FOUR games in, and Sunderland have finally been exposed to the harsh reality of life in the Championship. You can be as creative and committed as you like, but if you make a major error at this level, you tend to get severely punished.

Having been the better side for the opening half-hour against a Sheffield United side widely tipped to be strong promotion contenders, the Black Cats paid the ultimate price for a moment of madness from Dan Neil. Having conceded possession to afford James McAtee a clear run on goal, the Wearsider pulled down the Blades midfielder to earn a deserved red card.

Two minutes later, Sunderland were behind thanks to Anel Ahmedhodzic’s headed opener, and by the time the final whistle blew, they had suffered their first league defeat since February.

Even then, they threatened to stage an unlikely revival after Lynden Gooch responded to Max Lowe’s second-half goal for Sheffield United with a deft lofted finish of his own, but ultimately, the challenge of playing for an hour with a man disadvantage proved too big a handicap to overcome.

In League One, perhaps their superior class would have told and they would have got away with it. Playing in the Championship, they were always going to come undone.

Last night’s defeat proved just how little room for error there is at this level, and also underlined just how little it will take for the Black Cats to become seriously stretched.

Injuries to both Dan Ballard and Carl Winchester meant Luke O’Nien was pressed into service as part of the back three, while the absence of Corry Evans meant Sunderland lined up without a naturally defensive central midfielder. Without a recognised centre-forward on the bench, goodness knows what would happen if either Ellis Simms or Ross Stewart was to be sidelined for a prolonged spell.

Thankfully, Neil doesn’t have to worry about that at the moment, and having claimed five goals between them in their previous two matches, Sunderland’s SAS strike force were bright and industrious as they combined to lead the line again last night.

With Alex Pritchard supporting from the ‘number ten’ role, and Jack Clarke and Gooch both looking to play high up the field in their respective wing-back positions, there was certainly no question of the Black Cats adopting a safety-first approach despite the strength of the opposition.

Gooch curled a shot straight at the goalkeeper after cutting infield just two minutes in, and proved equally effective going on the outside shortly after as he fizzed a low cross across the face of the six-yard box that a sliding Stewart only narrowly failed to reach.

Stewart went close midway through the first half with a driven low effort that whistled just wide of the post, and while Rhian Brewster fired in a snapshot that Anthony Patterson saved, the Black Cats reached the half-hour mark without having suffered a serious scare.

Sadly, they then pushed the self-implosion button to ensure the complexion of the game changed completely in an instant.

Dan Neil should have dealt with a routine square ball from Dennis Cirkin, but a heavy first touch gave James McAtee a sniff of an opportunity to seize possession. The Blades midfielder seized control of the ball, setting off towards the 18-yard box, and his progress was only halted when a panicked Neil tugged him to the ground. It was a clear foul, but referee James Linington had to decide whether Neil had denied a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity. He quickly concluded he had, and the flourish of a straight red card rightly reduced Sunderland to ten men.

The resultant free-kick was deflected over the crossbar, and from the subsequent corner, Sheffield United claimed the lead. Set-pieces have long been a key part of the Blades’ arsenal, and after Oliver Norwood swung the ball into the middle, Ahmedhodzic outjumped the entire Black Cats defence to plant a powerful header past Patterson. From nowhere, the Wearsiders were both a goal and a man down.

It was always going to be an almighty challenge from that point on, and Sunderland’s task became even harder when they conceded a second goal two minutes into the second half.

Sander Berge’s dummy bamboozled the Black Cats defence, enabling Ahmedhodzic to break into the right-hand side of the area. The Bosnian squared the ball across the face of the six-yard box, leaving Lowe with the simple task of tapping home.

Neil’s response to falling two goals behind was to make a triple change, with Jay Matete, Bailey Wright and Trai Hume all coming on, and within a minute of the alterations, the Wearsiders were back in the game.

Matete made an instant impact, nipping ahead of McAtee to cut out John Egan’s pass out of defence. Stewart seized on the loose ball, with his subsequent slide-rule through ball sending Gooch scampering clear of the Sheffield United defence.

There was still a fair bit for the wing-back to do as he bore down on goal, but displaying an impressive level of composure, he lofted a neat finish over Wes Foderingham and into the net in front of the jubilant travelling fans.

Suddenly, Sunderland sensed what had previously looked like an unlikely comeback, and for the next ten minutes or so, the visitors applied a fair amount of pressure on the Sheffield United goal.

They were unable to carve out a clear opportunity though, and as time wore on, so the hosts began to reassert their superiority. Sander Berge struck the post with a looping effort that took a deflection off a sliding Wright, and Patterson made fine late saves from Oliver Norwood and John Egan.