Advantage Sunderland in desperate quest to escape League One

Sunderland 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0

It was a Premier League crowd for a League One game, the largest ever for a semi-final play off game in England, as 44,742 people saw Sunderland edge a small step closer to promotion back to the Championship

Sunderland have never been promoted via the play offs and the weight of history hangs heavily over the club, but they have given themselves a good chance of another Wembley trip. Remarkably, it would be their fourth in four years as a League One club.

Having lost just once under Alex Neil in 16 games and never on the road, the odds are on them completing the job on Monday night. All they have to do is avoid defeat. “Sounds simple doesn’t it,” laughed manager Neil.

“I thought we were excellent, to handle such a high pressure situation. The atmosphere was electric and that’s a credit to our supporters. The only disappointment was we didn’t add another goal. But we have the advantage going into the second leg.”

Sheffield Wednesday, though, are still in the fight. They know what they have to do. On Monday night, it will be their turn to benefit from a sell out crowd at Hillsborough. The first leg has set things up perfectly.

Sunderland have been waiting for a night like this ever since losing to Lincoln City in the play-offs a year ago.

It is a club waiting for lift off; a club imprisoned in League One with a fanbase who will never accept they belong there. Four years they have spent in the third tier, the lowest point in this proud northern club’s history. It has been humiliating; embarrassing; excruciating.

Twice in the last three years, the club has made it into the play-offs, desperately hoping their luck would change, twice they failed. The sentence “third time lucky” has never done more heavy lifting.

Sheffield Wednesday are just as big a club, just as important in the history of English football but this is their first season in League One, They are new to this.

When the stakes are high, the spectacle tends to suffer. Neither manager, Darren More or Alex Neil, were worried about entertainment.

It was a game of few chances and very little goalmouth action. The mutual caution created a stalemate, like two armies bogged down in heavy mud. It was an ugly first half but it ended beautifully for Sunderland.

They had been marginally the better side. An early chance from Patrick Roberts, running on to a flick on from Ross Stewart, but the shot was straight at goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

There was applause in the stands, but other than a mishit cross from Lyndon Gooch, which almost sneaked under the bar, there was not much for them to cheer.

That changed just before half time. A long ball, route one, nothing too complicated. Sam Hutchinson, though, made a mess of his clearance and Stewart pounced.

He had work to do as he ran in on goal from the centre circle. Lots of time to think about what he was going to do.

The first attempt did not go to plan, his shot too close to the goalkeeper, but Peacock-Farrell had no control over the ricochet, the ball spinning behind him, which allowed Stewart to guide into the net from a tight angle.

The eruption of noise was like a jumbo jet taking off. Sunderland had the lead, but they had to try and build on it.

They came close in the second half. Alex Pritchard hit the bar with a curling, dipping shot and a header from Dennis Cirkin went over when he should have hit the target from six yards. A brilliant save from Peacock-Farrell tipped another effort from Pritchard over the bar, although the Wednesday goalkeeper almost gifted Stewart a second late.

And it was Wednesday who finished the game looking strong, but they did not make Anthony Patterson in the Sunderland goal work enough. That has to change next week.

Match details

Sunderland (3-4-1-2): Patterson; Wright, Batth, Cirkin; Gooch, Evans, O’Nien, Clarke (Doyle 90+3); Roberts (Embleton 81); Pritchard (Matete 80), Stewart

Subs not used: Neil, Matete, McGeady, Hume, Hoffman

Booked: O’Nein

Sheffield Wednesday (3-5-2): Peacock-Farrell; Storey, Hutchinson, Palmer; Dean, Byers (Dele Bashiru 88), Bannan, Luongo, Johnson; Berahino (Windass 56), Gregory.

Sub not used: Paterson, Dele, Wildsmith, Hunt, Mendez-Laing

Booked: Luongo

Referee: Matt Donohue