Phil Smith's verdict: Inside the night we learned plenty about Lee Johnson and the journey ahead for his Sunderland project

Sunderland were late arriving at Boundary Park, caught through no fault of their own in nearby traffic.

The further disruption that followed was altogether harder to excuse.

Lee Johnson had trailed in advance his intention to start Dion Sanderson, eager to get a closer look at the Wolves loanee who had impressed him with his performances at Cardiff City in the latter half of last season.

Sanderson had travelled with his team-mates and gone as far as to check the pitch and conditions; before Johnson was informed that the 20-year-old was in fact cup tied for the game.

He had featured for Wolves U21s before arriving on Wearside and it was only after the teams were announced that the error was realised.

You could have been forgiven for experiencing an all-too-familiar sense of deflation, then, when Bobby Grant advanced towards goal unchallenged and put his side ahead with an excellent long-range effort before even fifteen minutes were on the clock.

Conditions were wretched, and Sunderland had started sluggishly.

They had already allowed Harry Kewell's side a sight of goal ten minutes previous, Chris Maguire's slack pass allowing Danny Rowe in and forcing a smart stop from youngster Anthony Patterson.

It's in these kinds of low-key games that the absence of fans and of normality is most keenly felt, and in those moments after the goal all the hallmarks of an ignominious cup night and exit looked to be there.

Sunderland, though, plugged away.

Johnson had watched back Sunderland's insipid display against Wigan Athletic on Saturday and conceded that it had left him feeling 'almost embarrassed'. What he'd initially felt was lacking was an aggression in the final third, critical of his side's inability to get bodies in the box and their habit for playing early crosses that didn't trouble opposition defenders.

Watching it back had only underlined that instinct, and so with just one training session to prepare for this game, his focus was clear.

Alongside Jamie McAllister, who is expected to be confirmed as his assistant in the near future, Johnson worked on trying to quickly embed some principles.

The new Head Coach is a big believer that, to an extent, this is a number's game and the early focus of his messaging to the group was to underline his expectations.

To stress the point, he even offered his players Christmas Day off in return for 28 entries into the final third.

In the initial exchanges his side were cagey.

This is a big transition and when the focus is on building up play patiently, the result can often be a caution in possession.

So it was again here, the home side too comfortable in keeping Johnson's side at arm's length.

Slowly but surely, though, that began to change.

Sunderland's passing around the edge of the final third began to sharpen, the movement a little more convincing.

Most encouragingly, the Black Cats finally started to get the service right to their wide players.

Jack Diamond began to regularly get in behind his full-back, to the delight of Johnson who had spent the first quarter of the game honing in on the youngster playing yards away from him, coaching him closely on his positioning and decision making.

On the other flank, Callum McFadzean was emboldened and for the first time in a while, the opposition defence were being visibly stretched.

When the equaliser came it was fully deserved, and a good spell of play almost yielded a second goal before the interval.

If in the second half there were still moments when Sunderland were just a little too cautious in key moments, and could have been a little bolder in their play, then it is worth noting that the win was in the end firmly deserved.

Johnson stressed afterwards the size of the job ahead of him, and is stressing continuously that there are going to be bumps in the road. For one, while he looks to improve his side's attacking play they remain vulnerable to the counter, something that can only be corrected by constant training-ground work to improve understanding.

For Johnson, there was a big tick in the fact his players had, in a short space of time, shown a willingness to take his message on board.

It didn't quite yield the results it may have done, but the crossing was more threatening and the movement in the box better.

The pressing was also very good, Will Grigg forcing the winner with a superb piece of work to force a foul from a defender when seconds earlier there had seemed to be no danger.

Perhaps most encouraging, though, was the way Johnson swiftly and honestly dealt with what had been a fairly farcical state of affairs with Sanderson's exclusion.

Johnson took responsibility himself, even though he has only been at the club a matter of days.

His message to the club as a whole was strong, that organisational standards simply have to be better.

On and off the pitch, he said, 'we have to drive standards'.

For supporters, this may have been as heartening as any of the neat passing play which hinted at some more enjoyable football on the horizon.

It was a night that served as another reminder of the vast work Johnson (and Kristjaan Speakman) have to do, and how much their success will be defined by the support around them.

Johnson, it seems, is well up for the task.

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