Bailey Wright has earned the armband again in his last two outings for Sunderland with the Black Cats beginning to claw their way back towards the automatic promotion race.
Three first half goals saw Sunderland fall on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline on Saturday with a memorable strike from Nathan Broadhead proving the match winning moment.
Lee Johnson switched to a back three with Callum Doyle and Tom Flanagan either side of Wright, the commanding Australian was able to produce an assured display where Sunderland had to dig in amid some extreme weather conditions.
The centre back explained how the Black Cats have learnt from their mistakes to produce a performance like Saturday's when he spoke to ChronicleLive.
Wright said: "I said that when you're a kid these are the best days in football, when it's minging, wet, windy. Not every game is going to be ideal conditions and you just have to deal with it.
"There have been times this season we haven't dealt with it well which gave us an idea of what we needed to learn from and work on. I think we put that into play on Saturday. It was tough conditions against a good side as well so it's a good win and one we enjoy."
Johnson called upon Wright when the going got tough a few weeks ago and the 29-year-old has responded to great effect, Sunderland now look a much more sturdy defensive unit.
The Verdict
Wright has split opinion amongst the Sunderland fan base at the heart of defence in recent years and he was unfortunately heavily involved in the club's fall from the top two picture and subsequent play-off semi final defeat at the back end of last term. Callum Doyle and Tom Flanagan have applied themselves admirably in the third tier this season but after conceding eight goals in two games against Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday under a month ago, it was clear something needed to change.
Wright's attitude has been bang on the money, the Aussie would have been frustrated by his lack of first team opportunities in the opening stretch but has grabbed his chance when it was offered to him and should continue to be a crucial part of Sunderland's promotion ambitions moving forward.