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James Hunter

Sunderland's magnificent win at West Brom feels like a massive moment in the play-off race

Sunderland are sixth in the Championship. With two games remaining. Just let that sink in for a moment.

Promoted last season via the play-offs after finishing fifth in League One. A change of manager forced upon them at the end of August.

The youngest squad in the second tier. Without their star striker due to injury for almost three-quarters of the season.

READ NEXT: EFL confirm Championship play-off dates as Sunderland chase a top six finish

Without any recognised centre-forward since January. Without their key midfielder and captain after he suffered a season-ending injury in January. And at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, without a single specialist centre-back.

Yet the magnificent win against their top six rivals lifted the Black Cats into a play-off spot. No wonder the 2,000 travelling fans who had made the trip to The Hawthorns cheered their team to the rafters at full-time.

It has been an incredible return to the Championship for Sunderland. This season has already surpassed all expectations.

No-one wanted to utter the c-word - consolidation - last summer, but it was at the forefront of everyone's mind. Top half finishes, play-off challenges, promotion ... all that could wait.

The first task was to re-establish Sunderland in the Championship, and ensure there was no return to the netherworld of League One. And yet now it is the p-word - play-offs - that is on everyone's lips.

It is far from a done deal. They are one of eight clubs chasing two places, the other contenders being Coventry City, Millwall, Blackburn Rovers, West Brom, Preston, Norwich City, and Swansea City, with just four points between them although Blackburn and West Brom each have a game in hand of the rest.

But some are already beginning to buckle under the strain. West Brom have now won two in seven, Norwich one in nine, Millwall one in seven, Blackburn are winless in six.

As for Sunderland, they have won three of their last four and are unbeaten in seven. Of all the clubs involved in the race, only Swansea have picked up more points than the Black Cats over the last eight games - and Russell Martin's in-form side is still three points behind the Wearsiders.

Sunderland's win at West Brom felt like a massive moment in the run-in. Injuries had left Tony Mowbray down to the bare bones as he returned to one of his former clubs, and defender Luke O'Nien had had to make a dawn dash to the Midlands on the day of the game to play after becoming a father for the second time less than 24 hours earlier.

Sunderland were dominant in the first half against the Baggies and yet went in at half-time trailing when O'Nien was - harshly - adjudged to have fouled John Swift, and the midfielder picked himself up to convert the resulting penalty. But left-sided centre-back Dennis Cirkin headed his team level from a precision Lynden Gooch cross just after the break, and then Cirkin started and finished a brilliant team move to win the game five minutes from time.

Along the way, Sunderland played the slick, passing, football that has become their trademark under Mowbray, and they somehow managed to prevent the Baggies making their overwhelming physical presence count at set-pieces.

It was a triumph of strength of character in the face of adversity. It was just what a team needs when fighting for a play-off place.

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