Tale of two headers: Drama at the Stadium of Light

BBC News

13-05-2025

The most dramatic finale imaginable."Pandemonium." That was Sky Sports summariser Jobi McAnuff's reaction as the Stadium of Light erupted when Dan Ballard's header crashed down off the crossbar and into the net to send Sunderland to Wembley.After 122 minutes of tense, gripping football, the Championship semi-final between Sunderland and Coventry City appeared to be headed for penalties.Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris admitted he was beginning to formalise a list of players to take his side's spot-kicks.Yet Ballard's stooping header, to draw the hosts level 1-1 on the night, put them 3-2 up on aggregate with just seconds remaining."I was just so determined, I can't remember what happened, it just happened like that - some feeling that," Ballard told Sky Sports immediately after the game."It's what dreams are made of really. The fans today were absolutely incredible."It was just feeling like it wasn't going to be our day and all the lads were desperate to try to give them something to celebrate."Team-mate Luke O'Nien said he was "lost for words"."Just looking around and what this man has done for this team. It's incredible," he said.But it could have all been so different 30 minutes earlier.
Having trailed 2-1 from the first leg, Coventry took the lead on the night through Ephron Mason-Clark with 14 minutes of normal time remaining.The Sky Blues were on top and taking the game to their hosts as the minutes ticked down, with the fourth official's sign showing three minutes of time added on.And with barely eight seconds left of those three minutes, Frank Lampard and every Coventry fan in the stadium thought they had done it. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's excellent swinging ball found Haji Wright in space in the box, with the striker looking certain to score.But USA international Wright, who scored 12 Championship goals this season, mistimed his header and the ball bounced agonisingly wide."That was the one," ex-Sky Blues keeper Steve Ogrizovic said on BBC CWR.Sunderland were much improved in extra time, but the fact it was Ballard's header from a similar position that settled the match after such a costly miss will make it all the more heartbreaking for Coventry.
'We're not bitter but we were the better team'
Coventry had almost 60% of the ball on the night as Lampard's side had 20 shots to Sunderland's 16.And Le Bris, who has now led Sunderland to a play-off final against Sheffield United in his first season at the club, conceded the visitors were the better team in normal time."It's really fantastic because this scenario was absolutely incredible," Le Bris told Sky Sports. "We were probably too nervous for the first part of the game."During extra time, we were good. We played our football and we just enjoy it now."For Coventry, it's a painful end to a season which has been on an upward trajectory since Lampard replaced Mark Robins in November.Former Chelsea and Everton boss Lampard took over with the club 17th in the Championship and led them to a fifth-place finish, winning 16 of his 29 league games in charge."If anyone watched the two games, we dominated at home, we made a mistake and they scored," Lampard told Sky Sports. "I think we dominated huge periods of this game [too]. We played, controlled and in the second half it was wave after wave."The players have given everything from where we've come from - 17th in the league in December and the players have been brilliant in the second half of the season."We're not bitter, and congratulations to Sunderland, but we were the better team over the two football matches and that's why they'll be so happy going to Wembley."