EARLIER this summer, the Premier League chose one club to test a Hawk-Eye system that can determine whether or not the ball has crossed the goal-line.

After much discussion, they chose Reading. Unfortunately, for Sunderland, after much further discussion, they decided that the system would only be used in Academy games. Whatever else Saturday's controversial stoppage-time winner was - and Roy Keane appeared desperate to call it all kinds of things in his post-match press conference - it was anything but academic.

The debate over goal-line technology has raged for what seems like an eternity, but if ever one incident was to confirm football's need to embrace methods that are now common-place in most other sports, it was surely Stephen Hunt's 91st-minute strike at the Madejski Stadium.

To the naked eye, it looked as though Craig Gordon had clawed the ball to safety before the whole of it had crossed the line. After a perusal of half-a-dozen video replay angles, it again looked as though Craig Gordon had clawed the ball to safety before the whole of it had crossed the line.

And after the BBC's Match of the Day team had used three-dimensional technology to locate the exact the position of the ball, it still looked as though Craig Gordon clawed it to safety before the whole of it had crossed the line.

Yet assistant referee Steve Rubery still flagged furiously to award the goal. Almost 50 yards away from the incident, and with Gordon's body blocking his view of the ball, Rubery was 100 per cent convinced that the goal was a good one.

On such decisions, seasons stand or fall.

"Nobody can be certain that the ball crossed the line," said Keane. "If the referee's assistant can give it then he must have very, very good eyesight.

"I'm told that if an official is not sure, they can't give it. But if the linesman is sure that the ball crossed the line fair play to him, he must have fantastic vision.

I've looked at it a few times and it's still unclear.

"I'm sure there are enough experts out there to get this sorted out. I'm open-minded about video technology and I've always said that I'd consider things if they improved the game. I think punters and fans enjoy the indecision of our officials, but it doesn't help when you feel that it's affecting your club."

And after the events of the last two weeks, there can be little doubt that refereeing decisions are significantly affecting the course of Sunderland's season.

The sense of injustice that swept through the Black Cats ranks on Saturday was exacerbated by referee Steve Bennett's decision to rule out Danny Collins' legitimate stoppage-time winner against Aston Villa seven days earlier.

Two games, two decisions, three points down the drain. Last week, Keane was refusing to be drawn into a persecution complex that still sees more than one member of his coaching staff persistently bemoan the disallowed goal against Crystal Palace that robbed Sunderland of a place in the Premier League in 2004. This morning, as he reflects on the fickle hand of fate, he might be rather less willing to trust in the age-old adage of things evening themselves out over the course of a season.

"It's two big decisions in a row, but it's not just about the goal,"

said Keane. "Lots and lots of decisions have gone against us - if I stood here and talked about them all, I'd miss my Christmas dinner.

"There was the free-kick before (Reading's) first goal, and even the throw in that led to the second goal. Dwight (Yorke) is adamant their lad knocked it out.

"But that's just the way things are going at the moment, and what we have to do is try to rise above it."

Alternatively, of course, there is another view. Hunt's conversion of Shane Long's cross would not have mattered so much if Kenwyne Jones had squared the ball to the unmarked Anthony Stokes as he galloped clear in the 89th minute, or if Andrew Cole had broken the deadlock when he went one-on-one with Marcus Hahnemann in the first four minutes of the game.

It might not have proved so crucial if Sunderland hadn't spent the majority of the opening hour coming to terms with a patchwork line-up that saw them kick off with more centre-forwards than defenders, and with both Michael Chopra and Daryl Murphy filling wide midfield roles that are hardly suited to their game.

And it wouldn't have been quite so devastating if the Black Cats had matched Reading's drive and cohesion, factors that arguably made them worthy winners despite the controversial nature of their winning goal.

Handed a lifeline when Michael Chopra's penalty - awarded for Ibrahima Sonko's foul on Jones - cancelled out Ivar Ingimarsson's close-range opener, Sunderland were unable to see the game out.

A sixth successive away defeat ensued, and despite spending almost £36m on new players in the summer, Keane finds himself presiding over a side ensconced in the bottom-three.

Seven Premier League managers have been replaced this season, and the majority had a better points record than Keane.

That is not to say the Irishman should be fearing for his job, but there is a growing acceptance that last season's achievements, and his exalted reputation in the game, are insulating him against the kind of criticism that would normally be coming his way.

"The best way of answering anybody, whether it be supporters or the media, is by winning football games," admitted Keane.

"And we're not doing that at the moment."