LEE JOHNSON knew he would have plenty to contend with when he agreed to take charge of Sunderland, but less than a fortnight into his reign, the Black Cats’ new head coach cannot have envisaged having to negotiate his way through a scenario like this.

Shorn of eight senior players because of a coronavirus outbreak that could have even more serious repercussions in the next few days, Johnson watched his cobbled-together Sunderland side scrap to a 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon.

In normal circumstances, yet another 1-1 scoreline at the Stadium of Light would be a source of considerable disappointment. Given the chaos that has engulfed his squad in the last 48 hours though, Johnson will have been delighted with the spirited second-half fight back that earned his team a point.

Bailey Wright’s hammered half-volley cancelled out Joe Pigott’s first-half penalty for Wimbledon, and ensured Sunderland would at least take something from a game that saw its complexion completely changed the moment an unnamed Black Cats player started to experience Covid-type symptoms on Sunday.

He subsequently tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in seven of his senior team-mates having to self-isolate at home. For most of yesterday, Johnson was unsure whether he would be able to put out a team, such was the speed at which members of his squad were having to declare themselves unavailable.

With that in mind, he might well regard his side’s subsequent performance as even more praiseworthy than the display that saw a full-strength line-up put four goals past Lincoln City at the weekend.

Regardless of the outcome, though, last night’s game should not have taken place. While only one of Sunderland’s players had received a positive rest result at kick-off, the harsh reality is that no one has a clue how many others might be asymptomatic carriers of the virus or might subsequently test positive in the next few days.

Two of Lee Johnson’s players were displaying coronavirus symptoms at home as they waited for a test result to come through, while a further five were having to self-isolate because they were classed as close contacts of the player that tested positive.

Amid that backdrop, was it really sensible to be playing a game of football in a tier-three area supposedly subjected to the toughest possible Covid restrictions? Sunderland officials spent most of yesterday in contact with senior representatives of the EFL but they were not given permission to call off the game, nor could they secure any clarity about a likely punishment if they made the unilateral decision not to play. As a result, they felt compelled to fulfil their fixture obligation.

The EFL might have felt they were safeguarding the integrity of their competition, but the governing body needs to take a serious look at their Covid protocols. What happens if members of last night’s Sunderland starting line-up test positive in the next 48 hours? How will the EFL react if coronavirus now sweeps through the AFC Wimbledon squad? How many players have to be bedridden for a game to be called off?

As Newcastle United learned to their cost at the end of last month, coronavirus can wreak havoc at a football club if things are not locked down quickly. Steve Bruce feels the decision to immediately close Newcastle’s training ground was the key factor in preventing an outbreak in the Magpies camp from infecting each and every member of the playing and coaching group. Even now, three weeks on from the first positive test, two Newcastle players are still “seriously ill” and a further two coaches remain extremely unwell.

The Government is trying to push the message that complacency could kill in the run-up to Christmas. How does the EFL’s willingness to allow last night’s game to go ahead despite the serious health issues afflicting the Sunderland squad tally with that public health warning?

It shouldn’t have mattered that the Black Cats were able to get 11 players on to the field, especially when they were only able to name a team because Aiden O’Brien lined up on the left flank even though he had barely even trained since recovering from injury. Sunderland’s bench featured four youngsters who had played for the Under-23s on Monday and two senior players, Jordan Willis and Lynden Gooch, who came on for the second half, whose injury issues mean they almost certainly would not have been anywhere near the squad in normal circumstances.

Understandably, it was not really a fair fight. Sunderland were nowhere near as fluent last night as they had been in their four-goal win at Lincoln at the weekend, although in fairness, that was not solely a result of the enforced chanes wrought by Covid.

AFC Wimbledon’s conservative tactics made this a much different game to Saturday’s, with the visitors happy to pull nine outfield players behind the ball and effectively decamp on the edge of their own 18-yard box.

Sunderland’s shadow side was energetic and industrious, but lacked the quality needed to prise open Wimbledon’s well-drilled rearguard.

Chances were in relatively short supply all night, although the recalled Will Grigg went close in just the sixth minute when he swivelled neatly in the box before drilling a first-time shot straight at Wimbledon goalkeeper Connal Trueman.

O’Brien hammered a rising drive over the crossbar shortly after, but Sunderland’s best chance of the first half came to nothing midway through the opening period when Elliot Embleton’s angled drive was saved by Trueman after the youngster received an infield pass from Wright.

Wimbledon’s first-half attacking was largely non-existent, but it only takes one moment to change the course of a game and it arrived for the visitors three minutes before the break.

Jack Rudoni burst past Callum McFadzean into the right-hand side of the area and was tugged back as he attempted to break along the byline. McFadzean’s foul was both unnecessary and somewhat petulant, and Wimbledon skipper Pigott made the most of it, calmly converting from the penalty spot.

Sunderland continued to dominate possession in the second period, but aside from the occasional break from either Embleton or Jack Diamond, they rarely looked like hurting their opponents. Their build-up play was ponderous and predictable for long periods, a failing that has afflicted them all season and that certainly predates Johnson’s appointment.

However, they kept plugging away, and their persistence was rewarded in the 62nd minute. Wright successfully held off his opponent in order to control Diamond’s right-wing cross on his chest, and hammered an angled half-volley across the Wimbledon goalkeeper and into the far corner. It was an excellent finish from the centre-half, who was claiming his second goal of the season.

It sparked an almost immediate response from Wimbledon, but while Ryan Longman broke into the left-hand side of the area, his 16-yard drive cannoned against the crossbar. Shane McLoughlin also shot into the side-netting as the visitors became more adventurous late on.