What Sunderland fans are saying about Alex Neil's substitutions, Dan Neil, Patrick Roberts and Crewe win

After an abject first half, Black Cats boss Alex Neil made three substitutions shortly after the interval.

One of the changes Dan Neil then broke the deadlock with an excellent strike six minutes from time.

Another substitute Patrick Roberts then secured the points for Sunderland, scoring his first goal for the club.

Here’s how some fans reacted on social media:

@Ian_Crow3: Another poor performance, but quality... and subs shine through again. Dan Neil screamer and tidy Patrick Roberts finish secure another win. Performances aren't there, but AN decision making from the bench has been game changing, fair play to him.

@Philip_RJ89: That was a largely horrible game to watch, and Alex Neil still has a multitude of questions and problems to solve, but Dan Neil & Patrick Roberts have bailed him out, and maybe saved our season as well.

@_andyyoureastar: Results papering over the cracks I’m afraid. Brilliant game management from AN again, but we need to start playing from the start. Performances not good enough, nowhere near.

@76skelly: Two cracking goals and three important points. Poor performance for 70-odd minutes but the result is all that matters at the minute. Without his goal, I thought Neil did well when he came on and offered a bit quality in the midfield

@Capt_Fishpaste: It’ll do. No more than that, though. Certainly nothing to get excited about.

@lewygsafc: An absolutely terrible performance again. But, a win is a win and that's all that matters. Pity no results went our way around us today, so it's still going to be a tough task for play-offs.

@ianhigh1: Two bits of quality and we get two goals. Poor game but these two home matches were all about taking six points. Can’t afford any more losses this season

@andy_fox23: Credit where credit is due to the manager. But can we just start with our best team and system instead of changing it at 80 minutes?

@stuart1975: Late goals becoming a habit here at @SunderlandAFC. Still three points is three points.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year .

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor