Phil Smith's verdict: Sunderland's draw highlights a key problem for Alex Neil but end result was net positive

Such has been Sunderland's habit for producing late, late shows in recent weeks that everyone in Home Park and watching at home would have wondered: Is this the moment? Can they do it again?

Not this time.

Clarke's free kick was too close to the goalkeeper, and a tired Sunderland attack looked to be standing in an offside position anyway.

In truth, it was a passage of play that summed up the day. Sunderland competed tenaciously, but lacked the end product to take that vital step towards a play-off place. In their own reflections on the game, Plymouth would have said much the same.

The precariousness of Sunderland's position is such that by the time they play next, they could well be out of the play-off positions with the margin for error squeezed ever further.

All the same, the bottom line is that Sunderland finished the day in a stronger position than they started it.

When you consider Argyle’s record on home turf of late, this was a day in which the Black Cats could well have ended up taking a significant step backwards.

Steven Schumacher’s side may have only won one of their previous four games, but that was the only one at Home Park and it was a crucial 1-0 win over Oxford United. They had also won their previous five home fixtures before that, not conceding a single goal in the process.

None of which is to say that Sunderland did not miss something of an opportunity here, because for much of the second half it looked as if the game and three crucial points might just be there for the taking.

After a strong start from Alex Neil’s side Plymouth had shown in the first half why their record on this ground has been so imposing, moving the ball quickly through midfield and swallowing up any long balls from the Sunderland defence with total ease.

They were far from dominant and the visitors did have some dangerous moments on the counter, but when the break came you felt it was the hosts who would have been keener to carry on.

A tight contest was summed up by a tremendous battle between two of the division’s brightest midfield talents. Panutche Camara just about had the better of Jay Matete through the first half but in the spell before the former suffered a hamstring injury midway through the second half, it was the Sunderland youngster driving his side into dangerous areas.

Neil had made a minor tweak to Sunderland’s shape at the interval and combined with a growing sloppiness in Plymouth’s use of the ball, it allowed the Black Cats to step up and take charge. Their play and more specifically their control of the game up until the final third was strong, let down only by the final ball from the wide areas in particular.

Perhaps the most frustrating phase of the game came when Neil turned to his bench and some of his best ball-playing options in a bid to lift the tempo and find a winner late on. Instead, Sunderland’s grip loosened and their threat somewhat fizzled out as the game meandered towards a draw.

Sunderland's form under Neil remains strong but those closing stages were a reminder of some longer-term issue he is still trying to manage his side through.

The head coach candidly admitted afterwards that he felt a change to his strike force was needed in the final quarter, with Ross Stewart clearly fatigued and Nathan Broadhead perhaps in need of a break after a fairly demanding schedule on his return from injury.

Stewart in particular is understandably jaded after a punishing schedule, but following Jermain Defoe’s retirement Neil simply does not have the options to give him a rest.

Neil said he had sympathy with the Scot but also made it fairly clear that he would have little choice but to go again in the final week of the regular season – and hopefully beyond.

It also does not particularly help the service into Stewart that the head coach is through a lack of pace in his natural defensive options deploying with a back five that pushes his wingers deeper than where they would usually operate from.

It has been an inventive solution to the club’s glaring defensive issues that has worked well in the main, but all things considered it is perhaps no great surprise that the Black Cats ran out of steam on this occasion.

Though both sides did show plenty of attacking intent, you could sense the stakes at play weighing on the minds of both and a game that had at one stage been frantic ended relatively cagey.

For Sunderland, the reality is that their fate remains firmly in their own hands.

Sheffield Wednesday of course have the opportunity to raise the pressure when they play on Tuesday night, but Wycombe Wanderers dropped two important points at AFC Wimbledon and will face Darren Moore’s side this Saturday.

Finishing above Gareth Ainsworth and Steven Schumacher’s sides is still down to Sunderland, who have an admittedly challenging game-in-hand against Rotherham United next Tuesday.

In the end the Easter Weekend did not quite bring the major shift in momentum that Sunderland were looking for, but it was also undoubtedly one in which they made positive progress.

They have battled their way back into a strong position, and now it is up to them to capitalise.