SUNDERLAND closed to within three points of the automatic promotion places at the top of League One as Aiden McGeady’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon.

Jack Ross handed a debut to three of his January signings as his side returned to winning ways at the Stadium of Light – what were the main debating points from Sunderland’s success?

McGEADY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

When Sunderland needed a moment of class as they were huffing and puffing their way through Saturday’s game, McGeady stepped up to deliver it.

The winger hammered home his eighth goal of the season midway through the second half, and having won 92 senior caps for the Republic of Ireland, Jack Ross thinks there is still a chance the 32-year-old could make it to his century.

“I think he still has a desire to play for his country, but selfishly we don’t want to miss any more games between now and the end of the season, so if you are looking for me to push him to be called up, then I’m going to say he has played terribly,” said Ross.

“But seriously, I know he is on 90-odd caps and like any player on that number getting to 100 caps is a big incentive, and I certainly don’t think he has closed the door on it. I am sure if he keeps playing as he is doing, then he will get that opportunity.”

BIG NAMES MISSING OUT

After a busy January, Sunderland now boast a squad packed with options. Inevitably, that will mean some senior players feeling frustrated between now and the end of the season.

Jack Baldwin was the mainstay of the Black Cats’ defence in the first half of the campaign, but he has lost his place to January signing Jimmy Dunne and was only on the bench at the weekend.

Chris Maguire has been a talismanic figure since joining from Bury, but if Lynden Gooch hadn’t been a late withdrawal, he wouldn’t even have made it into Ross’ match-day 18.

Maguire is likely to get chances in the next three months, but it is hard to see the likes of Alim Ozturk, Dylan McGeouch, Bali Mumba and Benji Kimpioka getting too much game time.

DEADLINE DAY DRAMA

Sunderland were involved in two deals that went right to the wire on Thursday night. One went through, with Will Grigg completing a £4m move from Wigan Athletic, but the other collapsed, with Bryan Oviedo’s proposed switch to West Brom hitting a last-minute snag.

Grigg’s ankle injury meant he was unable to feature against Wimbledon, but he was introduced to the crowd before kick-off, with “Freed From Desire” belting out over the Stadium of Light PA. With Grigg expected to be available for Saturday’s trip to Oxford, Sunderland fans can expect to hear plenty more of that in the next few weeks.

What will happen with Oviedo is much harder to gauge. The Costa Rica international has been a bit-part player for much of this season, but remains one of the highest-paid players at the club.

“I spoke to Bryan on Friday,” said Ross. “We gave him the option of a day off because he was late home on Thursday night, but he came back in and he was fine. He’s not caused me one bit of problem since he’s been here, it’s just been a peculiar set of circumstances we’ve found ourselves in.”

WIMBLEDON DESTINED FOR THE DROP

AFC Wimbledon achieved one of their best results since their reincarnation when they knocked West Ham United out of the FA Cup last month, but their league form continues to be extremely poor.

The Wombles are rooted to the foot of the League One table, nine points adrift of safety, and have now won just two of their last 11 league games.

They didn’t play like a side resigned to their fate as they pushed Sunderland all the way on Saturday, but they are going to have to string together some run of results if they are to clamber to safety by the start of May.

“We’re not going to be coming to stadiums like this against a team of this quality every week,” said Downes. “We won’t be playing Sunderland every week. Other teams down there have been on runs recently and I can’t see any reason why we can’t win three games on the trot.”