Regis le Bris would do well not to dwell on games past as it would likely put his head in a spin. He is already no doubt reflecting on the number of times his Sunderland side have thrown away games in the last moments of a match this season.

Here we were again on Saturday against Plymouth Argyle and just when it seemed three points were in the bag, the team conspired to let in another late goal. In the last two months it has become a recurring theme. Nightmare, some might say.

Sunderland were 2-0 up against Coventry and drew 2-2 when the equaliser came in the 84th minute. In the very next game, against Millwall, they conceded a goal two minutes into stoppage time to draw 1-1 when they were leading. All square with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, they lost to a goal scored in the 82nd minute.

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Away at Blackburn, they were ahead by two goals to one and managed to allow the home team back in with a 90th-minute leveller. Not content with that, they handed Stoke City a late Christmas present on December 29 as they lost 1-0 to a goal two minutes into stoppage time.Then came Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, bottom of the table and a side who have now gone 15 games without a Championship victory.

That’s not all. The Pilgrims had just lost 5-0 at home to Burnley. In their previous six league games away from home prior to Saturday they had conceded 18 goals. Worse for Sunderland, Argyle hadn't scored in the previous five matches on the road and the last time they did, against Norwich City on November 26, they were trounced 6-1.

This was a team who will have had no real expectation of scoring a goal on Wearside, let alone two, and earning a point would have been beyond the comprehension of those incredible travelling fans, four of whom were up at 2am Saturday morning to make sure they could take on the 900-mile plus round trip from Truro, Cornwall.

Those late goals conceded are the main reason Sunderland are behind the top three competing for automatic promotion spots – Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley, in that order. You can’t put a points total on what the club have missed out on because who knows whether the results would have stayed the same had the goals not gone in as they had.

But you could argue there are a big handful of points that the team have thrown away late on in matches. What is worrying is there were other big opportunities missed by Plymouth, including a free header from Ryan Hardie from six yards which would have been easier to score.

And Callum Wright was allowed to capitalise on a straight ball over the top that left Luke O’Nien, Chris Mepham and Trai Hume flailing as the winger surged forward and sent his left-footed shot against the inside of Anthony Patterson’s post.

So Sunderland mustn’t leave results to chance. They must start scoring more goals.

It was good for Wilson Isidor’s confidence that he found the net but there was a moment in the first half when the team’s problems were highlighted. Hume sped down the right and on the run, sent in a delicious cross in between the six-yard box and 18-yard box but not one player anticipated it. Isidor was four or five yards behind and looked at Hume as if to say, ‘I was here’. Except he wasn’t. Not in the right place anyway. By contrast, at the same end in the second half, Mustapha Bundu whipped in a centre from the exact same spot and Hardie was there to miss that header. But at least he was there.

Conceding late goals is a problem but if Sunderland could be more clinical in front of goal it wouldn’t be so critical to the outcome of matches.