After the events on the eve of the match, it could have gone either way. Less than 24 hours after Sunderland's erstwhile talisman Alex Neil had said his farewells and agreed to take over at Stoke City, the Black Cats took on Norwich City - a club that had competed in the Premier League last season, and that had started the season as favourites for an immediate return to the top tier.
Given how things had worked out in February before Neil arrived when the team was last between managers in the wake of Lee Johnson's sacking - defeats at home to League One basement side Doncaster Rovers, and at newly-promoted Cheltenham Town - fans could be forgiven for fearing the worst. After all, two thirds of the starters against Norwich also began the games against Doncaster and Cheltenham.
But while Neil has now gone, the team he has left behind is these days made of sterner stuff. And rather than implode in a fit of self-pity at the departure of a head coach that was as popular in the dressing room as he had been amongst fans, they turned in the kind of performance that was their hallmark in the run to promotion at Wembley last season and carried over into the current Championship campaign.
