SOBS V CHELSEA

You pull back the curtains

And the sun burns into your eyes

You watch a plane flying

Across a clear blue sky

This is the day your life will surely change

This is the day when things fall into place

At the culmination of a season that became a success a couple of months ago, it would be easy to say “job done, sit back and enjoy the day”...but let’s not do that. Let's get carried away, man.

Stay up. Tick. Beat the mags. Tick. Beat them again. Tick. Europe? Why not, and if not, let’s finish on a bang. A real bang. We’ve got nothing to lose but our inhibitions, so let’s lose them. Spoiler alert... Another tick.

No Talbi or Alderete, but Luke was excellent at Everton and Angulo looks the business... and Traore is lurking to be on the wings.

The club, the coaches, the players, the City of Sunderland, and the fans have done everything in their power to make match days great days. Regis le Bridge, Busking Joe, banners, flags, tifos - noise and colour - all was discussed at last night's WTF Podcast end of season party at the Fire Station, in the company of Phil and James from the Echo and a very animated Carlos Edwards. Oh, and our Ian on stage doing the live podcast stuff. A great night.

On the anniversary of our historic playoff win (congratulations to the Boro for becoming the first side to be knocked out of the same competition twice), the Lads welcomed Chelsea to all that noise and passion on a sunny Wearside afternoon and lined up...

Roefs

Mukiele O'Nien Geertruida Reinaldo

Hume Xhaka (c) le Fee Sadiki

Brobbey Angulo

... and a bench of Traore, Mayenda, Ellborg, Rigg, Alderete, Isidor, Cirkin, Diarra, and Ta Bi, and what a rendition of Ready To Go and Wide Men Say. If that doesn't fire you up, nowt will.

They kicked off south but we made the more positive start - I'm still struggling with the fact -FACT- that we're at least as good as sides like Chelsea, but not with the fact -FACT- that we've got heart and organisation and they haven't. A corner in the second minute from our right was straight to the keeper, then Roefs had to pull off the easiest of saves when Palmer tickled a shot towards our goal.

Five minutes later Enzo belted down the right and saw his shot saved. Unfortunately, the Blues dealt with the corner but when it went into our defensive end, Luke hit a 60 yard beaut from left to outside right. We couldn't profit from that, but Xhaka's patience led to a Mukiele shot being blocked. That wasn't Nordi's only attacking contribution, as a series of his long throws rained in from our right.

Ah, look, let's keep it simple. We were by far the better side and after more positive stuff, we moved down the right and Hume sidefooted home for a goal so simple that it was hard to believe. There was a VAR check, just to waste time, but it stood, and deservedly so. 24 minutes, where's Kazakhstan?

The goal lifted us a bit more and we clattered into tackles with Brobbey firing into the side netting in the half hour. After we had a couple of chances, Chelsea got one but headed wide before a blatant push on BB was ignored, making our second penalty shout after a handball shortly before. Angulo blocked their lad on halfway to get a yellow, but there was not even a free when Hume was fouled on the breakaway. Two minutes were added, Chelsea didn't threaten and we went in deservedly in front.

Too good to be true? No.

No changes, as ever, and we were off again. Chelsea, or rather Palmer, had been instructed to get their collective fingers out and he began to look a bit like a footballer. However, Brobbey burst through the middle only to shoot off-balance and have it saved. Soon after, a dangerous one into their box caused havoc five minutes in and their lad stuck out a boot at the back post for a pretty silly OG. Gerrrrin!

I'll take it, as it was no more than we deserved - although somehow Gerty got booked in the celebrations. Reinildo then led the charges down the left, blazing one over before Luke joined in the fun by getting on the end of a Xhaka free only to hit it weakly from a narrow angle for an easy save. Some fantastic defensive play around our right back area showed our calmness and we got it away. However, Palmer continued his improved game with a precise low one to Roefs's left and they had one back. Damn, but if that was supposed to spark a Chelsea comeback it failed. Plenty of possession despite their reduced numbers, but when you've got no collective heart...

Diarra and Issy replaced Brobbey and Angulo, and the former quickly put his stamp on the game with some driving runs forward. A ball over the top set Issy away, but he was hauled down for the most obvious second yellow for Fofana. If that was a good decision, it preceded a period in which the ref lost control of things, but Diarra's shot brought a comfortable save.

We gave them a soft corner, but cleared it and pressed forward as ten extra minutes were announced - a couple of head cracks ensured that - and we brought in Rigg for a knackered Le Fee. If we were worried about those added minutes, which would have been perfectly natural (we are still Sunderland) we need not have been. We saw them out, cleverly won a corner on our right, and heard the whistle as we shaped to take it.

Wow. Just wow... and the other results went about as well as they could have done. Seventh, a whole five points and five places above them up the road. Mad.

The players swarmed about the pitch with their bairns running riot, we sang songs and got dust in our eyes as the Blue fans evaporated, then Regis and Granit made their speeches to round if a marvellous end to a marvellous season.

Man of the Match? Xhaka, Brobbey, and Enzo might have had the starry performances, but I'll give it to Sadiki because he was simply everywhere... however, please feel free to choose anybody else because they all stepped up today.

Wow. Just wow.