Sunderlad recorded a 2-2 draw at home to Gillingham at the weekend, with Kyle Lafferty making his first league start since signing in January, scoring a brace.

The Black Cats entered the weekend looking to continue their push towards the automatic promotion places but needed to get back to winning ways after dropping five points in their last two games against Fleetwood Town and Coventry City.

They faced a Gillingham side firmly rooted in mid-table under Steve Evans, but the game failed to spark into life until after the interval, where the hosts took a deserved lead through Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty.

The towering striker powered home a header following a whipped cross from the left, but the hosts were pegged back by former Sunderland man Mikael Mandron in the 74th-minute. 

Lafferty restored the home side’s lead with a smart finish where he latched onto a George Dobson through-ball to slot past Jack Bonham in the Gills’ goal.

However, this wasn’t enough for the three points to stay on Wearside as the visitors snatched a draw in the 96th-minute thanks to Mandron netting his second of the game, two more at the Stadium of Light than he managed throughout his (albeit short) tenure in the North East.

It was a refreshing sight for the Sunderland fans to see Lafferty handed his first start over Charlie Wyke and that came along with Dobson making his 15th consecutive start under Phil Parkinson.

Highlights of the striker’s second goal sparked a lot of discussion about Lafferty’s starting prospects...

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