EARLIER this week, the Fulwell 73 team responsible for Sunderland Til I Die said they would be willing to shoot a fourth series of the Netflix documentary if the club make it back to the Premier League. On this evidence, they needn’t get their cameras out of their cases anytime soon.

Lethargic, lacklustre and once again lacking a cutting edge, the Black Cats slipped to a deserved 1-0 defeat against a Huddersfield side scrapping for their lives in the bottom half of the Championship. If not quite a Valentine’s Day massacre, it was certainly a loss that exposed Sunderland’s limitations, especially when it came to posing a threat in the final third.

Jack Clarke didn’t score, so neither did Sunderland. Too simplistic? Perhaps, but with Matty Pearson and Jack Rudoni repeatedly doubling up on the visitors’ leading scorer, the lack of a Plan B was glaringly apparent. Nazariy Rusyn willingly ran the channels, but never really threatened in the penalty area, while neither Jobe Bellingham nor Abdoullah Ba convinced as they attempted to break into the box.

As a result, Pearson’s first-half goal was sufficient to settle things, with the Huddersfield defender bundling home from close range after Anthony Patterson could only claw Rudoni’s low shot into his path.

The Terriers hit the post in the second half through Josh Koroma and saw another decent effort blocked on the line, so while Sunderland improved marginally after the break, they could hardly complain about the final outcome. In truth, the way they played in the first half, they could not really have got any worse after the interval.

The defeat has not done too much damage to Michael Beale’s side in terms of the size of the gap separating them from the play-off positions, but it reinforces the impression of a side that is too inconsistent to mount a successful promotion push. For every step forward, there is another one backwards not too far down the line. It also ended with substitute Patrick Roberts hobbling off with another injury blow.

Roberts’ runs down the right provided a rare bright spot in the final half-hour, but Sunderland’s midfield didn’t really function for most of the night, with Bellingham initially stationed on the right-hand side as he returned to the starting line-up in place of Patrick Roberts and Ba pushed through the middle into the central attacking-midfield role.

With Clarke pulling wide to the left and Rusyn tending to drift away to the opposite flank, there were times when Ba was effectively playing as Sunderland’s central striker, albeit with limited impact for much of the night.

Rusyn scuffed a seventh-minute shot straight at Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, but the early quarter of the game was mainly notable for the tangle of legs between Clarke and Pearson that left Sunderland’s leading scorer hobbling awkwardly for five minutes or so.

Thankfully, Clarke was able to run off the problem, but it served to once again highlight just how dependent the Black Cats are on their creative talisman. If the 23-year-old was to suffer anything serious between now and the end of the season, his absence would almost certainly have severely-debilitating repercussions.

At the other end of the pitch, Michael Beale appears to have settled on his preferred back four, with January signing Leo Hjedle once again lining up at left-back, enabling Trai Hume to remain in his preferred position on the opposite flank.

Hume had his hands full with the lively Sorba Thomas last night, and Sunderland were indebted to a brilliant sliding challenge from Luke O’Nien that prevented the Huddersfield winger from setting up an opener midway through the first half.

Dan Ballard conceded possession in his own half, enabling Thomas to break down the left, and when he cut the ball back to Ben Wiles, the home midfielder looked certain to score. O’Nien robbed him of the ball with a perfectly-timed challenge though, and when the ball subsequently broke to David Kasumu, the striker fired wide from outside the box.

Nevertheless, it was an opportunity that confirmed Huddersfield’s threat in the final third, and having scored four goals in their previous home game against Sheffield Wednesday, the Terriers claimed the lead as they scored again eight minutes before the break.

The goal was largely the result of a smart short free-kick routine that ended with former Sunderland transfer target Rudoni firing in a low shot from the corner of the 18-yard box. Patterson clawed the ball away down to his right, but Pearson was on hand to bundle home the rebound from close range. Patterson might well claim he was caught unawares from the free-kick, but the Sunderland goalkeeper should probably have made a better fist of dealing with Rudoni’s strike.

In fairness, Patterson was not the only player in the visiting ranks suffering from sloppiness. Passes repeatedly went astray – Trai Hume and Ba both passed the ball straight out of play within the opening two minutes of the second half – and when Hume conceded a cheap free-kick on the corner of the 18-yard box seven minutes after the interval, the Black Cats were almost punished. Koroma’s low shot beat Patterson, but the ball rebounded off the base of the left-hand post.

Bellingham brought a save from Lee Nicholls at the other end as Sunderland finally showed signs of stirring into life, drilling a low 22-yard shot straight at the Huddersfield keeper, but the Terriers remained the more threatening side and went close again shortly before the hour mark.

Rudoni met Thomas’ corner with a glanced header, but Bellingham managed to block the ball on the goalline. He thrust out his arm as he ball arced towards him, but it appeared to strike his upper chest and home penalty appeals were duly waved away.