Sunderland duo issue post Coventry City scenes message that fans will love ahead of play-off final
Sunderland secured their place in the Championship play-off final with a win over Coventry City
Dan Neil says Sunderland are fully focused on finishing the job at Wembley after their dramatic play-off semi final win over Coventry City.
The tie was heading for penalties before Dan Ballard’s 122nd-minute header booked Sunderland’s place for the final, sparking scenes in the Stadium of Light that went viral the world over. Neil spoke of his pride at being involved in those scenes but said that the squad had quickly turned their attentions to the challenge of Sheffield United.
The team captain said there was a determination to ensure Ballard’s header isn’t the end of the story.
Neil said: “I said to my Dad after, you watch a lot of stuff on the tele and even watching from the stand, I’ve seen stuff like Defoe against Newcastle, the Everton game… And you obviously watch a lot of games from around the world on tele where special moments like that happen. I was saying to him that it feels a bit surreal we’ve been involved in one of those moments, that will be talked about for a long time.
It’s an unbelievable moment but one thing we’ve all said is we’ve got to get the job done. We don’t want to just be remembered for Dan Ballard’s header, we want to remembered for going all the way, getting back to the Premier League.
“On Tuesday and Wednesday, everyone is obviously on such a high with it happened. We had a day off but since we’ve been back in the focus has turned fully to the final now and making sure we’re as prepared as we can be for the final.”
Anthony Patterson’s hilarious verdict on THOSE Sunderland celebrations
Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was at the end of the other end of the pitch when Ballard’s header went in and admitted it took him a little while to realise the ball had crossed the line after hitting the crossbar.
While team mate Neil jumped into the crowd to celebrate, Patterson was left to celebrate on his own.
“To be honest, it took me a couple of seconds to realise it had actually gone in,” Patterson said.
“Then I don’t really know what was going through my head to be honest, I was all over the shop. I ended up just sort of running about in my own half. It was crazy. I actually thought about running up to celebrate with everyone but then I though, ‘nah, it’s a bit far’. So I just sort of ended up running about. I ended up just looking over to the staff really and giving it a few fist pumps.
“I have probably watched it about a hundred times now. It keeps popping up on my phone and you have to watch it, you can’t scroll past it!”
