WHILE Sunderland received a huge slice of luck for their late equaliser in last night's 1-1 draw with Rotherham United, it was exactly what head coach Alex Neil thought his side deserved from their performance at the Stadium of Light.

Michael Ihiekwe was amongst the goals as he headed the Millers' opening goal of the game in the first half before heading into his own net in the 88th minute from Jack Clarke’s cross.

While it was a lacklustre first half with both sides really cancelling each other out, the Black Cats threw the kitchen sink at it in the final ten minutes with their place in the League One play-offs coming under threat.

In the end, their efforts paid off, to the delight of Neil, who will now turn his attention to Saturday's final game at Morecambe.

"I thought we deserved a point” said Neil after the game.

“I thought they had moments in the game and we had moments in the game, I thought it was fairly even. We knew how the game was going to pan out.

"My biggest frustration is the goal we conceded. We went with a big, strong team because we knew that set-plays were going to be an issue, that direct balls were going to be an issue.

"The first goal comes from us losing three headers on the bounce, from a goal-kick, from the throw-in and then from the corner.

"It's something we focused on before the game and we knew they would have that threat.”

Neil made three changes for last night's game against the promotion-chasing Millers as he aimed to combat a strong outfit as he explained: “The plan was always to compete, be big and strong for 60 minutes, they're the best pressing team in the league and they don't let you play.”

But with the Black Cats trailing in the game heading into the dying embers, changes were necessary with Sunderland running out of time and ideas.

“The game is always going to loosen up in the last 30 minutes," he continued. "We brought some of the other lads on to move the ball a bit quicker, a bit cleaner, to try and win the game.

“We had a couple of chances, Luke O’Nien flashing a couple of good crosses across the box, (Alex) Pritch's free-kick, and the goal happens because Ross (Stewart) is coming in at the back stick.

"It wasn't going to be a game full of chances, it was never going to be like Saturday.

“These teams don't allow you to pop it about, you beat them by going up, back and through. We didn't link the ball well enough in the first half but from the second half, I think we deserved a point.”

The result sees Sunderland drop a place to fifth in the League One table. It means that victory against Morecambe on the final day of the season would guarantee them a play-off spot.

The Black Cats will provide late assessments on Carl Winchester and Dennis Cirkin this week, with the duo both having missed last night's game through injury.