Phil Smith: I watched Sunderland's win at West Brom and these are my key conclusions

Sunderland produced a strong defensive display to beat West Brom 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and these were his key conclusions...

LUCK IS ON SUNDERLAND'S SIDE - BUT WEST BROM WIN HAS SOME VERY POSITIVE SIGNS

Tony Mowbray was left baffled by his side's ability to lose this game and to a certain extent you could understand his point of view. Sunderland struggled to get their counter-attacking game going throughout the game and registered an expected-goals tally of just 0.23. Though Trai Hume's delivery was good, the West Brom goalkeeper should have dealt with it.

The hosts missed two glorious opportunities, Jayson Molumby and Daryl Dike both heading wide when unmarked and a matter of yards from the Sunderland goal. The result was by no means a reflection of the balance of play, with the hosts dominating possession and territory for the large part. Régis Le Bris was clear afterwards that his side need to be better on the ball in the weeks ahead.

It would be wrong, though, to say this win was purely about fortune from a Sunderland perspective. After all, West Brom did manage just three shots on target and it was a feature of the game that many of their attempts were from long range and had Anthony Patterson in little danger. Sunderland defended their box superbly well, with Trai Hume, Chris Mepham and Luke O'Nien in particular all producing strong individual performances. Time and time again they cleared a cross or a set piece, from which West Brom were then reduced to a speculative effort from distance.

Most encouragingly of all from a Sunderland perspective was that West Brom barely created a chance in the last fifteen minutes of the game. The game management from the Black Cats was very good and much improved from what we saw earlier in the season, which is a big positive looking ahead to what will almost certainly be a play-off campaign in May. Whoever Sunderland play, there will be spells away from home in particular where the Black Cats have to absorb pressure. This display suggested that they are capable of doing exactly that.

The signs are that Sunderland have managed to reset and refocus after that shambolic performance at Coventry City, giving themselves a real chance of building some momentum of that play-off campaign.

MAYENDA CALL VINDICATED COMPLETELY - BUT SUNDERLAND ARE GOING TO NEED TOMMY WATSON

Sunderland's injury frustration continued when Romaine Mundle was brought off in the first half, almost immediately signalling for a substitution. While the severity of Mundle's injury is not yet known, it is the same hamstring which he injured earlier this season and that is therefore a big concern moving forward. Le Bris is set to give an update at his pre-match press conference on Monday.

There were eyebrows raised when Le Bris opted not for a like-for-like replacement in Tommy Watson but instead for Eliezer Mayenda, who has had a superb campaign but looked uncomfortable on the left wing earlier this season. It was the right call and then some. Mayenda almost immediately won the free kick from which Trai Hume scored and though game state meant he didn't see lots of the ball whenever he did he almost always made something happen.

Le Bris said afterwards that the decision was not related to Watson's imminent move to Brighton, but instead a reflection of how well Mayenda has done this season and how unlucky he is not to be in the starting XI anyway. It's clear that if Mundle is indeed injured for a period of time, Mayenda will come into the XI and rightly so. It's a chance he has more than earned and few Sunderland fans will quibble that his exemplary attitude earns opportunities wherever and whenever they present themselves. Mayenda's development continues to be a real joy to watch and his attitude earned glowing praise from Mowbray in his own post-match press conference, the former Sunderland boss noting that his attitude marked him out as a future star even in a period where he was struggling to make an impact on the pitch last season.

Once the dust has settled a little on the Brighton news, however, Le Bris is going to have to use Watson even if it is just from the bench. Mayenda will be needed up front at times to ease the burden on Isidor and while Enzo Le Fee can of course play out on the left, Sunderland need to give him time in midfield to build relationships ahead of the play-offs.

It is of course up to Watson to prove in training that he is ready to make an impact, but Sunderland's squad is thin enough as it is due to injury and they simply don't have the luxury of not using the player who most closely replicates Mundle's skillset.

JOBE PERFORMANCE GIVES LE BRIS ANOTHER OPTION

Though Sunderland's starting XI was unchanged, there was a slight change to the structure of the team as Jobe Bellingham dropped into the midfield anchor role. It's a position he played to good effect against Portsmouth early in the season when Dan Neil was suspended, and he did well again here.

Le Bris explained afterwards that the idea was to freshen things up for two players who have had a draining workload this season, and also to experiment a little for what may lie ahead. Both players showed they are more than capable of making the shift if required and so it was a change well worth making in the end. To that end, the positive impact of Le Fee and Leo Hjelde from the bench was also a major positive for the weeks ahead.

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