A fan’s perspective of Sunderland in the play-offs
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The EFL play-offs get under way this weekend and are one of the highlights of the season for neutral football fans but a stressful time for those involved!
There is arguably no better way to win promotion than by winning at Wembley but Sunderland supporters know all too well about the heartache that can come in the promotion deciders.
Ahead of their Championship play-off semi-final against Luton on Saturday, avid Black Cats fan Simon Lovell looks back at the record of Sunderland in the play-offs and discusses his hopes for this season.
Memories of Sunderland in the play-offs
Until last season, Sunderland’s relationship with the play-offs was not a healthy one.
Bizarrely, our only success came in 1990 as a result of losing a final. We were beaten at Wembley by Swindon but they paid for financial irregularities with their top-flight place. We paid for it by not buying any central defenders and coming straight back down.
Three years earlier, the play-offs had sent us to the third tier for the first time in our history. We became the first English team relegated on the away-goals rule, despite scoring two away from Roker Park ourselves. The opponents were Gillingham but there was an argument for renaming them Tony Cascarino, who scored five of their six goals.
In 1998 we fell victim to Charlton, one of the greatest games played under Wembley’s Twin Towers, apparently. There are plenty who will argue that the exploits of Clive Mendonca, Sasa Ilic and Michael Gray that day will not be bettered but good luck arguing that with a Wearsider.
There have been further tales of woe involving Sunderland in the play-offs since. We missed out in the semis in 2004, losing a penalty shoot-out against Crystal Palace, and when we finally did make it back to the new Wembley for a play-off final (we’d already seen it in 2014, Manchester City coming from behind to win the League Cup) it brought another defeat in 2019. We were gifted an early lead by Charlton (them again) but went into our shells and an added-time goal completed a turnaround which surprised few.
After we’d been undone by Covid and clubs with favourable points-per-game ratios voting to end the season early in 2020, we were back in the play-offs the following year. Lincoln got the better of us this time. We lost the first leg 2-0 but bounced back strongly in the second, only to be undone by an unmarked Tom Hopper at a corner. That’s what happens if you give him space, Hopper…
Thankfully the misery ended last May with a second win at Wembley in as many years, finally escaping the choking grip of League One by beating Wycombe. David Stockdale mishandled Elliot Embleton’s shot to give us an early boost, before Ross Stewart wrapped it all up late on and meant thousands of red and whites could finally enjoy what Wembley is supposed to feel like.
As for this year, expectation is healthy, rather than heavy. There’s a real feeling of positivity around the place again and many are understandably dreaming after we’ve bounced back from numerous blows.
Manager Alex Neil left for Stoke in August, captain Corry Evans saw his season ended in January, we’ve been without star striker Ross Stewart for two-thirds of the campaign (he got 10 goals in 13 games), and a recognised central defender for the final stages. The bad luck has been relentless but so have we, and boss Tony Mowbray deserves huge credit for continually finding ways to win games.
Our top-six hopes looked to have gone three times, when we ‘only’ drew at Burnley, then failed to beat Hull and Huddersfield at home. But the door stayed open because others weren’t in any great form either and the fixtures elsewhere were helpful too.
We bashed it down on the last day. Saying we sneaked in is unfair because the win at Preston was emphatic, although there’s no denying the favour Blackburn did us.
We’re a much better side away, so having the first leg at home suits us. It worked last season against Sheffield Wednesday too. That said, ever-improving Luton are no mugs away either and are likely to be thinking the same. It should be close!
