IT certainly wasn’t pretty, but by the time the final whistle blew on the final game of Sunderland’s regular League One season, it was at least a case of ‘job done’. The Black Cats had secured a home second leg in their play-off semi-final, Charlie Wyke and Aiden McGeady had both returned to the fold and proved their match fitness, and the rest of Lee Johnson’s side had emerged unscathed without any injury or suspension concerns. Never mind the lack of quality or excitement, focus instead on what is to come.

Sunderland will line up against Lincoln for a place in the play-off final at Wembley – or at wherever the EFL decide to locate to if the Champions League final is switched to London – and the two semi-final matches against the Imps will be markedly different encounters to yesterday’s bore draw. If the Papa John’s semi-final between the two sides which went all the way to penalties is anything to go by, though, the forthcoming double-header will be every bit as tight.

Yesterday’s encounter with Northampton will have no bearing on what happens next, although if Johnson was looking for answers to the selection dilemmas he will have to solve ahead of the semi-final first leg in nine days’ time, he will not have found them against the Cobblers.

If Tom Flanagan comes through a friendly on Friday, should he go straight into the back four? Luke O’Nien has deputised for him for most of the season, and while he wasn’t at his best yesterday, the repositioned midfielder has not done much wrong all term. What is Johnson’s best central-midfield set-up? Josh Scowen and Max Power started yesterday; Grant Leadbitter and Carl Winchester played alongside each other in the second half. At this stage, it is hard to know who will line up against Lincoln.

Should Jordan Jones start in the semi-final? He set up Sunderland’s 87th-minute equaliser yesterday, although his assist came via a cross that rebounded fortuitously for Winchester rather than anything more precise. Does Lynden Gooch merit a place in the starting side? And given that he played as a number ten and a right-back yesterday, if he does retain a starting spot a week on Wednesday, where will it be? Has Jack Diamond played himself out of contention in the last few games? Could Chris Maguire be a surprise selection? Plenty of questions; precious few obvious answers as Johnson continues to mull over his options.

A 46-game season that began with a 1-1 home draw against Bristol Rovers ended with the same scoreline against Northampton. Ever since dropping into League One, Sunderland have tended to play out 1-1 draws at the Stadium of Light.

With the sun making a rare appearance in the Wearside sky, yesterday’s game certainly had an end-of-season feel. With their relegation having been confirmed last weekend, Northampton travelled to the North-East with nothing to play for, and with Sunderland’s players understandably having more than half-an-eye on the play-offs, the action meandered along without anyone making much of an effort to try to influence things.

Jones cut in from the left-hand side to fire a second-minute effort straight at Northampton’s Hartlepool-born goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell, while Diamond headed wide from one of Jones’ corners a few minutes later under pressure from two defenders on the edge of the six-yard box.

In terms of Sunderland carrying a goalscoring threat, that was pretty much that until Power dragged a 20-yard shot wide on the stroke of half-time following a lay-off from Gooch.

There was a distinct lack of urgency in the home side’s attacking all afternoon, with Gooch’s presence in the ‘number ten’ position not really working, which is something Johnson will have to think about as he ponders his line-up for play-offs. Gooch’s energy and enthusiasm are two of his greatest strengths, but playing in the number ten position requires a more composed and calculating approach, and despite having filled the role on a number of occasions now, the American is yet to convince that he is cut out for it.

Similarly, while Diamond has spent most of his time this season pushing forward in a wide-attacking position on the right, he is not a natural winger in the mould of a Jones or an McGeady. All too often yesterday, his first instinct was to cut inside, an approach that slowed down Sunderland’s attacking and made Northampton full-back Michael Harriman’s day far easier than it might otherwise have been. He went off at half-time, replaced by McGeady, and must be rated as an extremely unlikely starter once the play-offs roll around.

McGeady was the first of five second-half changes made by Johnson, with the Sunderland head coach understandably keen not to over-exert his players ahead of their two-legged semi-final.

Johnson was able to wrap the likes of Power and Wyke in cotton wool in the closing stages, but while his changes might have proved useful in terms of player management, they did little to alter the course of the game.

Jones’ 55th-minute effort was deflected into the side-netting and substitute Aiden O’Brien lofted a shot over from 20 yards, but it was the 78th minute before Sunderland created what could realistically be termed a genuine goalscoring opportunity.

Jones’ one-two with O’Brien punched a hole in the heart of the Northampton defence, but while he had plenty of the goal to aim at as he lined up a first-time side-foot, the Rangers loanee only succeeded in steering a poor effort over the crossbar.

If the Black Cats’ attacking threat was negligible for most of the afternoon, then Northampton’s was pretty much non-existent, with Bailey Wright and O’Nien never really having to get out of first gear at the heart of the Sunderland back four.

Ryan Watson floated an early 40-yard effort over the crossbar after spotting Lee Burge off his line, but the fact that Sunderland’s goalkeeper made it pretty much to the final whistle without being forced into a single save said much about the state of the game.

So, it was a major surprise to everyone when Burge’s first real involvement six minutes from time involved him having to pick the ball out of the back of the net.

Wright was caught on the wrong side of Danny Rose and earned a booking as he checked his opponent on the edge of the box. Sam Hoskins stepped up to fire in the free-kick, and his effort took a hefty deflection off the Sunderland wall to wrong-footed a helpless Burge.

Given the Black Cats’ lack of an attacking threat to that stage, Northampton’s players probably thought one goal would be sufficient to earn them a victory. Remarkably, though, after having been so impotent for more than 80 minutes, the home side stirred themselves to claim an equaliser within three minutes of falling behind.

Jones’ floated cross caught out Mitchell, and after hitting the inside of one post, the ball rebounded across the goalline and struck the inside of the other. It could have gone anywhere after that, but it dropped invitingly for Winchester, who had the simple task of stabbing home his first Sunderland goal.