Why Sunderland's win at Gillingham felt significant as Cats keep pace with Wigan, Plymouth and Wycombe

All the action was at the other end of the pitch as the 10-men visitors held on to a slender 2-1 advantage against an increasingly-attacking Gillingham side.

Elliot Embleton’s 67th-minute red card had left the Black Cats on the back foot, and Gills boss Steve Evans had little to lose by sending on more strikers in John Akinde, Charlie Kelman and Gerald Sithole.

This was far from the ‘battering’ that Evans portrayed after the match, but at this late stage in the game it was attack vs defence.

And for the red and white army who had made the 600-mile round trip, it was an afternoon full of contrasting emotions.

The final few minutes of this action-packed contest would determine the outcome of their weekend – which for many will have included overnight stays and many hours on the motorway.

Tension was palpable as Sunderland goalkeeper Thorben Hoffmann, who produced a man of the match performance, made an outstanding save to keep out Robbie McKenzie’s looping header three minutes from time. That was before four minutes of stoppage-time were shown by the fourth official.

There were cheers when a Gillingham effort, which from some angles appeared on target, hit the side netting as the travelling supporters tried to relieve the apprehension.

Moments later, there was a heart in mouth moment when Akinde went down inside the penalty area and there were appeals for another spot kick. Play on was the message from referee Lee Swabey.

Eventually the full-time whistle went, prompting Black Cats boss Lee Johnson to turn to his coaching staff and release his emotion. “Yesss!!! Get In!” he shouted.

This result carried even greater importance given the nature of Sunderland’s 4-0 defeat at Portsmouth in their last league game, and the fact that the three teams above them in the table all won.

While the likes of Wigan, Plymouth and Wycombe – even Rotherham who remain two points behind the Black Cats – all recorded more comfortable victories in this round of fixtures, it was a day when Sunderland simply needed to stay in touch.

It may be a cliche to say an improving side would have lost this game last season, yet it’s worth remembering Sunderland dropped 25 points from winning positions as they ultimately missed out on automatic promotion.

Those memories will have been fresh in supporters’ memories as Gillingham took a direct approach in the dying minutes, with Akinde and the troublesome Vadaine Oliver causing problems.

Yet Sunderland’s defenders, particularly centre-back pairing Callum Doyle and Tom Flanagan, stood up to the physical battle, while substitute Bailey Wright also produced an impressive cameo after coming on as a makeshift right-back.

Aside from their late collapse at Fleetwood, Johnson’s side have been far better at converting leads into wins this season – even if it hasn’t always been comfortable to watch.

The other impressive aspect here was Sunderland’s ability to come from behind.

In the first half, the visitors’ passing lacked it’s usual tempo and zip – which Johnson partly put down to the slowness of the pitch.

“It wasn’t a bad pitch but it was left a little bit longer so it perhaps doesn’t slide through like ice hockey, it was sort of tumbleweeds across,” he said.

Still, the Sunderland boss didn’t want to make excuses and said he was disappointed with the first-half display, which saw his team dominate possession but struggle to break Gillingham down.

With Aiden McGeady, Lynden Gooch and Leon Dajaku all absent through injury, the Black Cats’ lack of natural width in attacking areas was noticeable.

Instead, Alex Pritchard and Elliot Embleton were deployed as inside forwards, with Aiden O’Brien in the No 10 position, yet Sunderland’s attempts to play through a congested midfield played into Gillingham’s hands.

The task became even tougher when Luke O’Nien’s rash challenge on Stuart O'Keefe was penalised and Danny Lloyd converted the subsequent penalty.

While chasing the game, Sunderland’s passing looked forced. It needed a moment of quality to turn the game.

Not for the first time this season, that moment of quality came from Dan Neil, and also came at the perfect time.

The 19-year-old once again showed his importance to this side when his excellent cross on the stroke of half-time was prodded home by O’Brien.

It was the lift Sunderland needed.

After the break they quickly found a couple of extra gears, with full-backs Dennis Cirkin and particularly Carl Winchester on the right finding more opportunities to make forays forward.

It was Winchester’s persistence which helped his side win a decisive corner, which was initially cleared but won back by Ross Stewart, before Pritchard’s cross was headed home by Flanagan.

Unfortunately for the defender he wasn’t able to join in with the jubilant celebrations in front of the away end as he hurt his shoulder by colliding with the post.

It was a good job the towering centre-back was able to continue, as Sunderland’s defense was about to come under some serious pressure.

There will be some debate about whether Embleton’s challenge was worthy of a straight red card, with some arguing his studs weren’t showing as he slid into Tucker with force.

But, at the very least, his challenge was late and reckless. The midfielder will now serve a three-match suspension, ruling him out of league games against Crewe and Charlton, as well as the Carabao Cup clash at QPR.

That is far from ideal given Sunderland also have several players unavailable through injury, and the side’s bench at Priestfield showed a clear lack of experience.

Still, given the circumstances, this felt like a significant win.

The travelling fans may have feared the worst at times. In the end, they were able to enjoy the post-match celebrations.

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