team game - we can't talk about individuals, it's a team game.”

“They're a hard team to break down,” he said of Gillingham.

“We were told that from early doors, I think Thursday the manager showed us clips of them.

“I think teams coming here, it's their cup final. They're playing Sunderland, the biggest team in the league without a shadow of a doubt, and they want to beat us.

“I think the last couple of games we haven't really performed in the first 15, 20 minutes and then teams get on that. Today I think they tried to press us with our own game.”

And the striker’s final words were for the Sunderland supporters who, having called for his inclusion since his arrival, were quick to serenade him on his first start.

“It's nice,” admitted Lafferty.

“Fans signing your name at any part of the game is important, and the fans stay with the team.

“They need to keep pushing us on. They'll be the 12th man and having them behind us is massive.

“The lads do take note of that, and it's important they keep on coming and give us a massive push.”