Sunderland's dilemma with Leeds United’s Joe Gelhardt despite encouraging performance against Huddersfield

The Leeds loanee took his goal excellently to open the scoring in the 35th minute, controlling Amad’s forward pass with aplomb before firing a low effort past goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik from the edge of the box.

It was an excellent finish from a player who, by his own admission, has found it challenging leading Sunderland’s forward line in the absence of top scorer Ross Stewart.

And the opening 45 minutes was arguably the best half of football Gelhardt has produced since his move to Wearside in January.

Along with his goal, the 20-year-old helped hold the ball up and bring team-mates into play with his back to goal, demonstrating his energy and strength. He was fouled five times during his 75 minutes on the pitch – more than any other player (according to Wyscout).

Gelhardt was supported by an attack-minded Sunderland side, which included Amad, Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke and Alex Pritchard, providing more passing options when the Leeds loanee did receive the ball.

Still, while Gelhardt was able to make himself available and help his side retain possession, most of his passes had to be directed sideways due to a lack of team-mates running beyond him.

Mowbray explained his decision not to start Gelhardt against Cardiff and Birmingham before the Huddersfield game, with the Black Cats boss saying he wanted to operate with two No 10s to gain more control of those fixtures.

Sunderland also played with two No 10s here, as Roberts and Pritchard operated behind Gelhardt at the expense of a central midfielder alongside Dan Neil – who was left exposed at times in the Black Cats’ engine room.

Gelhardt’s influence did wane in the second half before he was replaced 15 minutes from time, after Sunderland had lost their shape and one-goal advantage.

Still, while the Black Cats have struggled to get the best out of him during the second half of the campaign, Gelhardt has shown in flashes why several Championship clubs were keen to sign him back in January.