Sunderland's players celebrate after their play-off victory over Coventry (Image: Ian Horrocks)
Sunderland's players celebrate after their play-off victory over Coventry (Image: Ian Horrocks)
SUNDERLAND end their season in the Championship play-off final tomorrow as they take on Sheffield United at Wembley looking to claim a place in the Premier League.
What were the ten key moments that have taken the Black Cats to the brink of a return to the top-flight?
APPOINTING REGIS LE BRIS
Regis Le Bris speaks at his introductory press conference as Sunderland head coach
Regis Le Bris speaks at his introductory press conference as Sunderland head coach
(Image: The Northern Echo) Ultimately, the key decision Sunderland made this season was their first one, way back in June. Crucially, they got it right.
The search for a new head coach had effectively begun last February, when Michael Beale was dismissed, but for a long time, it looked as though the Black Cats hierarchy, led by Kristjaan Speakman, were flailing around aimlessly.
Fears increased when a move for Will Still broke down, and the anxiety within the fanbase reached fever pitch when Sunderland announced the appointment of Le Bris, an unknown Frenchman who had been relegated with Lorient in the previous season.
Eleven months on, and the decision to install Le Bris looks like a masterstroke. Tactically astute, reassuringly level-headed and decisive when it comes to the big calls, Sunderland’s head coach has been a huge success no matter what happens tomorrow.
SIGNING WILSON ISIDOR
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor (Image: Ian Horrocks)
As well as fretting about Le Bris’ credentials, Sunderland supporters also spent much of the summer panicking about the lack of a proven goalscorer.
A failure to sign a centre-forward in a succession of transfer windows had become a long-running joke, so the arrival of Wilson Isidor went somewhat under the radar.
That was largely because Isidor was initially regarded as a left-sided attacker, who could perhaps play through the middle in an emergency. Instead, he found himself up front at an early stage of the campaign and has remained there ever since.
Signed on a permanent basis in January, when a clause in his initial loan move from Zenit St Petersburg was triggered, the 24-year-old has scored an impressive 12 league goals in his first season on Wearside.
MAKING A STRONG START
Luke O'Nien scored against Cardiff on the opening day of the season
Luke O'Nien scored against Cardiff on the opening day of the season
(Image: Ian Horrocks) After the catastrophic end to last season, it felt imperative that Sunderland hit the ground running at the start of the current campaign.
Removing the hangover from the disastrous spell under the caretaker control of Mike Dodds was essential, and Le Bris’ new-look side duly delivered.
Sunderland won their opening game of the season at Cardiff City, thanks to goals from Luke O’Nien and the soon-to-be-departed Jack Clarke, and followed up with a four-goal home thumping of Sheffield Wednesday.
When they beat a Burnley side being hotly tipped for promotion in their next home game, thanks to a goal from Romaine Mundle, Sunderland were up and running at the top of the table.
MESLIER’S MELTDOWN
Illan Meslier was left crestfallen after his error at the Stadium of Light
Illan Meslier was left crestfallen after his error at the Stadium of Light
(Image: PA) Every season contains a couple of ‘Can you believe that really happened’ moments – few, though, have featured an incident like the one that played out in the final seconds of last October’s home game with Leeds United.
Trailing 2-1 as the game headed into injury time, Sunderland looked destined to suffer what would have been their first home defeat of the season.
But when Alan Browne’s deflected effort spun towards Illan Meslier, the Leeds goalkeeper somehow misread the flight of the ball and allowed it to bounce over his arms and into the net.
It was a remarkable moment, and a point at which Sunderland fans really began to believe this might just be their season.
AN AUTUMN WOBBLE
Jobe Bellingham was sent off during Sunderland's draw at QPR
Jobe Bellingham was sent off during Sunderland's draw at QPR (Image: Ian Horrocks)
When Sunderland headed to Loftus Road in early November, they were still sitting in top spot.
However, with Jobe Bellingham seeing red, a goalless draw with QPR sparked a run of five successive draws that was then followed by a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Performances were hardly disastrous, but with Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United all stringing together lengthy winning runs, the Black Cats had nevertheless dropped to fourth position by the time they returned to winning ways against Stoke at the start of December.
They would flirt with the top three positions for the next few months, but they remained in fourth spot for the whole of the rest of the campaign.
SIGNING ENZO LE FEE
Enzo Le Fee joined Sunderland on loan from Roma
Enzo Le Fee joined Sunderland on loan from Roma (Image: Ian Horrocks)
With promotion a definite possibility, would Sunderland be bold in the January transfer window? The answer arrived when a loan deal was announced for Enzo Le Fee.
Le Fee might have had a tough first half of the season at Roma, but he was still a £20m midfielder who had been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool in the couple of seasons before heading to Serie A.
His previous relationship with Le Bris, who he had played under at Lorient, was a key factor in the 25-year-old agreeing to move to Wearside and play in the Championship, but the signing was nevertheless a statement of intent.
That Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus were willing to commit to a permanent deal in the event of promotion confirmed the club were happy to be setting their sights high.
RIVERSIDE DRAMA
Enzo Le Fee celebrates after Sunderland's dramatic late winner at Middlesbrough
Enzo Le Fee celebrates after Sunderland's dramatic late winner at Middlesbrough (Image: Ian Horrocks)
The best game of the season? Prior to the play-offs, it was surely the see-sawing 3-2 win over promotion rivals Middlesbrough at the Riverside in early February.
Having fallen behind to an early goal from Delano Burgzorg, Sunderland’s players quickly regained their composure and took the lead as Dan Neil and Isidor scored either side of half-time.
Boro looked to have claimed a point when Hayden Hackney fired home from close range, but after some Le Fee magic, Ryan Giles put the ball through his own net to hand Sunderland all three points.
The post-match celebrations in front of a jubilant away end will live long in the memory, with Isidor at centre-stage as he stuck his shirt on the corner flag before hoisting it aloft.
ISIDOR’S UPS AND DOWNS
Wilson Isidor fails to score from the spot against Burnley
Wilson Isidor fails to score from the spot against Burnley
(Image: Ian Horrocks) Speaking of Isidor, the French forward’s personal fortunes fluctuated wildly in the second half of the season.
The low point was the goalless draw at Turf Moor in January, when Isidor had two second-half penalties saved by James Trafford.
That game actually came in the middle of a purple patch though, with Isidor scoring seven goals in the space of 11 matches between Boxing Day and mid-February.
After opening the scoring at Leeds in February, however, Isidor went 13 games without finding the net before the drought was broken in the first leg of the play-off semi-final. As a result, his starting spot at Wembley is far from guaranteed.
THE RUN-IN DEBATE
Regis Le Bris rested players during Sunderland's run-in
Regis Le Bris rested players during Sunderland's run-in
(Image: Ian Horrocks) Fitness or form? The debate raged throughout the final month of the season as Sunderland found themselves in no-man’s land in the play-off places – too far away from the top two for automatic promotion to be a possibility, too far clear of sixth position for their results to matter.
Some fans argued that carrying momentum into the play-offs was crucial, and were alarmed when Le Bris started making a host of changes from early April onwards.
The Sunderland boss was more concerned about keeping his players fit and fresh though, and was adamant their sharpness would return once the play-offs began.
His side’s performance in the first leg of the semi-final at Coventry’s CBS Arena proved he had been correct. Sunderland’s players were on it from the word go as they claimed a 2-1 first-leg lead.
DAN’S LAST-GASP DRAMA
Dan Ballard scores the extra-time goal that took Sunderland to Wembley
Dan Ballard scores the extra-time goal that took Sunderland to Wembley
(Image: Ian Horrocks) Defending a one-goal advantage, Sunderland started the second leg of their play-off semi-final as strong favourites.
However, while sitting back and looking to break in a 4-4-2 formation had worked in the first leg in the east Midlands, it left the Black Cats vulnerable at the Stadium of Light.
Sure enough, Ephron Mason-Clark fired Coventry level with 14 minutes remaining, and a penalty shoot-out looked inevitable when the clock ticked into the final minute of stoppage time in extra-time.
Cue Le Fee swinging in a corner, and Dan Ballard rising at the front post to crash home a header off the underside of the crossbar. The greatest ever moment at the Stadium of Light? It’s hard to think of a better one.
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