Sunderland 1-2 Burton Albion
Darren Bent returned to the Stadium of Light to engineer a dramatic comeback that relegated Sunderland from the Sky Bet Championship.
Chris Coleman’s side were by far the better side in the opening 45 minutes, and they deservedly at the interval through Paddy McNair’s third goal in as many games.
The Lads had chances to extend their advantage as Burton gambled and left space at the back, but they hit the jackpot with just four minutes to play as Bent pounced from close range.
John O’Shea’s header cannoned off the underside of the crossbar in the final seconds, but the Brewers went straight up the other end and took the lead through Liam Boyce.
Sunderland had a goal disallowed in added time, but the decision went against them.
TEAM NEWS
Jason Steele, O’Shea and Billy Jones came into the starting XI as Chris Coleman made big changes to the starting XI. Bryan Oviedo and Donald Love, who will miss the remainder of the campaign, missed out, as O’Shea returned to captain the side, with Joel Asoro named on the bench despite Coleman initially expecting the 18-year-old to miss the final run-in.
EARLY OPPORTUNITIES
Sunderland saw plenty of the ball in the opening stages and George Honeyman crafted the first opportunity, but his cross towards Ashley Fletcher went to waste as the striker was penalised for a foul. Burton responded with their first chance, as Joe Sbarra’s teasing cross was cut out before Luke Murphy fired straight at Steele. And with 15 minutes on the clock, the visitors spurned two big opportunities as Paddy McNair did enough to put off Lucas Akins in the six-yard box, with the striker also headed the resulting corner wide.
EYES ELSEWHERE
As time ticked towards the 20-minute mark, all eyes were elsewhere. Goals at St Andrews, Macron Stadium and Elland Road saw Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers and Barnsley fall behind, and as the news filtered through, the red and white army raised the volume inside the Stadium of Light. McNair was next to try his luck but Stephen Bywater held the midfielder’s rasping drive, with Fletcher breaking the offside trap before flashing the ball across the face of goal moments later. The game remained in the balance, on a knife edge.
PADDY’S DAY
Sunderland continued to toil but just as news of Birmingham’s equaliser came through, McNair thumped the Lads into the lead! A mazy run from Fletcher put Burton under pressure and they smashed the panic button, rushing to crowd out the striker who managed to direct the ball towards the isolated McNair, who powered a 20-yard finish through Bywater. The picture at the bottom continued to change as Barnsley levelled at Leeds, but the Lads’ lead remained intact at the interval as Sbarra spooned a chance at the back post.
RESTART
Burton needed a goal and they created the first chance following the restart, but Steele remained comfortable as he collected Jacob Davenport’s 20-yard strike. But Sunderland remained dangerous on the break, and a stunning long ball from the Black Cats stopper unleashed Fletcher who did well to hold up the ball and win a corner. A moment of panic followed as the game Lucas Akins was allowed time and space to cross, but Steele and Cattermole did just about enough to clear the ball behind. Elsewhere, Barnsley fell behind before seeing an instant reply disallowed, as Wolves went 3-0 up at Bolton.
FRESH LEGS
Both sides made changes ahead of the final half-hour, as Adam Matthews replaced the cautioned Wilson and Damien McCrory was forced off for the visitors. Burton continued to apply pressure, albeit without testing Steele, and the Lads opted to play on the counter, as a sweeping move was a fraction away from unlocking the Brewers defence. Asoro was next to enter the fray as Coleman’s men went in search of a decisive second, but Steele had work to do on 70 minutes, as Davenport’s free-kick was pushed to safety.
CLOUGH CALLS
Burton left themselves vulnerable as they pushed forward and they lived on the edge in the latter stages, with McGeady and Honeyman both seeing on-target efforts blocked away. On 73 minutes, Clough rolled the dice and added another striker to his forward line, as Bent entered the fray. But while goalmouth action remained scarce on Wearside, Birmingham went ahead as Bolton fell further behind. A big chance followed as Asoro timed his run to perfection and raced towards the byline, but once again Burton scrambled the ball to safety to cling on.
BENT ANSWERS
Sunderland’s final change saw Jake Clarke-Salter replace the tireless and utterly dominant Lamine Kone, as the Black Cats looked to sure things up and ensure there was no late drama. The opposite happened. And it had to be him. Steele did well to stop the initial effort from outside the box, but as he did so many times in red and white, Bent pounced to level with four minutes of normal time remaining. O’Shea then struck the crossbar but the drama wasn’t over, as Boyce headed home moments later. Further drama followed as the Black Cats thought they’d levelled, but it was disallowed and their relegation to League One was confirmed.
Attendance: 25,475
Sunderland: Steele, Jones, O’Shea, Kone (Clarke-Salter 81), Wilson (Matthews 59), Cattermole, McNair, Honeyman, McManaman (Asoro 65), McGeady, Fletcher.
Subs not used: LuaLua, Camp, Maja, Ejaria.
Burton Albion: Bywater, Brayford, Naylor, Akins, Davenport, Akpan, Murphy, boyce, McFadzean, Sbarra (Bent 73), McCrory (Turner 60).
Subs not used: Campbell, Buxton, Allen, Samuelsen, Sordell.