When Sunderland embraced the slogan ‘Til the End’ nobody would have dared to imagine its prescience.
Five straight defeats to end their Championship campaign portrayed the very opposite. All the early season fizz of the Regis Le Bris tenure had vanished. They appeared to have gone flat.
Then came the play-offs. They clinched this date at Wembley with a goal scored the 120th minute of the second leg of the semi-final against Coventry and then came this.
Ninety-five minutes into the final against Sheffield United, a teenage substitute destined for a controversial move to Brighton in the summer scored a goal that catapults the Black Cats back into the Premier League.
Tommy Watson is the name, although it did not feature on the squad list on the match-day programme.
He is 19 years old, a product of the club’s academy and long since identified as an exciting talent with an eye for goal, but Watson had faded from relevance and from the affections of the Sunderland faithful, such was his determination to leave when Brighton first showed interest in January.
Sunderland have been promoted to the Premier League after winning the play-off final
Tom Watson fired into the bottom corner in stoppage time to down Sheffield United at Wembley
Brighton-bound Watson coolly picked his spot to settle the £200million showdown
He only remained at the Stadium of Light after the transfer deadline because Simon Adingra did not fancy a loan move in the other direction.
After his this, however, Watson’s name will never be forgotten on Wearside.
His third Sunderland goal, curled into the bottom corner from distance after a mistake by Kieffer Moore will forever be the goal that ended the misery of an eight-year exile from the topflight.
It is worth an estimated £200m, alongside which his £10m transfer fee pales into insignificance.
The brutal ending crushed Sheffield United, who have yet to win promotion in 10 attempts in the playoffs. They have not won at Wembley in a hundred years since the 1925 FA Cup final.
Chris Wilder’s team finished the regular Championship season with 90 points, 14 clear of Sunderland despite having two deducted for failing to pay transfer fees on time.
The Blades hit Bristol City for in the semi-final and dominated the early parts of the final, leading from Tyrese Campbell’s goal midway through the first half until Eliezer Mayenda’s equaliser in the 76th minute.
They began with great purpose, almost ahead inside two minutes, denied by a fabulous Anthony Patterson, down to his left to claw out a powerful downward header by Moore.
Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien was forced off injured after dislocating his shoulder in a tangle
Sheffield United took the lead when Tyrese Campbell coolly chipped over the goalkeeper
Chris Wilder celebrated the goal wildly but his side were left stunned at the final whistle
A second goal for the Blades was ruled out after keeper Anthony Patterson was impeded
Referee Chris Kavanagh was advised to check his pitchside monitor before chalking it off
Sunderland centre-half Luke O’Nien injured a shoulder in his desperation trying to push Moore and put him off.
There was a stoppage of more than five minutes for treatment and although it could not prevent O’Nien’s early departure it did take the wind from Sheffield United’s sails.
Sunderland slowly found rhythm, but no sooner did Mayenda set off on a mazy run to win a corner than they went behind, conceding a on a scintillating counterattack.
Rhian Brewster headed the corner kick clear out, and Gustavo Hamer picked it up and sped down the pitch before threading a pass to Campbell with the outside of his right foot.
Campbell accepted the pass with his right foot and clipped a tidy finish over the diving Patterson with his left.
Twelve seconds from the corner at one end to the goal at the other. The scorer pointed to the heavens, less than a year after the death of his father Kevin, who played for Arsenal in the FA Cup final of 1993.
The Blades thought they had a second through Harrison Burrows, who lashed a headed clearance back into the Sunderland net on the volley with his left foot, only to find the goal wiped out by VAR.
Vini Souza had been offside and ruled to have interfered with the goalkeeper’s view of the ball. Wilder disputed the decision and was understandably irritated to find VAR, not used in the previous 48 fixtures, intervening at the most critical point of the season.
Eliezer Mayenda scored the crucial equaliser after the Blades dominated large spells
Mayenda crashed into the top corner to kickstart the turnaround at the national stadium
Patterson saved superbly from Kieffer Moore’s header in the early stages of the contest
The decision recharged Sunderland. They improved before the interval and were a different proposition after it, roared on by their vociferous supporters.
Wilder’s back four sat deep, flickering on the break. Andre Brooks had been on less than five minutes when a slip by Dennis Cirkin presented him with a golden chance to stretch Sheffield United’s lead.
Patterson saved it with his feet to keep the game poised on a knife-edge, then Hamer, the Championship’s player of the season and the best player on the pitch, hobbled off.
Sunderland sensed a chance. With Patrick Roberts on and quickly into the game and Enzo Le Fee more effective in a central position, they were more creative, and the equaliser came via those two.
Roberts collected the ball from Le Fee and found Mayenda on the move and unmarked to his right, and the young Spaniard hammered his 10th goal of the season past Michael Cooper.
Sheffield United were down to 10 men when Watson’s winner went in. Anel Ahmedhodzic was off for treatment on a head injury when Moore’s tired touch gave the ball straight to Watson.
It would prove the very definition of a costly mistake, although there was still a lot to do but the striker’s instinct kicked in. The Blades were out of shape and a man down.
Watson collected the loose ball, eased forward into the space and picked his spot, curling a low shot beyond Cooper’s dive. Late drama to eclipse a last-gasp winner by Dan Ballard against Coventry at the Stadium of Light.
This time, Watson in the final at Wembley. Pandemonium and an explosion of sound. Sunderland, til the end.
