Ballard heads home in 123rd minute to send Sunderland into play-off final
Mason-Clark had steered Coventry level on aggregate with opener on the night at Stadium of Light
Sunderland led 2-1 after first leg
Black Cats now face Sheffield United in final on 24 May
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Gary Bennett
Ex-Sunderland defender on BBC Radio Newcastle
We've got to press up a little bit, it worked last week when we were away but we're at home now, push on a little bit.
We can't afford to keep sitting back, you're inviting pressure.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry win a free-kick in a promising position after Patrick Roberts brings down Sky Blues captain Ben Sheaf.
Roberts is shown a yellow card and there's a chance for the visitors to put this in the mixer...
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Steve Ogrizovic
Ex-Coventry City goalkeeper on BBC CWR
The pressure is building now.
Sunderland are starting to move back again. Sooner or later you would expect Sunderland to make a mistake and you hope that Coventry would profit.
I must be watching a different game to Sanjay (at 20:14) - Coventry look utterly toothless in my view - any goal in this game will be to the home team.
Anon
What a game this is going to be! Coventry have had no shots on target in 20 mins and Sunderland have been time wasting since the first minute.
Steve, Powys
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry's corner from the left is cleared by Trai Hume. It drops for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto on the edge of the box and he's closed down very quickly. The Japan international manages to get a shot away but drags it wide.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry win a throw on the left and perhaps those advertising hoardings that were brought in by about two metres can have their first real impact...
Milan van Ewijk sends it in but Sunderland clear. Jay Dasilva then puts in a cross from the left but Dan Ballard turns it out of play for a corner.
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Image source, PA MediaI said it on Friday and I’ll say it again tonight; not starting Simms, who provided space for the wingers all season by drawing defenders in, leading to many crossed goals, may cost Coventry a Wembley trip.
Mitchell
Based on the first quarter of an hour I hope (for their sake) that neither of these teams get promoted. They wouldn't last ten minutes!
David, Christchurch
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Gary Bennett
Ex-Sunderland defender on BBC Radio Newcastle
I just think that Coventry's two central defenders are wary of Eliezer Mayenda.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry skipper Ben Sheaf flies into a tackle just inside the Sunderland half and is shown a yellow card.
Image source, Rex FeaturesSunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Steve Ogrizovic
Ex-Coventry City goalkeeper on BBC CWR
Mayenda was absolutely brilliant there, it was really good feet to get by Grimes.
The angle was there from him to take the shot on and it was a smart save from Ben Wilson.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
As with the first leg on Friday, plenty of possession for Coventry - 63% so far - but no real cutting edge to go with it just yet.
Sunderland look more dangerous when they go forward. Eliezer Mayenda drives into the area on the right and hits the target with a low, powerful effort but it's well saved by Ben Wilson in the visiting goal.
Moments later, Wilson Isidor gets on the end of a cross to the back post but can't divert it on target.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry win a corner on the left as Sunderland defender Dan Ballard slides into tackle Jack Rudoni. It doesn't beat the first man, though.
The visitors then work it back in towards Rudoni at the far post but Dennis Cirkin does very well to hold him off and see it out for a goal-kick.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry's first shot of the game and it's Ephron Mason-Clark with some nice direct play. He cuts inside from the left and fires a rising drive on target but it thuds into the gloves of Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson, who is able to catch fairly easily.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Image source, Rex FeaturesYou certainly feel that Coventry's biggest task is to try and keep things tight and not allow the crowd to get on top of them.
In that aspect, it's a job well done in these opening stages.
Now, can they work a way into the game? Sunderland have been the better of the two sides up until now, without either creating too much.
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Sanjay Bhutia: Coventry will win in extra time and I really like Rudoni he'll make the difference.
As a Blade, I think I would prefer Coventry in the final. Neither one fills me with joy given our record but Sunderland’s counter attacks are a menace.
Will B
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Every time Sunderland advance forward, it's met with huge roars of anticipation. This time they win a throw on the right and work it into the area but Coventry are able to hack it clear.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Steve Ogrizovic
Ex-Coventry City goalkeeper on BBC CWR
It's certainly the right decision.
You can see it's a dive from here. Isidor was trying to buy one there but thankfully the referee was on his toes.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor drives forward and goes down on the edge of the Coventry area...
Doesn't appear to be touched by Coventry defender Liam Kitching and referee Andy Madley isn't buying that.
Isidor goes into the book for simulation.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
Coventry are doing their best to try and settle things down. The Sky Blues knock it about nicely in their own half and work it forward well.
Ephron Mason-Clark's cross from the left is cleared away. The visitors try to send it back into the box but it runs out of play for a goal-kick.
Sunderland 0-0 Coventry (2-1 agg)
A reminder that Sunderland have never lost a home leg in any EFL play-off fixture.
They've won seven of eight (D1) through the years at Roker Park and the Stadium of Light. You can see why with this behind you.
Can Coventry handle the atmosphere?
Dan Ballard scored in the final seconds of extra time to send Sunderland to the Championship play-off final at Wembley
Sunderland reached the Championship play-off final after Dan Ballard's last-gasp goal in extra time decided their semi-final tie against Coventry City.
Ballard headed in off the underside of the bar in the final seconds of stoppage time to level the match at 1-1 on the night and secure a 3-2 aggregate victory over the Sky Blues.
It was an incredible end to an evening filled with tension at the Stadium of Light after Ephron Mason-Clark had scored in the 76th minute to take the match to extra time.
The Black Cats will now face Sheffield United at Wembley on Saturday, 24 May to decide who plays in the Premier League next season.
In a meeting between the sides who finished fourth and fifth in the regular season, the Wearside club will have the chance to end an eight-year exile from the top flight.
But the Sky Blues will rue a chance which USA forward Haji Wright headed wide in regulation stoppage time that would have booked their spot in the final.
While the Blades had cruised through to Wembley on Monday as they swept aside Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate, this tie always felt in the balance.
Play-off games rarely need extra spice, but this was given it by the Black Cats' decision to bring their advertising hoardings along the sidelines noticeably closer to the pitch.
By doing so, it was a deliberate attempt to negate the Sky Blues' tactic of using the long throws of Dutch right-back Milan van Ewijk to create danger.
His costly mistake in allowing Eliezer Mayenda to grab a late winner in a 2-1 first-leg win for Sunderland had left him in tears, but looking for inspiration to mount a famous comeback, Coventry could turn to head coach Frank Lampard.
He was in charge of the last away side to overturn a first-leg deficit when Derby County defeated Leeds United 4-2 at Elland Road in 2019 to win 4-3 on aggregate.
After surviving a bright Sunderland start in which Mayenda forced a good save out of Ben Wilson, Lampard watched his side grow into the game.
But they spurned crucial chances as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scuffed an attempt over from six yards, before in-form midfielder Jack Rudoni prodded their best opportunity of the first half over from a similar distance.
Ephron Mason-Clark's second-half goal for Coventry took the play-off semi-final into extra time
The Sky Blues continued to have more of the ball in the second half, but Sunderland had come closer to scoring the decisive goal when right-back Trai Hume had his volley well kept out by Wilson.
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris had promised pre-match that his team would not play just to hold the opposition out, but human nature took over as his players dropped deeper.
And they were punished when Van Ewijk overlapped down the right and sent over a cross which had Mason-Clark getting there just before Hume to guide the ball into the bottom corner.
Coventry were on top and almost sealed it but Wright, with the very last touch in normal time, got his header badly wrong from another Sakamoto cross.
Le Bris: Semi-final win was 'absolutely fantastic'
The Black Cats were better in extra time and regained some composure, and Romaine Mundle was only prevented from scoring by a brilliant block from fellow substitute Josh Eccles.
The match still looked destined to be decided by a penalty shootout, even when Sunderland won a corner with the last action of the game.
And from Enzo Le Fee's delivery in the 122nd minute, Ballard sent the red-and-white hordes into ecstasy with a powerful header as Coventry players slumped to the floor in absolute dejection.
The very essence of play-off football in one instant.
Manager: Régis Le Bris
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Frank Lampard
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Régis Le Bris
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Frank Lampard
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Championship
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All competitions
All competitions
Sunderland’s 2-1 win the first leg was their first victory against Coventry since February 2007, ending a run of 10 games without a victory against the Sky Blues (D5 L5).
Coventry have won two of their last five away games against Sunderland in all competitions (D3), having won just one of their first 18 visits to the Black Cats (D8 L9).
Sunderland have never lost a home leg in the Football League play-offs, winning seven of their eight games (D1) at Roker Park/Stadium of Light.
Coventry’s 2-1 loss in the first leg was their first ever defeat in the play-offs (W3 D3). They’ve won their two previous away legs (4-1 v Notts County and 1-0 v Middlesbrough), with both of these also being the second leg of the tie.
Sunderland lost their last three home games in the regular Championship season, all by a 1-0 scoreline. They last lost four consecutive home games in all competitions in September 2017, while they’ve never done so without scoring.
Coventry were without a win their final five away games in the regular Championship season (D1 L4), having won four in a row on the road before that.
Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda were on target for Sunderland in their first leg victory. The last time a Black Cats player scored in both legs of a play-off semi-final was 2003-04, with both Marcus Stewart and Kevin Kyle doing so against Crystal Palace.
Jack Rudoni has been involved in 12 goals in his last 14 appearances for Coventry in all competitions (7 goals, 5 assists), netting their goal in the first leg defeat against Sunderland.
