Sunderland extended their unbeaten run, climbed one place, and moved to within a single point of the play-off spots. And yet…
Last night's 1-1 draw against relegation strugglers Huddersfield Town was undeniably two points dropped. A golden opportunity missed to win a third successive game, move into the top six - however temporarily - and keep the pressure on in the play-off race.
How much damage has been done? It is hard to say.
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We will know more following tonight's games, when play-off rivals Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Norwich City, Preston, and Watford are all in action. They cannot all win - Blackburn and Coventry play each other - but the worst-case scenario is that Sunderland could still find themselves three points outside the top six and back in midtable.
And by the time Sunderland kick off at The Hawthorns against another play-off rival in West Brom on Sunday lunchtime, they could find themselves further adrift given that Coventry, Watford, Norwich, Millwall, Preston, and Blackburn are all in action on Saturday. Put simply, though, Sunderland's chances of sneaking into a play-off position have taken a hit.
The path is narrower now than before, and each of their final three games - all against fellow-contenders, with Watford and Preston to follow that trip to West Brom - can essentially be treated as knock-out ties. Had Sunderland beaten Huddersfield, they would have been right in there and yet now they are heavily reliant on other results going their way.
That's the bad news. The good news, of course, is that wherever Sunderland end up in the final analysis, this will be considered a fine season for a club that finished fifth in League One last season.
The travails of the clubs promoted with them - Wigan were promoted as champions but are now propping up the Championship and hurtling back towards the third tier, while runners-up Rotherham are hovering just a few points above the relegation zone - only underlines Sunderland's achievements this term. If Sunderland do fall short in the play-off race, it will not be for the want of trying on the part of boss Tony Mowbray or his players.
It will be the gaps in their injury-hit squad that will have cost them. Against Huddersfield, their lack of an out-and-out centre-forward was highlighted once again as they found it difficult to play through the middle against the Terriers.
Joe Gelhardt marked his return to the starting XI with a goal to put the Black Cats ahead in the first half, but other chances came and went with Jack Clarke, Amad, and Lynden Gooch all failing to convert when they could have put the game beyond the visitors before the interval. Neil Warnock's Huddersfield were better in the second half and put Sunderland under pressure, with Josh Koroma's deflected strike hauling them level.
And Sunderland just could not summon a response, even when Mowbray gambled by throwing on wildcard Isaac Lihadji and handing a debut from the bench to 16-year-old academy product Tom Watson in the latter stages. One of the running themes of Mowbray's press conferences this season has been 'finding a way' to cope with the challenges that confront them.
The could not find a way against Huddersfield. They must find a way in each of their last three games to keep their play-off hopes alive.
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