Phil Smith's verdict: Sunderland and Phil Parkinson at a crossroads as remarkable day highlights the strange state of play

No one summed it up better than Oxford United.

At one stage in the first half, they were 2-0 down to Shrewsbury Town and facing up to the prospect of finishing the day in eighth position, a major chance missed in their push for the play-offs.

By full time, they had surged into third, two points off Rotherham United after securing a fifth consecutive win.

There has been only one reliable performer of late and as others stumbled, Coventry City did it again.

A robust and miserly defensive performance against a top-ten side, a clinical finish from Matt Godden and three more points.

This is the context for Sunderland’s frustrating but yet again, far from fatal afternoon.

Phil Parkinson assessed the picture in his post-match press conference and grappled with the contradiction at play.

Yes, results elsewhere had taken the edge off Mikael Mandron’s devastating late strike.

Yet they also just underlined how big an opportunity Sunderland had spurned.

Again.

Two key things about Sunderland right now are equally true.

One: They were seconds away from climbing to third, within one point of Paul Warne’s side and having gained considerable momentum in the push for automatic promotion.

Two: Sunderland probably did not do enough over 96 minutes to warrant victory for the third game in succession.

Their recent dip means that over the last eight games, only Wycombe Wanderers in the top eight have a worse points-per-game ratio.

Steve Evans has a reputation for being one of the more unreliable narrators in League One but it was difficult to argue too much with his post-match assessment of the game.

There had been spells where his side had to defend well and where Sunderland had taken control of the contest.

But they were not frequent enough for the home side’s liking and it was Jon McLaughlin who was called upon to make the most crucial interventions in the contest.

He made some superb saves with the score at 1-1 and without him, the result could have been even worse for the Black Cats.

It leaves Parkinson with much to ponder, knowing that positive results against Bristol Rovers and Blackpool are crucial to keep his side in the race ahead of that is likely to be a then extended break.

His primary concern was with the defending that allowed the opposition two fairly soft goals.

He had warned his side of the threat Gillingham posed from set plays and long throws and though they dealt with it well in the opening stages of the game, their response in the second half was poor.

Numerous opportunities to clear the danger were missed for Mandron’s first and for the second, there was, in Parkinson’s own words, simply not enough desire to prevent the goal.

It’s a key issue when so much of Sunderland’s success since the turn of the year has been built on a defence that gives up few opportunities to its opponents.

That this is not the most free-flowing or creative side in the race for promotion is well known and a dip in standards at the other end could make all the difference.

Unquestionably, there is still work to be done and much to ponder in the forward areas, too.

It might seem a strange comment when Kyle Lafferty scored an excellent brace on his full debut, but by and large this side is not quite playing with the same intensity and quality they were producing not so long ago at the Stadium of Light.

For a side that relies so much on tempo and pressing to forge opportunities, even a minor dip can cause problems.

There had been a clamour for change but Parkinson had heavily hinted on Thursday that this would not be the game for it and there was some justification to his call.

Though disappointed with elements of the performance against Coventry, the manager had reasoned that this was a very different challenge and that at home, the players he had shown so much faith in deserved another opportunity.

That thinking was typified by the case of Denver Hume.

Hume has perhaps seen his form dip from where it was at the start of the year, but he played a key role in many of the home wins and began the game as his side’s best attacking outlet, driving from deep and opening up the pitch.

Those standards were not quite maintained but in the end he delivered one assist and should have had another, Lafferty volleying wide a glaring opportunity shortly before the header which broke the deadlock.

Ultimately, these upcoming away games seemed to be the moment at which the Black Cats boss might reshuffle his pack and in truth, this frustrating draw is unlikely to have changed his mind.

Sunderland find themselves at something of a crossroads ahead of the final nine games.

They remain prime candidates for automatic promotion, their fate not quite in their own hands but not far off it.

Yet they have spurned three major opportunities and can surely not expect to stay in real contention should they miss many more.

They have dipped below the level they need to be at and it is up to Parkinson and his players to find another gear.

Seconds away from victory they may well have been, but yet again, it was just not quite enough.