AS the fog swirled around the Stadium of Light this evening, there would have been times when Sunderland’s players were struggling to see what was going on at the opposite end of the field. By the time the final whistle blew, however, their fate had become crystal clear. Thanks to an 89th-minute concession, relegation now looks inevitable.

Leading through George Honeyman’s second-half strike, the Black Cats looked to given themselves at least half a chance of survival. Having shrugged off the disappointment of Aiden McGeady’s first-half penalty miss, they displayed spirit and character to set up what would have been a first home win since mid-January. Then, as has been the case so often this season, they shot themselves in the foot.

James Maddison swung a routine free-kick into the area, but three Sunderland defenders stood largely motionless as former Newcastle United centre-half Grant Hanley nodded the ball down to an unmarked Ivo Pinto.

Standing close to the corner of the six-yard box, the Norwich full-back should have had opposition players hurling themselves at his feet. Instead, he took a touch, steadied himself, and calmly dispatched the goal that effectively condemns Sunderland to the third tier of English football for only the second time in their history.

In truth, the goal was no more than Norwich deserved given they struck the woodwork on two separate occasions and carved out a succession of chances that somehow went begging. But it seemed unnecessarily cruel on Sunderland that it came so late in the day. That said, however, it was hardly out of keeping with so much that has happened during an utterly catastrophic campaign.

Sunderland were unable to hold on with 60 seconds left, just as they have been unable to muster much that has been positive in the last nine months. They cannot be relegated at Reading on Saturday, but the end is surely drawing near.

Chris Coleman can justifiably bemoan the number of injuries he has to contend with, and the absence of Marc Wilson and Paddy McNair last night proved costly. The harsh reality, though, is that if you sign injury-prone players, you can hardly complain when they end up on the treatment table. As Sunderland have found to their cost, there is generally a reason why Premier League clubs are willing to loan out players or allow them to leave for free.

Defensive lapses have also proved costly, although for once, this was a night when both sides looked all over the place at the back. Had either team displayed even a modicum of composure in attack, the scoresheet would not have been blank at the break.

Sunderland’s first effort on goal came after just ten seconds, with Ashley Fletcher firing in a fierce low effort that Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn tipped around the post.

Fletcher has been much improved in recent weeks, and his increased success in holding up the ball has persuaded his team-mates to gamble by running behind him. With Lynden Gooch, Ovie Ejaria and McGeady all looking to break into the area last night, Sunderland were more threatening than in a host of their previous home games put together.

The problem was that they didn’t really know how to convert the opportunities they created. Gooch side-footed wastefully wide after McGeady pulled the ball into his path at the heart of the area midway through the first half, and Ejaria wasted a golden opportunity as he took an eternity to get a show away shortly before the break.

Released down the middle by Gooch’s perfectly-weighted through the ball, the Liverpool loanee found himself one-on-one with Gunn. He could have shot left, he could have shot right. Instead, he dallied for what felt like an age before a covering defender smothered his eventual effort.

That was a waste, but it was nothing compared to the chance McGeady passed up in the 40th minute. Hanley chopped down Fletcher in the area, giving the Sunderland winger a chance to score from the spot. He stepped up confidently enough, but rapped a side-footed effort against the base of the right-hand post. It was the first penalty missed by a Sunderland player since Seb Larsson failed to convert against Wolves in December 2011, and it could not have come at a more costly time.

It meant Sunderland were only level at the interval, although Norwich could point to four or five excellent opportunities of their own and claim the hosts were fortunate not to be behind.

The impressive James Maddison dominated midfield all night, finding pockets of space either side of Lee Cattermole and setting up a succession of chances for those around him.

Nelson Oliveira wasted the first, somehow failing to make any contact with the ball as he slid to meet Maddison’s low free-kick on the edge of the six-yard box.

Oliveira’s failure to score was hard to fathom, but the striker was unfortunate two minutes later as his glanced header from Maddison’s corner rebounded off the right-hand post, having beaten the despairing efforts of Honeyman on the line.

With neither Lamine Kone nor John O’Shea looking especially comfortable at the heart of Sunderland’s back four, the Canaries continued to threaten. Josh Murphy lofted the ball over the crossbar after Maddison played him into the box, and the Norwich winger, who is the brother of Newcastle’s Jacob, almost scored on the stroke of half-time with a deflected cross-shot that Lee Camp did well to save.

Both goals were leading a charmed life, and the pattern continued after the interval. With the fog rolling in, visibility was becoming an issue, but Maddison will have seen clearly enough to know he should definitely have given his side the lead shortly before the hour mark.

Oliveira created space on the right-hand side of the area, and when he slid the ball across the face of the area, an unmarked Maddison had the simple task of slotting home from three yards. Admittedly, he was at a slightly acute angle, but he still had at least half of the goal to aim at as he rolled the ball against the post.

It proved an extremely costly error from a Norwich perspective, as just four minutes later, Sunderland were claiming the lead. McGeady struck the post for a second time as he fired in a low effort from just outside the box – it was the fourth time in total a player had hit the woodwork – but Honeyman was perfectly positioned to tap home the rebound from inside the six-yard box.

It was a slightly fortuitous success, but it looked like proving decisive. Until Pinto struck to effectively seal Sunderland’s fate.