Making sense of what went wrong in Sunderland's disappointing afternoon - and two January priorities it underlined

Mowbray had said the performance at Huddersfield Town was the worst of his nascent tenure, but this probably topped it. And it certainly felt like the most deflating, the first time this season that Sunderland have not only lost in front of a big home crowd but well and truly failed to inspire.

Sunderland were poor all over the pitch, fortunate to escape when a dreadful backpass led to a Cardiff penalty that Anthony Patterson did well to save. There was no control and seemingly a lack of understanding of ability to impose the right structure. In the rare moments that Sunderland genuinely opened up the opposition, and to be fair there were a few, they lacked the quality to make it count.

Cardiff to their credit named an attacking line up and were aggressive in every decision through the first half: Sunderland were caught cold.

That first half in particular was a reminder that this still remains a team and a club in a transition process - and with some important gaps in the squad. Mowbray had made four changes, based primarily on the fear that his more experienced players were running the risk of fatigue-induced injury.

Those who came in had earned their chance, too. After a demanding game at Luton the trip to Huddersfield had understandably looked a game too far for some of those on whom Mowbray (and Alex Neil before him) has had to call upon time and time again.

Sunderland’s best football had come when the head coach had quite bravely turned to Dan Neil and Abdoullah Ba to see the game out as his two midfielders in front of the back four. They made some excellent challenges, and launched countless counter-attacks by doing so.

Both are wonderfully gifted footballers with big futures but neither, it is fair to say, are natural holding midfielders.

The importance of Corry Evans is never more obvious than when he is not in the team. It’s more rotten luck for Mowbray that Edouard Michut picked up an injury just at the moment that he was beginning to find his feet and look like a genuinely viable alternative in the role. Still, it’s an issue Sunderland knew could cause them problems, which is why it was one of the positions they were trying to recruit in late on deadline day.

None of this, by the way, is to suggest Sunderland lost because of their midfield. They were way off the pace all over the pitch, not as dangerous in wide areas and very sloppy in possession at the back.

The point is that the example of Evans and a lack of obvious alternatives is a neat way of underlining why it is difficult for such a young squad stepping up a level to find consistency and win back-to-back amid a punishing schedule.

The make up of this squad is such that Mowbray cannot be entirely sure what he is going to get from so many of his players, who are in many cases finding their way into one or many of a new role, a new team, a new league, a new city, a new country. Mowbray also clearly feels that while capable of producing some outstanding football, his team are not yet consistently hitting the levels required out of possession, hence why they struggle to be consistent within games.

Where there was obvious frustration was that the structural issues on show weren’t rectified at half time. Mowbray had acted at the same point on Wednesday night, asking for an extra fifteen minutes from Ellis Simms than initially planned. Here he felt that the chance to get his players together and explain what was going wrong would be enough. It proved not to be the case, the game flowing in much the same direction and the goal from Cardiff very much with the run of play.

The passage of play that followed the introduction of Evans and Alex Pritchard was arguably the most frustrating. Though tiring legs and a considerably more defensive approach in the Cardiff ranks contributed to the shift, Sunderland were now finally beginning to build sustained pressure by retaining the ball and cutting off the space to counter. Now, though, they were getting into good crossing positions with no one to aim for in the box. Simms was off the pitch, not yet ready to complete 90 minutes as he recovers from ligament damage in his toe.

It can be easy to forget that he too is still just 21, with less than 50 senior career appearances to his name. Fully fit or otherwise, it’s a lot to ask him to consistently lead the side’s forward line and it’s a point Mowbray has been eager to make over the last week.

So much of what was true earlier this week remains so: Sunderland have by and large made a solid return to the Championship and played some delightful stuff along the way, particularly given the turbulence of Neil’s early-season departure. Tracking at their current level they would finish the campaign around the 60-point mark, which history suggests is a very good return for a team promoted from League One. And post the World Cup break they should be an altogether different prospect, with defensive depth and more variety in forward areas.

What they also need is a January window that bolsters an exciting, talented but slightly imbalanced squad, particularly if these injury issues do not ease as dramatically as hoped.