Sunderland break Frank Lampard's heart with stunning 123rd MINUTE winner to beat Coventry and reach the Championship play-off final

Daily Mail​

13-05-2025

At least this saves Frank Lampard a two grand bar bill. Saying that, the Coventry boss could do with a drink after Sunderland 's last-gasp winner.
It was following Derby's 4-3 aggregate win over Leeds at this stage six years ago that he put his credit card behind the bar during an impromptu pub stop. His team then lost in the final to Aston Villa.
This time, though, there will be no final. That will be contested by Sunderland and Sheffield United after Dan Ballard headed a 123rd-minute goal that nearly sent the Stadium of Light roof into the North Sea.
We can only hope the Wembley spectacle is better the majority of this second leg, though. Not that Sunderland will complain about the aesthetics of their bumpy passage to the capital. We've seen more of the Black Cats on Netflix than Match of the Day in recent years. And reruns of Sunderland 'Til I Die would have certainly made better viewing than this game, at least until the final act. Before that, the atmosphere did not get the contest it deserved.
It was not until Ephron Mason-Clark's 76th-minute volleyed goal, from Milan Van Ewijk's centre, that we had some composure in front of the posts. Before that, they'd swiped high and wide. Sunderland had moved their advertising boards closer to the pitch to reduce the range of Van Ewijk's long throw-ins. He might have had his hands tied, but his feet were free to do their worst and his delivery was the best of the evening.
That forced extra-time and it looked like we were heading for penalties before Ballard's dramatic intervention.
Sunderland are on their way to Wembley!! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/MVsVLxiIco
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 13, 2025
The Stadium of Light has always done the big nights well. There just have not been enough of them of late. Since relegation from the Premier League in 2017, this was undoubtedly the biggest. Their only other Championship play-off semi-final second leg was an away defeat at Luton two years ago.
This time, 46,000 had a stage to influence and intimidate, and very few stadiums do tribal like this one. The pitchside flamethrowers probably cooled those in the stands in the seconds before kick-off, such was the fury with which they welcomed their own and scorched the opposition. It felt like the uncorking of eight years of frustration.
'Wise Men Say' was the song that sent them into battle, and the wise men in these parts were saying this tie was far from over, despite Sunderland's first-leg advantage. They have seen how those documentaries can play out.
What was most definitely unwise was Wilson Isidor's decision to dive when attempting to burst clear on the edge of Coventry's penalty area early in the game. Too early to be carrying a yellow card in the heat of this occasion. And the occasion, it seemed, was impacting the quality on the pitch. In truth, there was no quality. A pilot episode for the Premier League this was not.
Mason-Clark did show a little adventure when he danced infield from the left, but it led down a blind alley and his eventual shot was nothing more than catching practice for Anthony Patterson. At the other end, Eliezer Mayenda did a jig of his own past a couple of Sky Blue jerseys but, likewise, it only led to a dark place.
Indeed, there was little illumination in a first half hour of heavy touches and light heads. Then, Coventry found some composure, at least until they got in front of goal. The visitors finished the first half much the stronger and should have led when first Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and then Jack Rudoni prodded over the bar from inside the six-yard area. Two good chances, two bad finishes.
For Sunderland, there was no control or conviction to anything they did. They looked like a side who had lost their last five matches of the regular season. Enzo Le Fee, the Roma loanee who is good enough for the Premier League, was too peripheral. Isolated on the left, he had a ringside seat but was watching others throw the punches. Not that any were landing. Come half-time, the teams had traded one shot on target.
From noisy to nervy, the mood had changed entering the second half. Forty-five minutes waiting for the bell is hardly an enticing prospect.
Belatedly, after the hour, they dragged themselves from the ropes and gloved up. Full-back Trai Hume sent a spectacular volley goalwards and Ben Wilson somehow smuggled the ball around the post. It was a stunning effort hardly in keeping with what had gone before.
Jobe Bellingham had done his best impression of his brother for too much of the first half, the version who has ghosted through too many Real Madrid matches of late. Then, when his team needed him, the younger sibling stepped up. He quite literally stepped up when jumping to his feet after a goalmouth melee and going forehead to forehead with goalkeeper Wilson.
The atmosphere needed that, stoking those home flames in danger of petering out. The confrontation brought a roar of approval from the red and white masses. As did every clearance from Dan Ballard and Luke O'Nien. Each time, it felt like one kick closer to Wembley.
But then, the kick in the crotch. With 14 minutes left on the clock, Coventry right back Van Ewijk hoisted a cross from the right and Mason-Clark stole in to cushion the ball into the bottom corner. Lampard celebrated as if his side had won, for that was the relief of drawing parity in a tie that had felt as if it was slipping away. It was a feeling that would not last.