Sunderland 1 Gillingham 0

Broadhead, a second-half substitute, headed home Elliot Embleton’s cross in the sixth minute of added time after it had looked as though the Black Cats were going to be held to a goalless draw for the second game in a row.

Luke O’Nien and Ross Stewart both hit the woodwork as the Black Cats dominated for most of the afternoon, but some committed Gills defending frustrated the home side for more than 90 minutes.

Broadhead’s winner settled things though, lifting Sunderland into sixth position as the race for the play-off positions hots up.

Alex Pritchard returned to the starting line-up following his recovery from injury – Danny Batth was also back in the starting XI after an injury absence – but while Sunderland dominated possession for much of the afternoon, they struggled to penetrate a well-drilled Gillingham backline.

Jack Clarke directed a weak early effort straight at goalkeeper Aaron Chapman, with Batth also threatening in the opening ten minutes as he directed a back-post header wide of the target from a corner.

Pritchard curled over from distance as Sunderland continued to probe from outside the 18-yard box, and the hosts came within an inch or two of claiming the lead midway in the 21st minute.

Clarke swung over a cross from the left, but while O’Nien swivelled adroitly to meet the ball, his glanced header struck the crossbar before cannoning over.

That was as close as Sunderland came before the break, with the rest of the first half rapidly descending into a fairly nondescript midfield battle.

Gillingham’s time-wasting tactics infuriated the home crowd, but Neil Harris’ side deserve credit for the disciplined way they held their line on the edge of their own penalty area and successfully blocked pretty much everything the Black Cats delivered from the flanks.

The Gills never really looked like scoring before the break, although there was a momentary scare for Sunderland in the 23rd minute when Charlie Kelman drilled a half-volley just wide of the target after the ball was flicked on to him on the left-hand side of the area.

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, with Sunderland seeing plenty of the ball but doing precious little to trouble their opponents in the final third.

Pritchard curled a 57th-minute strike over the bar after Clarke laid the ball off into his path, before the Black Cats struck the woodwork for a second time as they frustration continued to grow.

Stewart met a corner from the right with a stabbed close-range effort, and his shot deflected off a defender before striking the base of the post.

Neil made a triple change with time running out, bringing on Broadhead, Embleton and Lynden Gooch, and the former helped set up a golden chance for Corry Evans with ten minutes left.

Broadhead rolled the ball into Evans’ path after breaking clear of the Gills defence, but the Sunderland midfielder’s side-footed effort from the edge of the area sailed wastefully over the bar.

When he was presented with another chance in the 96th minute, though, the Everton loanee was not found wanting. Bursting ahead of Jack Tucker, Broadhead headed home Embleton’s cross to spark wild celebrations amongst the home support.