Always play with (at least) a 5 second bonus.
You will rarely run out of time, unless the Queen's are still on the board, or you haven't gotten out of the middlegame.
Endgame knowledge can be implemented rather quickly, in most cases. That's all @MiceyMan needed to do. 
though the mate is always handy when your flag is ready to drop
Of course, although a major material and positional advantage usually makes it possible to move almost instantly. And in this case they had 7 days per move...
Geez, you some of you guys are getting really upset about this... -OP
Nah, some of us simply won't suffer fools gladly.
It's just a character flaw, that we need to work on.
Exactly.
If you have to choose between maybe mate in x and an easy major advantage, it's often best to keep it simple. Mate (or resignation) will follow anyway.