Sunderland's intriguing tactical changes and a potential injury boost: The moments you may have missed in the Hull City draw

We take a look at some of the moments you might have missed from the League One stalemate – from tactical changes to something that hopefully constitutes an injury boost:

THE SKY SPORTS EFFECT

The visit of the Tigers was the first time this season that Sunderland have been on Sky Sports – and it was obvious upon arrival at the Stadium of Light that the broadcasters were in town.

From a host of large-scale broadcast trucks outside the ground to the metres of cable that were spread across the ground, there was a slightly different look to the home of the Wearsiders for this clash.

Cameras were spread throughout the ground and, given the absence of spectators, were able to perch in angles which perhaps haven’t been possible in previous seasons.

Pre-match, the broadcasters held socially-distanced interviews with Charlie Wyke and George Honeyman (neither of which appeared to end up being televised), while Lee Johnson and Grant McCann also faced a grilling both before and after the game.

GEORGE HONEYMAN’S QUICK HELLO

As was to be expected, former Black Cat George Honeyman was in the thick of the action on his return to the North East.

And he wasted no time in making his presence felt on the game.

He provided the assist – albeit somewhat indirectly after Lee Burge’s fumble – for Hull’s goal and saw plenty of the ball throughout the 90 minutes.

But it was a late challenge on Conor McLaughlin in the opening minutes that was his first real impact on the game, and left the Northern Irish international down in some pain for a small amount of time.

No foul was given – although Honeyman would later receive a booking – and it was far from the last decision that split opinion throughout the evening...

MORE QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS

This was one of the games where you felt Sunderland really missed their home support – if not for the sheer fact they may have put some pressure on referee Scott Oldham who (to be kind) was inconsistent at best.

The man in the middle made some puzzling decisions, particularly in the first, with Jack Diamond the victim of what appeared to be some clear fouls that went unpunished.

One incident in particular had the Sunderland bench up in arms, when the 20-year-old was cleaned-out by Hull stopper George Long as he looked to latch on to a long ball that had caused confusion in the visiting backline.

It looked a clear free-kick, but play was waved on.

It was perhaps no surprise, therefore, that both Lee Johnson and Jamie McAllister waited for a word as Oldham headed down the tunnel at half-time.

A SET-PIECE THREAT AT BOTH ENDS

Sunderland had obviously done their homework.

No team in League One has scored more goals from set pieces than Hull City, and it was noticeable in the early stages of the game that Sunderland were sending plenty of bodies back to deal with the danger posed from dead-ball situations.

Hull had a series of early free-kicks and the Black Cats sent every man back to help defend, with Max Power – who was perched on the edge of the area – the most advanced player.

The Tigers made good use of their set pieces, and fashioned a number of chances from first or second balls.

Sunderland, in contrast, were largely frustrating from their set piece situations and failed to really threaten from these areas of opportunity.

But there were two exceptions.

The first yielded the goal – Grant Leadbitter’s quick-thinking set Diamond away and his lofted cross was headed home by McGeady.

Then as the first half drew to a close, Power took a quick free-kick down the line which almost set Josh Scowen free. A player with a little bit more in the legs may have got onto the probing pass.

It’s an interesting area for Johnson to consider moving forward, given how effective these quickly-taken set plays can be.

SPACE ON THE LEFT

It was noticeable in both halves the amount of space on Sunderland’s left flank.

McGeady – and his replacement Elliot Embleton – drifted inside and looked to influence play in the middle of the park.

At times it was an effective ploy, with McGeady making some forward-thinking runs in the central areas, but it left the Black Cats without an out-and-out presence on the left flank.

There was plenty of space for Callum McFadzean to join in the attacks but he failed to make as profound an attacking impact as we have seen in the past.

It meant a great deal of attacks were focused down Jack Diamond on the right, which at times meant Sunderland’s attacking strategy was quite predictable.

There’s a need for more variety if the side are to start showing improvements in the final third.

LEE BURGE’s REAPPEARANCE

The stopper was withdrawn at half-time after taking a heavy knock to the face in the early exchanges.

Burge received treatment to his eye both on the pitch after going down and at the interval, but was seen back in the stands as the second half drew on.

Hopefully that’s an indication that prolonged treatment wasn’t needed, and that Sunderland’s number one may not have a long-term injury to contend with.

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