Wow! What a day we had as the flagbearers for Sunderland AFC V Bolton Wanderers on 25th September.
We met our friends from AK Teaching who took us into the Stadium for a practice run before the game. Seeing the pitch and the Stadium of Light in real-life was way better than playing it on FIFA! It made us feel so small looking up at the stands and the grass was perfect.
After we'd played a match of our own at The Beacon of Light (winning 18-12!), we headed back to the Stadium to get ready for our big moment. By then, the stands were filling up with fans and we were excited.
We were so close to the tunnel when Grant Leadbitter came out on to the pitch to mark his retirement. Everyone clapped and cheered for him and it was quite emotional. With the team already wearing black armbands for Len Ashurst that day, it was a day to do past players proud.
Waving the flags for the teams to come out was one of the loudest experiences of our lives! We thought we'd be nervous but it was more like excitement.
In the comfy seats, we watched Sunderland show some good passing skills and they created early chances to score with our wingers working quickly to get up the pitch. It was our left back, Cirkin, who put a great cross in for Winchester to score into the roof of the net on 17 minutes. Some of our parents lifted us up into the air and the noise was amazing.
Bolton were a good team too. They were strong and tough and Sunderland's goalkeeper, Hoffmann, had to keep out some shots near half-time to keep it 1-0.
At half-time, we loved the chips and burgers! The second half continued to be a tough, physical battle. We were very close to the bad head clash between Cirkin and Isgrove - there was a lot of blood!
This injury, and a bit of pushing and shoving near the end, meant Sunderland had to battle for an extra 8 minutes but they held out for an important win to stay joint top of Sky Bet League One.
What a brilliant day!
By West Rainton Primary School flagbearers