Sunderland recorded a one-sided victory over Rochdale as they came away 3-0 winners.

It's a result that strengthens the Black Cats' play-off position as they approach the final third of the season.

The home side dominated the first half as two goals from Lynden Gooch and an Eoghan O'Connell own goal gave Sunderland a 3-0 lead at the break.

As far as second halves go, it was something of a non-event for the hosts as they cruised to a comfortable win.

But what did we learn about the Black Cats?

A winning formula

When Sunderland’s team was announced there was certainly one or two murmurings of discontent.

While it was the same XI who came out victorious against Ipswich Town, It seems that some supporters were keen for Phil Parkinson to freshen things up with the games coming thick and fast.

Keeping the same team was a risk but it certainly paid off.

Sunderland didn’t appear to be tired after Saturday’s exploits – in fact they picked up where they left off with a high-intensity display which put Rochdale firmly under pressure from the off.

Cohesion is crucial within a team and based on results at present it’s hard to criticise what Parkinson is doing.

A case for Tom Flanagan

He’s started the last two games after an injury to Joel Lynch, but Flanagan will not be giving up his jersey in a hurry.

The centre-back has looked incredibly assured at the back considering his lack of gametime of late.

In fact, Flanagan’s comfort on the ball in something that makes his a real asset to Parkinson’s plans to play out from the back.

It remains to be seen whether he’ll keep his place with Lynch set for an imminent return, but based on his form in the last two games it’ll be very hard for the boss to drop him.

Can you name every Sunderland player's shirt number this season? 

 

The perfect balance

It certainly appears that Phil Parkinson’s system is perfect for the players in his squad.

After tinkering in his early days in the role, the Sunderland boss has settled on a 3-4-3 system which frees up Luke O’Nien and Denver Hume to surge forward from the wide areas.

In fact it was those two who made the difference against Rochdale.

The visitors afforded Sunderland far too much time down the flanks and this was an area that handed the Black Cats a strong foothold in the game as they cruised to a dominant first half lead.

It won’t always be that easy but the balance of Parkinson’s team looks to be perfect at present and this is a real positive for the weeks ahead.