Phil Smith's verdict: Inside the revealing decisions for the season ahead as Sunderland finally returned to competitive action

There was nothing normal about any of this. A season beginning without fans and with a cup game that made it more 'dress rehearsal' than real blood and thunder.

There were no goosebumps and no butterflies during that final wander over the Wearmouth Bridge.

No buzz at falling into step with the cast of thousands, no grin of knowingness as the Stadium of Light finally bends into view.

Even for all that, those moments as 2pm approaches still brought a familiar sense of anticipation.

A first sense of the plans for the long road ahead. A first glimpse at who will have the chance to turn pre-season impressions into something more lasting.

For Sunderland fans, a sense of where Phil Parkinson is looking to take his team.

Would it be much the same, a show of faith in those who produced a solid set of results after the bleakest of midwinters last time out? Or something a little bit more radical?

In the end, the answer was somewhere in the middle.

Most of the key partnerships of six months ago were left in place; Dan Neil's exciting recent cameos not quite enough to force his way into the starting XI.

His time, like many others with first-team aspirations, will come on Tuesday night when heavy rotation is expected for the opening night of the EFL Trophy.

Still, there were one or two interesting calls.

The teamsheet revelations that caught the eye

Josh Scowen was on the bench despite an impressive pre-season campaign in which he looked to have just about edged ahead of George Dobson.

Parkinson had hinted at this in his pre-match press conference, hailing Scowen for his work but also noting that his level had dipped in the game against Harrogate Town.

Dobson's breezy late cameo in that game had helped his cause, a strong run allowing Neil the time and space to tee up Will Grigg for the winner.

Grigg's place in the XI was without doubt the biggest and most interesting selection.

The 29-year-old had been candid in discussing his struggles earlier in the summer, reflecting on a long period in which Charlie Wyke had firmly been Parkinson's first-choice striker.

There was, or at least there seemed to be, an uneasy truce.

Finding suitors now, in the post-COVID and salary cap era, would be even harder than in it was in the January window.

It made it in everyone's interests to make it work, even if Wyke then still seemed certain to be the leading centre-forward at the club.

To Grigg's credit, he returned sharp and with intent.

Chances in pre-season were taken with a reassuring ease and that place in the line-up was well earned.

Grigg's introduction was part of a subtle but significant change to Parkinson's 3-4-3 shape.

That Hull City were in competitive action far more recently than the Black Cats felt beforehand like it would be an advantage. That proved not to be the case, Sunderland sharper to every loose ball and dominant in an impressive opening.

Grigg led the line with gusto, forging an opening within moments when he came out of a duel with Jordy De Wijs on top and found Aiden O'Brien in the box.

O'Brien teed up Max Power, whose clever effort was just cleared off the line.

The interaction was telling.

The inside track on a subtle but telling formation change

Disappointed with his side's lack of cutting edge against Harrogate Town, Parkinson had shifted things ever so slightly.

Power has generally been the sitting midfielder since the change of manager last year, disciplined and mature in front of the back five, but with little licence to affect the game in the opposition half.

Here, it was Dobson who had that brief.

O'Brien pushed right up alongside Grigg in possession, with Power and Maguire lining up as the attacking midfielders.

With Denver Hume and Luke O'Nien in advanced areas, it was an attacking line-up and one that ought to have yielded a goal in the opening exchanges.

"We just changed it slightly from previous weeks," Parkinson explained.

"We just put Aiden up top with Griggy and went with a midfield three.

"We just looked at the pre-season games, certainly the last one and just felt we didn’t threaten the opposition back four enough in terms of runners in behind.

"We want to play football, but I just felt we played in front of Harrogate a little bit too much.

"It’s very important that we have people who are prepared to run in behind the opposition back four, whether it’s from a wing-back position or a deep midfield run like Chris or Max did. That’s why we threatened the goal a lot more today."

An encouraging competitive debut

O'Brien brings a willingness to press that is essential in any frontline of Parkinson's, but what caught the eye was also his willingness to carry the ball in possession.

In one eye-opening passage of play just before the break, he spun away from two Hull players not once, but twice.

His selection saw Lynden Gooch drop to the bench, a shift in itself when you consider that Gooch (who will have an utterly pivotal part to play over the course of the season) was in so many ways the catalyst for Parkinson as he turned round the wretched form that followed his arrival.

"Aiden was good, he offers something different, he's energetic and can be unpredictable in a good way," Parkinson explained.

"He played with good energy and set the press off which is so important for us.

"I'm pleased, he had a bit of tightness in his thigh at half-time which we obviously didn't want to risk so we took him off with fifteen minutes to go."

The Irishman missed a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead and in that, his performance told the tale of the afternoon.

There were good signs, chances created and platforms numerous to build on.

Missing? The final and most important part.

Parkinson will hope the finishing touch arrives before next Saturday, and it's also true to note that despite that excellent first half, the second was a far more pedestrian affair.

Hull City steadied, as you would expect. A side who, for this level, have invested well and boast a squad that ought to compete for promotion honours.

In the latter stages Sunderland looked just a little more predictable, and certainly less incisive.

A Carabao Cup exit will, in truth, cause little sleep to be lost on Wearside.

In this most punishing of campaigns, it means rest and more work on the training ground in the month ahead.

The road ahead

Even if the passion of the Sunderland support will still be sorely missed next Saturday, the start of the league campaign will bring with it a rise in the tension and the stakes.

Cutting a relaxed figure after the game, Parkinson clearly felt that this was a step in the right direction.

There will be chances for others to impress before Bristol Rovers arrive but it felt as if this was a telling hint of the shape of things to come.

The ending was disappointing, particularly in that again represented a moment of frustration for Grigg.

Parkinson conceded it was a poor penalty but tellingly, spoke glowingly of the striker's movement throughout the contest.

He had put the ball in the back of the net twice, one fairly ruled out, the other not so much.

He had stretched the opposition defence and made good runs in behind, an attribute that has often been lacking in Parkinson's Sunderland side.

The Black Cats boss is impressed and the hope is that in those other aspects of his performance, we saw something that will be far more meaningful in the long term than that penalty miss.

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