PLAY-OFFS REVISITED

In the 24/25 season, the best match I went to has got to be the play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley. Last season was brilliant because we stayed consistent in winning matches which gave us the best chance of Premier League promotion.

SEMI-FINALS

The first semi-final leg against Coventry was away and we won 2-1 thanks to a late Eliezer Mayenda goal, which meant that we only needed a draw in the return leg to proceed to the final. Sheffield United had already beaten Bristol City comfortably so we already knew who the winner would be facing in the final.

Before the home match, various fan groups had put in a lot of effort to make sure the atmosphere was electric. Everyone arrived earlier than usual to watch the players arrive at the stadium via the team bus. There were thousands of people surrounding the bus, many carrying red flares, and as the players approached the main entrance the chants grew louder and louder. The ground was pretty much full to give the Lads a boost, even when they headed out for their pre-match warmup. This all continued until kick-off but when the match kicked off, the nerves certainly began to creep in. We all knew Sunderland’s record against Coventry, even if we had managed a victory in the first leg.

It was an intense first half, but the Black Cats were successful on holding their 0-0 result. It certainly wasn’t pretty but we were digging deep and camped on the edge of our own box. However, on 76 minutes Coventry were able to slip through and flick the ball into the bottom corner.

1-0 to Coventry on the night, making it 2-2 on aggregate. Extra time to follow…

There were no more goals in the added half an hour, although we had really grown into it and looked for a strong finish as Coventry’s energy began to fade. Then, two minutes of added time were announced. With quite literally the last play of the game and penalties looming, Sunderland won a corner.

Enzo Le Fee was trying to increase the noise of the crowd when walking to the corner flag which made the moment even more tense. I remember watching him kick the ball towards the front post and seeing Dan Ballard jump higher than everyone else. He actually jumped too high and had to re-adjust, bending his body in order to head the ball off his knee goalward. Suddenly, the ball just hit the bottom of the net and we’d realised that we were going to Wembley. 121:59.

We stayed well past the final whistle to celebrate with the players, out of relief more than anything else. The scenes were incredible and like nothing I have ever seen at the Stadium of Light. That night will go down as one of the most iconic moments since the SoL opened.

THE FINAL

On May 24th, we were facing Sheffield United. A team in red and white who had a horrendous historic record at Wembley. Sound familiar? They had never won promotion through the play-offs and actually hadn’t scored at Wembley since 1925.

We didn’t start as well as everyone had hoped because in an attempt to win a header, Luke O’Nien landed awkwardly and dislocated his shoulder. We lost one of our key players after just a few minutes and then Tyrese Campbell scored for Sheffield shortly after.

Harrison Burrows would have doubled the Blades’ lead in the first half, and we all thought he had, but after a lengthy delay the goal was thankfully chalked off thanks to VAR intervention. That was certainly a turning point, a glimmer of hope in what had been a nightmare start for the Lads.

We had looked better as the first half went on, but it was the second half where the team looked to have the bit between their teeth. With Sunderland still trailing but now looking the better team, Regis Le Bris made the brave call to bring off captain Dan Neil and star winger Romaine Mundle after 73 (yes, really) minutes. On came Wilson Isidor alongside young Tommy Watson, who had been the pantomime villain at times during the season but had a chance to to make a difference for his boyhood club.

Enzo Le Fee was involved in the equaliser, as was Patrick Roberts who played a top class pass into Eliezer Mayenda, who swept home the finish with his weak foot. At this point we were even and there was a feeling in the stands that there would only be one winner.

Deep into the seven minutes added, we had resigned ourselves to extra time. However, there was a miscommunicated pass from Sheffield United’s Kieffer Moore and Tommy sprinted in to make sure he nipped the ball, before cutting inside goalwards.

It would be the last chance of normal time, so he had to make sure it was a perfect shot. Tommy curled it into the bottom right corner of the goal with only an inch between the keeper’s hand and the post. Perfect.

It was the fitting parting gift from Watson, scoring with the last kick of the game to send us to the Premier League before his move to Brighton. Scoring the winner made the winger the second-youngest player to score in a second-tier play-off final, aged 19 years 46 days.

Thank you Tommy, just don’t score against us this season!