TONY MOWBRAY always said a place in the play-offs was a long shot for his Sunderland side, and while the Black Cats remain in the hunt with three games to go, their promotion prospects are receding fast. If a top-six spot was unlikely before last night’s draw with Huddersfield, it is an even more distant possibility now.

All was going well when Joe Gelhardt fired the Wearsiders into a first-half lead at the Stadium of Light, but Neil Warnock has been firing up his latest escapology act for a while now, and the Huddersfield boss inspired his players to a much-improved second-half display that was capped by Josh Koroma’s 59th-minute equaliser.

Sunderland remain within a point of the play-off spots, but the two sides directly above and below them all have at least one game in hand, and it feels as though games are running out for the Wearsiders. Last night’s second-half showing, in which the Black Cats failed to really lay a glove on their opponents, also suggests Mowbray’s side are running out of steam.

That is perhaps to be expected given the injuries that have ravaged them throughout the last few months, and wherever Sunderland finish, the season will have been a success. As Mowbray rightly points out, the struggles of Wigan and Rotherham, who both finished above the Black Cats last season, provide perspective.

Falling narrowly short of the top six is hardly a disaster, although Mowbray did all he could last night to elicit the win his side surely required, replacing the injured Edouard Michut with Gelhardt rather than Pierre Ekwah or Abdoullah Ba.

However, while Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts were both afforded the freedom to get forward to support Sunderland’s central striker, it was still a night when chances proved elusive.

Pritchard drilled an early effort over the crossbar after Jack Clarke’s initial shot had been blocked, and Clarke teed up Lynden Gooch midway through the first half for a strike that was saved by Huddersfield goalkeeper Thomas Vaclik.

Nevertheless, there was little sign of an impending breakthrough before Gelhardt produced a sparkling solo effort to open the scoring ten minutes before the break.

The Leeds loanee had plenty to do when Amad Diallo slipped the ball into his path midway inside the Huddersfield half, but with Tom Leeds backing off, he backed himself to find the target from 22 yards.

Mowbray might not regard Gelhardt as a natural centre-forward, but this was an occasion when the youngster had his radar well and truly in range. Having spotted an inviting gap between Lees’ legs, Gelhardt drilled a low strike into the bottom corner.

It was a goal that briefly fired up the hosts, and Sunderland should really have doubled their lead before the interval. Amad appeared to have the goal at his mercy when Pritchard’s attempted pass deflected into his path, but from ten yards out, the Ivorian lofted a wasteful effort over the crossbar.

Huddersfield hadn’t really threatened in the whole of the first half, but the visitors came close to claiming an equaliser within three minutes of the restart. Koroma’s right-wing cross was allowed to pass all the way to Jaheim Headley at the back post, but the Terriers wing-back could only drag a low strike across the face of goal and wide of Anthony Patterson’s left-hand upright.

There was a significant increase in urgency to Huddersfield’s second-half play though, and Sunderland’s defenders were relieved to hear referee Leigh Doughty’s whistle for a push for a corner before Lees hooked the ball into the net.

Three minutes later, however, and there was to be no such let-off. Koroma burst between two Sunderland players, holding off Gelhardt as his run took him to the edge of the box, and while his shot might have beaten Patterson anyway, a helpful deflection ensured the Black Cats keeper had no chance of keeping it out.

Amad almost responded with a 25-yard effort that Vaclik clawed around the post, but with Huddersfield digging in to defend their point, there was to be no dramatic ending.