It was another game where Watford head coach Chris Wilder saw his side get themselves into a lead and potential match-winning position, only to watch points slip away.

When the Hornets went 2-0 up an unexpected three points suddenly looked possible, but conceding a goal so quickly gave the hosts the initiative and they snatched a point at the death.

Watford didn’t collapse in the way they have previously, but they certainly faded as the match wore on and Wilder picked up on that after the game.

“We just ran out of steam. I’ve talked before about there’s certain things from the players point of view about their conditioning,” he said.

“It was the same after the Wigan game. We really should be coming on strong in the last 10 or 15 minutes, and going toe-to-toe with them.

“They’re a young, energetic team with a lot of legs in the team, and you need that. But we ran out of steam and also our quality, for me, went a bit and we got sloppy.”

There was a strong rearguard than has not often been the case, but Watford’s biggest failing was not locking the game down when they 2-0 up.

“We defended well and we looked like we wanted to defend,” said Wilder.

“We got two goals up but I said to the players, when you do that at a place like this you can’t then turn it over straight away.

“At 2-0 we needed to see out a five or 10-minute period, which we didn’t do. That gave their players more energy, and then they’ve found a fabulous finish right at the end.

“The gap between our second goal and their first was too short for our own good. You need to take the heat out of the game and we didn’t. We basically handed them a route back into the game.”

With the points meaning far more to Sunderland than Watford, there were plenty of people expecting a straightforward home win.

“We showed a bit of resilience, but whoever you are and whatever division you are in, you need that,” said Wilder.

“I imagine a lot of people thought we’d come here and roll over in front of 45,000 very passionate fans against a team with something to play for.”

What clearly did annoy Wilder was the seven minutes of stoppage time during which Sunderland equalised, given the Hornets have come up against teams who have run the clock down all afternoon only to see a smaller amount of time added at the end.

“I’m not a professional at wasting time. I’m not someone who is into game killing,” he said.

“There is game management though, and you’ve seen games this season where we’ve been chasing it and been on the receiving end.

“We’ve had four or five like that – QPR away and Cardiff at home, where teams are taking game management to the next level. That led me to speak to the League Managers’ Association and also the referees.

“I’m alright today with seven minutes being added on – but where were the seven minutes in the four or five games we’ve had? There wasn’t.

“So I’m a bit aggrieved by that, but the neutrals and certainly the home fans will say they deserved something given their second-half performance and pressure.

“Plus you can’t get away from the fact it was a fabulous finish by Roberts. A brilliant bit of individual skill and a goal worthy of getting something out of the game.”