Sunderland's victory over Rochdale on Tuesday night certainly got supporters very excited.

While the win over Ipswich Town at the weekend was seen as a huge signal of intent in the promotion race, it would have meant nothing without following it up at the Stadium Of Light midweek.

Securing a 3-0 win over Rochdale was huge for confidence, and that was made clear with the performances of several players.

Chris Maguire and Lynden Gooch attracted many of the plaudits for their respective roles in helping the team to put three past the opponents, but they weren't the only ones to impress.

Luke O'Nien and Denver Hume had an excellent game down the flanks as they looked to expose a flaw in the 4-4-2 diamond system that was employed by the League One strugglers.

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Both players did well to exploit the space down the flanks and that led to them having plenty of room to pick out their teammates.

One moment of magic was captured by Sunderland's Twitter account as they shared a video of one of O'Nien's finest moments as he wriggled free of danger before firing a cross-field ball to Hume on the opposite flank.

This prompted a light-hearted exchange between the two widemen, with O'Nien writing: "How do you like them, Denver Hume?" before the left-sided player responded with "standard from you".

It seems that the popular duo are linking up just as well off the pitch as they are on it - something which can only be good news for supporters.

Can you name these ex-Sunderland players? Let's find out!

The verdict

Luke O'Nien and Denver Hume have certainly been Sunderland's unsung heroes in recent weeks.

The pair have taken their wing-back responsibilities to new levels as they continue to put in consistent defensive performances.

Add that to their quality on the ball moving forward and you start to see why the duo have been so important to Phil Parkinson's side.

O'Nien and Hume will have a huge role to play in Sunderland's promotion push, but if they can continue their excellent form then there's no reason why they can't make a real difference.