Phil Smith's verdict: Inside Sunderland's chaotic League One return and making sense of what it told us

The fume from the Sunderland dugout is audible and visible even from the upper reaches of the Premier Concourse.

Sunderland's players are frustrated and the referee is getting an earful.

Ansi Jaakkola is taking his time with a goal kick. And then a little more time. And a little more after that.

The Black Cats have given their opponents something to cling onto and they are doing so with relish.

Ah.

It had been over six months since Sunderland were last in league action but supporters were quick to point out that there was a painful familiarity to all this.

To their credit, the Black Cats regained some composure and ended the game with a point they more than deserved.

Jaakkola made some superb stops to deny a winner and in the latter stages of the contest, there was only one side who looked like they were going to go and secure the three points.

Yet they didn't, and so is your glass half full or half empty?

Parkinson's, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the former.

After the contest it was put to him that the frustration must be even greater given that it was a pattern we have seen from Sunderland in League One all too often, particularly at the Stadium of Light.

Plenty of dominance, both in possession and territory.

A high shot count, some good chances but not enough ruthlessness in the box, compounded by a defensive lapse early on.

"There were games last year where we were 3-0 up at half-time," Parkinson countered.

"There have been games like that in the last year.

"But it's just about, if we do concede a goal, it's not the end of the world," he added.

"We know the gameplan, we know how we're going to play, we know the movements we need to get into dangerous areas.

"We just went away from that, and sometimes that's natural at the start of the season when you have that expectation for the first game.

"We were a bit frantic, and gave the ball away too much in that opening period, but after that some of our play was very good."

Without doubt, it is that opening period that will leave both Parkinson and Sunderland supporters with the most concern.

The goal conceded was sloppy in the extreme, a goalkeeping error that allowed Luke Leahy to score an outstanding penalty.

Burge should have done better, and he was not helped by a defence who failed to clear their lines.

From then until the break, Sunderland were too frenetic and were desperately lacking in composure, playing as if it were the 90th minute and they were still chasing an equaliser.

It had been interesting on Thursday to hear Parkinson discuss the unique dynamics of playing behind closed doors.

The Black Cats boss had felt that some of the games in other divisions earlier this summer had seemed to have a slower tempo, at least in the opening stages of Project Restart.

Whether that was down to fitness levels or simply players adjusting to the new reality was unclear.

He was determined, though, that Sunderland would not fall into the same trap.

He said he would pick a team that could go 'flat out' from the first whistle, and urged them to play as if the Stadium of Light had its usual 30,000+ attendance.

Much of the play in the first half felt like an overcorrection.

Sunderland played low-percentage passes, gave the ball away just as they looked to be making inroads and didn't build any real period of pressure.

Any praise for what followed in the closing stages must also take note of one extraordinary slice of luck early in the second half, one that also hinted at one fear that many supporters will still hold, a possible weakness perhaps not corrected.

Brandon Hanlan did not have an exceptional goalscoring record during his time at Gillingham but given the two teams met four times last year, the Black Cats faithful will remember well the problems his running and control of the ball caused.

It was the same here. He picked up excellent positions and caused Bailey Wright and Tom Flanagan real problems when he was able to isolate them.

Wright should have seen red for tripping him a second time, only to see the referee inexplicably put his cards back in his pocket just as he looked ready to issue them.

Had he done so, that could have been it for the afternoon.

The response from there was good.

Sunderland finally began to push Rovers back right into their final third, recyling possession and building momentum as they had failed to do so in the first half.

They got good crosses in the box and made Jaakkola work.

Parkinson's changes helped, too.

A switch to a 4-4-2 helped get more presence in the box and it also allowed Lynden Gooch to drive at tiring legs from the wide areas.

He played a key part in the first goal, one taken superbly by Chris Maguire.

Maguire had been short of his best at the first half but this was his trademark goal, showing superb awareness to drop into space in the box. The finish, emphatic.

A familiar scoreline, then. One point gained, two points dropped.

Players and staff stressed afterwards that they showed enough to be positive about, creating enough chances to win the game comfortably.

That, unquestionably, was true.

But at this point, you can forgive any supporter left feeling a little fatigued.

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