Nat’s more like it as Broad Heads the Cats to victory
It looked like Sunderland were out of ideas and drifting in the race for a top-six spot.
Gillingham had, as expected, proved resilient and organised opponents, but with just seconds to play, Elliot Embleton picked up possession and unfurled a glorious cross from deep.
Nathan Broadhead, making his much-awaited return from a hamstring injury, got ahead of his marker and nodded into the far corner.
It was one of the most important moments of the season, after 95 minutes of toil and angst.
Neil had reverted to a back four for the game, boosted by the return of Alex Pritchard to the starting XI and Broadhead to the bench.
Preparing for a barrage of long throws and set-plays from their opponents, Danny Batth also returned to make his first appearance under the new head coach following a persistent ankle injury. Though Gillingham had come into the game still very much mired in a relegation battle, their form had improved considerably since the arrival of Neil Harris, and so Neil had warned that it would be a difficult challenge.
The hosts started like a team intent on giving their play-off hopes a lift, dominating possession and playing with a tempo that at times threatened to overwhelm the deep-lying defence in front of them.
Patrick Roberts again looked lively, half chances for both himself and Jack Clarke on the opposite flank showing promise but failing to force a save of note from Aaron Chapman in the Gillingham goal.
The best early chance fell for Batth, who met an excellent Pritchard corner on the edge of the six-yard box but could only nod wide of the near post.
Clarke and Pritchard both saw ambitious efforts from range drift high and wide as Sunderland looked to turn their dominance of both possession and the shout count into a goal.
The game began to open up a touch as Gillingham forced a couple of long throws.
But for a spell that suited the hosts as Clarke found space and whipped an excellent cross onto the penalty spot.
Luke O’Nien had run just beyond it, but shifted his weight brilliantly to turn a header onto the crossbar.
The visitors responded when Charlie Kelman ran onto a long throw, his snapshot
never threatening Anthony Patterson at his near post.
It was then the turn of Roberts to again cut inside from the right flank, and this time his left-footed effort was on target and forced a decent stop from Aaron Chapman as he palmed clear of danger.
For Sunderland, that was about as good as it got as they began to lose momentum in their play.
Their dominance of the ball was still almost total, but the visitors were increasingly comfortable in defending their box and occasionally threating on the counter.
Too often, Sunderland’s crosses were being headed clear with ease, Roberts and Clarke cutting inside but quickly running into congested areas.
Though there were some moments of individual excellence from Pritchard, the hosts went into the break needing to find a touch more craft and incision to their play.
The second half started much in the same vein, Sunderland’s first effort coming ten minutes in when Pritchard fired wide from the edge of the box.
As in the opening stages of the game, the best early chance fell to Batth from a corner, but his free header was not strong enough to beat the defender dropping onto the goal line to clear. In a flurry of corners the Black Cats also hit the woodwork, a close-range effort from Ross Stewart deflected onto the foot of the post.
An improvement in the tempo of Sunderland’s open play led Dennis Cirkin to sting Chapman’s palm from range, but Neil sensed the need to mix things up and made his three substitutions all in one go, introducing Lynden Gooch, Embleton and the returning Broadhead.
Broadhead looked to have set up the winner when the hosts finally found space to break with ten minutes to play, but Corry Evans could only fire over the bar as he ran to meet the pass inside the box.
There was still ample time for the hosts to snatch a vital win, but that ended up being one of their last chances of note.
When Stewart saw a close-range effort blocked, it looked like that might be that, but there would be one last twist as Embleton and Broadhead’s persistence paid off to seal the win.
Sunderland now travel to Oxford United next weekend having overtaken them in the table, and though the race remains far too close to call, a trying afternoon ended with Neil’s side strengthening their position.