Stephen Elliott: This key Tony Mowbray intervention helped Sunderland

Luton Town themselves were looking to bounce back after taking a hammering from local rivals Watford last week. I think I speak for the majority of Sunderland fans when I say it was a particularly nice sight and welcome boost to see Ellis Simms back among the substitutions after a period out with injury.

The lack of forwards available over the past few weeks, as we have mentioned previously, has been a massive burden on the progress of this team after a fantastic start to the campaign. Tony Mowbray spoke highly of Bailey Wright through the week so it wasn’t a major surprise for me to see the Australian international back in the starting XI. I presume the manager decided it was the perfect game for Wright, given the physical nature of the Luton attack.

Luton came out of the traps early and looked a threat. Sunderland kept them at bay for most of the half though and were very unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions themselves. However, just as it seemed it would be all square at the break, the lads were struck with a killer blow, conceding a goal just before half-time.

After what happened last week against Burnley, where the character and resilience of the squad was questioned, it could have knocked the confidence out of the team. Because of this, it was very interesting to see how the lads would react to the goal.

Thankfully, there was no signs of what we saw last week, as the team tried to get back into the contest. The team huffed and puffed but to no real avail. For me, the turning point was when the manager made the changes.

The substitutes gave the team an injection of life and added a bit more zip to a game that could have easily filtered out, a 1-0 win to the home team. Simms, in a half hour, showed exactly what the team have been missing in regards that focal point to play off, as well as offering that threat in behind.

Elliot Embleton came on and looked sharp throughout. After scoring against Wigan a couple of weeks ago I said it may spark a flurry for the academy graduate and it seems that just may be the case.

I found his finish to be exceptional as the pull back from Jack Clarke was slightly behind him. It certainly wasn’t an easy chance. It wasn’t the best performance in the world and the draw was probably the fair result but it was more the character of his side that will please Mowbray going forward. There are hungry players both on the pitch and on the bench and that usually bodes well for keeping players at a high standard.

Huddersfield will prove another tough test on Wednesday night. There is no doubt there will be a huge away following again and the team will be hoping and believing they can send them home happy.