Pete Sixsmith made the short trip across the Pennines, writes John McCormick, with cuddly Joey Barton urging his Fleetwood men to send us home in tears.
For the miracle to happen, Sunderland needed a hatful of goals, let alone what had to befall our promotion rivals. Lee Cattermole scored to give us a halftime lead and Barnes and Benno were in no doubt we should have been much further ahead.
Sixer judged it to be a competent first 45; afterwards, B&B felt we allowed Fleetwood to claw a way back into the game. ‘Losing our grip,’ said Benno on 70 and four minutes later, Madden equalised for Fleetwood and that alone would have consigned us to the playoffs. The inability to hold or build on a lead had reared its head yet again and draw number 20 loomed. It didn’t come. A flurry of Sunderland activity brought late excitement but when the winner arrived, it went to Fleetwood …
Take your pick from Sixer’s seven-word verdicts below. His fuller analysis would have been brutal. Should we expect a more measured assessment given that our deputy editor Malcolm Dawson – also present – is writing it? We’ll see …
30 April 2019 Fleetwood Town 2 (0) Sunderland 1 (1) Lost any semblance of control after leading/More points dropped to an average team/Lost – worst league finish in our history
27 April 2019 Sunderland 1 (1) Portsmouth 1 (1) A frustrating result against unpleasant opponents
22 April Peterborough United 1(0) Sunderland 1 (0) Bitterly disappointed at the end. Automatic gone
19 April 2019 Sunderland 2 (2) Doncaster Rovers 0 (0) The manager gambled and it came off
13 April 2019 Sunderland 4 (3) Coventry City 5 (3) Incredible but for all the wrong reasons
09 April Sunderland 1 (1) Burton Albion 1 (1) Looked a tired side against sprightly opposition
06 April Rochdale 1 (1) Sunderland 2 (0) Had to battle for a huge win.
April 2 Accrington Stanley 0 (0) Sunderland 3 ( 2 ) Comfortable win with some excellent individual performances
March 31 EFL Checkatrade Trophy final: Sunderland 2 (1) Portsmouth 2 (0) (AET. Portsmouth win on penalties.)
*Penalties gloom as Lads fade after interval.
March 16 Sunderland 2 (1) Walsall 1 (1) Nervy and edgy but it’s three points
March 12 Barnsley 0 (0) Sunderland 0 (0) Difficult opponents, difficult conditions: a good point
March 9 Wycombe Wanderers 1 (1) Sunderland 1 (0) We’ll take the point and move on
March 5 Checkatrade trophy semifinal: Bristol Rovers 0 (0) Sunderland 2 (1) Controlled performance means we’re off to Wembley
March 2 Sunderland 2 (1) Plymouth Argyle 0 (0) Great first half followed by competent second
February 23 Bristol Rovers 0 (0) Sunderland 2 (1) Rather a good day at the office
February 19 Sunderland 4 (2) Gillingham 2 (2) Not entirely convincing but it’s a win
February 15 Sunderland (0) 2 Accrington Stanley (1) 2 Two points dropped but grateful for one
February 12 Sunderland (0) 1 Blackpool (1) 1 Two chances missed equals two lost points
February 9 Oxford United (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Scunthorpe all over again. Two points wasted
February 2 2019 Sunderland 1 (0) AFC Wimbledon 0 (0) A welcome win but hard to watch
Checkatrade Trophy quarterfinals: January 22 Sunderland 2 (1) Manchester City Under 21s 0 (0) Clean sheet, two goals and a semifinal
January 19 Scunthorpe United 1 (0) Sunderland 1 (o) Same old story. One goal rarely enough
January 12 Sunderland 1 (1) Luton 1 (0) Failure to build on lead costs us
January 5 Charlton (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 * Sunderland weather storm to earn useful point
January 1 Blackpool (0) 0 Sunderland (1) 1 Outstanding performance by Maja earns the points
December 29 Sunderland (1) 1 Shrewsbury Town (1) 1 A very frustrating afternoon. Never got going
December 26 Sunderland (1) Bradford City (0) 0 Hard fought win and thanks to linesman
December 22 Portsmouth (0) 3 Sunderland (0) 1 Better side until Loovens’s idiocy turned game
December 15 Sunderland 2 (1) Bristol Rovers 1 (1) * Just enough quality snuffs out the gas and Gas pressure tests us at the end
December 11 FA Cup 2nd Round replay Sunderland 0 (0) Walsall 1 (0) Pedestrian performance that raises some serious doubts
December 8 Accrington Stanley A (0) Match Abandoned Sunderland (0) Wet, wet, wet and to do again
December 1 Walsall 1 (0) strong>Sunderland 1 (0) *Fifteen minutes of Walsall pressure means replay
Nov 27 Sunderland 4 (3) Barnsley 2 (1) An important win with some shaky moments
Nov 24 Walsall 2 (2) Sunderland 2 (2) Even more heroic than Thermopylae and Agincourt
Nov 17 Sunderland 1 (0) Wycombe Wanderers 1 (0) A fair result after a disappointing performanceI
Nov 13 Morecambe 0 (0) Sunderland 1 (0) Left it late but the run continues
Nov 11 Port Vale 1 (1) Sunderland 2 (2) Negotiated a tricky tie successfully. Southport next?
Nov 3 Plymouth Argyle (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 2* Solid team performance earns another away win*
Oct 27 Sunderland 3 (1) Southend United 0 (0) Three goals and another clean sheet. Great
Oct 23 Doncaster Rovers 0 Sunderland 1 (0) Winning ugly is just fine by me.
Oct 20 Shrewsbury Town 0 (0) Sunderland 2 (0) A comfortable win that just oozed professionalism
Oct 6 Bradford City 1 (0) Sunderland 2 (1) Great win but Power made it difficult
Oct 2 Sunderland 2 (1) Peterborough 2 (0) Good point but spoiled by woeful refereeing
Sept 29 Coventry City (0) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Fair result that could have been worse
Sept 22 Sunderland 4 (3) Rochdale 1 (0) Fifteen minute purple patch wrapped this up
Sept 15 Burton Albion 2 (2) Sunderland 1 (o) Weaknesses horribly exposed in a deserved defeat
Sept 8 Sunderland 1 (1) Fleetwood Town 1 (1) Huffed and puffed against very difficult opponents
Sept 4 Sunderland 0 (0) [4] Stoke City U21s 0 (0) [2] *Decent workout for young guns and recoverees
Sept 1 Sunderland 1 (0) Oxford United 1 (1 ) Poor first half, dug in well second
Aug 19 Sunderland 3 (3) Scunthorpe United 0 (0) Iron pummeled as three lusty blows delivered
Aug 16 Carabao Cup: Sunderland (0) 0 Sheffield Wednesday (1) 2 Result disappointing but plenty to enthuse about
Aug 11 Luton Town (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Played well in patches against solid opposition
Aug 4 Sunderland (0) 2 Charlton Athletic (1) 1 A great day for club and academy
July 21 St Mirren (0) 0 Sunderland (2) 6 * Cracking results like this will suit fine
July 17 Grimsby Town (0) Sunderland (1) 1 *Gooch’s header from Maguire’s cross settles matters
July 14 Hartlepool United (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Yet to see anything to inspire confidence
July 10 Darlington (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 0 Embarrassing
As I stood chatting with Sixer at half time, THE dream was still on – automatic promotion. Not only were we winning but Pompey were losing when I had predicted them only needing to draw to set in train the series of results that would see us finish second on final day. Then, as we all have witnessed so many times this season, “we” didn’t show up in the second half. Even our wonderful away supporters were subdued. We simply aren’t “quite good enough”, sad to admit. I do hope we get through via the play offs but would personally enjoy another season at this level whilst improving to “more than good enough”.
My 2 word comment is – ‘Josh Maja’
His choice, not the club’s.