Sunderland clinch £220m Premier League return with stunning play-off final comeback

Wise men say only fools rush in, and with £220 million of loot at stake you never write off . As substitute Tommy Watson’s dramatic 95th-minute winner ended the Black Cats’ eight-year exile from the penthouse, they picked Sheffield United’s pockets to perfection.

Watson, a 19-year-old kid from a County Durham pit village, will never forget the day his golden goal restored one of English football’s grand old clubs to the top table with his last kick for Sunderland.

This week he’s off to for £10million. What an incredible way to bow out. But for the Blades - heartbroken, crestfallen and scarcely able to believe their cruel fate - it was yet another instalment of play-offs trauma.

That’s 10 attempts to traverse the end-of-season tightrope, and 10 topples over the edge - not to mention the meter still running on 100 years without a win at Wembley. They must be cursed.

Chris Wilder’s men didn’t look like conceding for 76 minutes and they will probably never understand how victory slipped through their fingers here. But Sunderland, who burgled an extra-time winner in their semi-final against Coventry - where they were also outplayed for long spells - won’t care.

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Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini, speaking on Radio 5 Live, reacted to the spectacular ending, saying: "I can't believe what I've seen. We were very average in that first half. I don't think Sheffield United punished us enough in that first half.

"Once the game opened up it just made all the difference. Comebacks aren't easy, especially in a final like that. Tommy Watson, can you believe the story?"

Black Cats head coach Regis Le Bris was such a left-field pick as manager when he took over at the Stadium of Light last summer that he lived among Sunderland fans in his hotel for weeks without anyone twigging who he was. Now he’s the modern king of Wearside and his name belongs with Jimmy Montgomery and Bob Stoke in Sunderland’s pantheon of legends.

No thanks to the rail franchise who cancelled three trains from to London, leaving hundreds of Black Cats fans scrambling to reach Wembley before kick-off, the Sunderland end was an impressive mosaic of flags. But they started nervously.

Barely 70 seconds were on the clock when Kieffer Moore met Gustavo Hamer’s cross with a thumping header and was only denied by Anthony Patterson’s breathtaking plunge to keep it out.

And Sunderland’s early escape came with a damaging caveat as long-serving defender Luke O’Nien, twisting in mid-air,

And they were still recovering from the aftershock of losing their club captain on his fifth Wembley appearance when the Blades seized the initiative after 25 minutes. On the counter from a Sunderland corner, Gustavo Hamer - who scored a fine equaliser for Coventry in this fixture two years ago - went on a fantastic 60-yard run and threaded a perfect pass for Tyrese Campbell to dink his finish over the advancing Patterson.

Campbell’s 11th goal of the season, and his first since March, was the proverbial chip off the old block. His father Kevin, the former and striker who died last June, would have been proud of such a deft finish.

And when Harrison Burrows smuggled his 25-yard volley through a crowded box and beyond the unsighted Patterson nine minutes later, the Mackems were only spared by VAR John Brooks’ intervention.

Brooks sent referee Chris Kavanagh to the pitchside monitor to determine whether the offside Vinicius Souza was distracting the Sunderland keeper and the goal was chalked off, but it was a desperately close call.

At least it wasn’t a laughable decision, unlike the travesty unfurled by a pair of clowns at the final last weekend.

If VAR was their best player for 45 minutes, the Black Cats finally sharpened their claws for a sustained assault after the break.

They were reprieved again when Dennis Cirkin dithered, Blades sub Andre Brooks stole through the catflap and Patterson’s trailing leg came to the rescue. But 14 minutes from the end, they were level after carving the Blades open for the first time.

Almost out of nowhere, livewire substitute Patrick Roberts picked the lock with a sublime assist and 20-year-old Spanish forward Eliezer Mayende’s rasping, rising shot beat Michael Cooper conclusively.

joined in the febrile celebrations on the touchline.

And in the fifth minute of stoppage time, the heist was complete. With Anel Ahmedhodzic off the pitch and the Blades temporarily down to 10 men, Moore coughed up possession on halfway, Watson advanced and picked his spot from 20 yards.

Unbelievable.

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