Sunderland sent a statement to the rest of League One on Thursday evening when they emphatically ended Sheffield Wednesday's 12 game unbeaten run with a 5-0 win.
Ross Stewart took the headlines with a perfect hat-trick completed just before the hour mark on a very satisfying midweek night for Lee Johnson. Wednesday had dispatched the Black Cats 3-0 in the reverse fixture in early November, but this was sweet, sweet revenge as wave after wave of Sunderland attacks kept the Owls on the back foot on a memorable evening on Wearside.
Johnson explained where Sunderland were able to hurt Wednesday when he spoke to YorkshireLive.
He said: "We didn't start well, they were the better side in the first ten minutes and the goal was a bit against the run of play. But we recognised their high line and that was the key when you've got Ross Stewart and Leon Dajaku running off the back of people.
"I won't go too tactical but I was very pleased with what the players were able to implement after what was a lot of studying. We felt we needed a plus one that we didn't quite have (in the reverse fixture)."
Chey Dunkley, Liam Palmer and Marvin Johnson is not a back three renowned for its recovery pace, so it is a surprise to see Darren Moore implement such a high line and we are unlikely to see it remain in place in the coming weeks.
The Verdict
It has been an outstanding turnaround since Sunderland lost three league games on the spin going into November. Six wins and three draws from their last nine has followed as the Black Cats have firmly reinstated themselves in the automatic promotion race. Johnson's men are currently sitting top of the tree and despite having played more than Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic directly below them they will be confident of kicking on in the new year.
The League One promotion has had the potential to be one of the most exciting ever since the first weekend of the campaign and with Sunderland throwing themselves back into contention, the next few months could certainly live up to that billing.