SUPER SUB: Marvellous Mackems and McBurnie grab the weekend headlines

Sunderland do not carry out their seasons in a predictable manner, we know that much from recent rollercoaster campaigns under a series of extravagant bosses.

The latest, Sam Allardyce, has been chosen to provide a much needed backbone that will hopefully see them avoid relegation down to The Championship.

Two wins in a week displays ample proof that Big Sam is on the right track, but he needed the cunning and talent of his bench to unlock the visiting Stoke side.

Monday’s hero Jermain Defoe exited early this time around, promising youngster Duncan Watmore thrown on just after the half-hour mark in an effort to unsettle the Potters backline.

The match was still heading for a stalemate when Adam Johnson replaced John O’Shea with 16 minutes left.

An often frustrating figure, the former Manchester City winger duly set up Patrick van Aanholt for Sunderland’s first before Watmore added a second to complete victory with six minutes left on the clock.

Elsewhere in the top flight, former Tottenham right-back Adam Smith came on at half-time for Bournemouth with the Cherries two goals down against Everton and pulled one back before Junior Stanislas struck a last-gasp brace to clinch a point.

There are a handful of young strikers making a big name for themselves lower down the leagues, away from the glare of the Premier League spotlight.

One of them did his cause no harm at all with a thrilling hat-trick off the bench for Newport County that condemned Luton to a 3-0 reverse on their travels.

19-year-old Scottish U21 international Oliver McBurnie (profiled in an academy column recently) rattled in his first five minutes after coming on, then added two more within the next 23 minutes to grab the headlines.

His parent club Swansea have been struggling up front of late, therefore he could soon be back in Wales if he continues to plunder the net.

Other League Two highlights included Barry Corr, who was a half-time substitute for hosts Cambridge United against visitors Notts County.

The 30-year-old striker hauled them level with a penalty five minutes into the second half en route to a 3-1 victory.

Ryan Brunt also came on at the interval for Plymouth in their clash with Dagenham and Redbridge and ended up rescuing a point deep into added time at Victoria Road.

Danny Hylton entered the fray with 62 minutes on the clock at Victoria Park and struck eight minutes later to hand Oxford United a crucial win over Hartlepool.

League One saw former Wolves winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing gift Rochdale a much needed win over Port Vale after coming on just before the hour mark.

Up in The Championship, Lucas Joao did it again off the bench for Sheffield Wednesday as his header salvaged a point for the Owls at Blackburn.

Over in Cardiff, 76th-minute substitute Rouwen Hennings put Burnley on track for an improbable point with five minutes left as Matthew Connolly’s stoppage time own goal sealed the deal.

Finally, England striker Charlie Austin scored the winner against Leeds within a minute of coming off the bench for Michael Petrasso to boost QPR’s promotion chances.

Honourable mention must also go to rugby union replacement Tom Catterick, who slotted a game tying conversion as Newcastle grabbed a draw at Sale with Danny Cipriani missing a last-gasp penalty attempt.

This is a weekly column for Yahoo Sport UK

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