Sunderland fan blog: Ross Stewart proves his class but triple-injury blow a concern

For the Black Cats, this was another gruelling second-tier contest where they didn’t have things their way, and weren’t entirely at their best.

From both accounts, this was mostly a poor Championship encounter – never likely to be one that will be remembered for the quality of the contest, but may hold some relevance due to the key moments that defined this latest second-tier hurdle.

In the return of Ross Stewart, this proved to be a pivotal marker: when the going got tough in parts of the second half, the Scotsman proved an outlet, that at times, the Black Cats have been missing over his absence.

A goal, and an overall convincing display, Stewart marked his return in the best fashion, but this proved to be one of the only moments of quality in an otherwise dull encounter.

There’s no doubt that the Black Cats were second-best: it was another poor performance (after a poor second-half showing against West Brom on Monday night), but Tony Mowbray’s side dug deep, when it was most required.

Yet, this proved to be a good point, although pre-match, some fans would have expected more against a side that has struggled defensively this season, but on this cold Saturday afternoon, this was, certainly, a Hull side on the up under Liam Rosenior.

But, as the afternoon began to play out, this was a satisfactory point, nevertheless.

This was a different proposition that the Black Cats have had to deal with this season, whilst they were unjustifiably reduced to ten men with 30 minutes of the game remaining, whilst Mowbray’s injury list has begun to pick up pace again, as Pritchard, Batth and Embleton are now added to the sidelines.

However, as ever, the Black Cats will move on. From the start of the day, Sunderland remain unmoved, finishing the first half of the season smack-bang in the middle of the table. For now, this was just about good enough.

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