I just watched Sunderland win at Coventry City - Régis Le Bris got this exactly right

They were some of the biggest calls of his Sunderland tenure so far, and they paid off handsomely.

It was a tense watch for Black Cats fans at times as Coventry City dominated possession and laid siege to the away box, but the end result was a narrow lead that firmly vindicated Régis Le Bris's approach.

Le Bris had sprung something of a surprise with his selection, dropping Chris Rigg to the bench and going with both Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda. When Le Bris confirmed in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports that he was playing two up front, supporters may have felt a mix of anxiety and excitement and what appeared an ultra-bold approach.

The reality was somewhat different. Sunderland quickly dropped into two banks of four in front of their goalkeeper, Isidor and Mayenda very much the first line of defence. It was almost immediately clear that the game plan would be to absorb pressure and try to break quickly, using that pace with ball overs the top.

Le Bris's other big decision to was bring Dan Ballard back into the XI, and the merits of that call were almost immediately obvious. Coventry City were surprisingly direct, looking to play early into Brandon Thomas-Asante and get Haji Wright and Jack Rudoni involved that way. Every free kick and throw in was launched into the heart of the box, and Ballard's aerial dominance was key to Sunderland limiting the number of chances they conceded.

Sunderland's attacking threat was limited through the half, the closest they came was when Eliezer Mayenda almost repeated his trick from Bristol City and carried the ball from deep in his own half to the Coventy box, dragging his shot just wide. The downside of Sunderland's approach was that Patrick Roberts and particularly Enzo Le Fee were isolated, Ben Wilson a passenger through much the first half.

The positive for the Black Cats was that they had taken the sting out a febrile atmosphere, with the vast majority of Coventry's play in front of them and in areas where they were comfortable defending.

The second half began with much of the same, though there were some concerning signs that Coventry were just finding a little more space in the final third and getting in behind the Black Cats defence. Sunderland stood firm, and picked their moment beautifully to break. It was the moment they had been waiting for, Le Fee drifting into a central area and picking the perfect through ball. Wilson should have saved Isidor's effort, but the striker found the far corner.

The only downside from a Sunderland perspective was that they were opened up so quickly after the goal, though it was a superb cross and an emphatic header from Jack Rudoni to level the scores. The game settled back into a familiar pattern, Sunderland having to defend their box resolutely from a barrage of long balls and crosses.

They did it well and well Le Fee applied some pressure on van Ewijk, the defender erred and passed straight into the path of Mayenda. From there every touch from the striker was perfect, rounding Wilson to score and give the Black Cats the lead. He almost added a third as well, Wilson making a strong block at his near post.

It wasn't always a pretty watch but Sunderland's goal was to stay in the tie. They did that and then some, on what was one of Le Bris's best nights in the job.

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