On this day in 2004, Sunderland were beaten 5-4 on penalties by Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light in the Division One play-offs.
After the first leg ended 2-1 to Palace, Sunderland dusted themselves down and were heading to Wembley thanks to goals from Kevin Kyle and Marcus Stewart.
But late, late drama saw ten-man Palace, who had Julian Gray sent off, level as Darren Powell headed home in stoppage time.
Carl Robinson shot over and Kyle headed straight at Nico Vaesen as the Lads looked to press home their man advantage in extra-time, but the visitors held on and the sides entered a penalty shootout.
John Oster was first up and the midfielder struck the post with Andy Johnson making no mistake, but Palace blew the chance to win it twice as Mart Poom denied Shaun Derry and Wayne Routledge.
However, the Eagles wouldn’t be denied at the third attempt as Michael Hughes converted to send them to Wembley following Jeff Whitley’s miss.
It was a heartbreaking end to a hard-fought campaign for Mick McCarthy’s side, but the Lads would be back – and in some style – as they clinched a top-flight return as champions 12 months later.
Also on this day: John Tones, making his debut as a substitute, scored Sunderland’s first competitive goal on foreign soil against Lazio in an Anglo-Italian Cup tie.