Darren Bent hits back at Sunderland accusations after win v Coventry – ‘Come on’
Darren Bent has defended the celebrations of Sunderland supporters as they witnessed some of the craziest scenes in their history against Coventry.
Sunderland‘s promotion aspirations are well and truly alive after they saw off Coventry over two legs in the play-off semi-finals.
Dan Ballard was the hero of the tie for the Mackems, dominating the game at the CBS Arena before heading home a last-second equaliser to ensure that Sunderland won the tie on aggregate in front of their home crowd.
His goal sparked crazy scenes at the Stadium of Light, and Bent is fully understanding of the emotion behind the occasion.
Sunderland equaliser sparks delirium on Wearside
The noise when Ballard‘s header hit the back of the net reached over 110 decibals, and sparked scenes on Wearside that football fans dream of.
Over 46,000 fans were in attendance to watch one of the most dramatic goals in the history of the play-offs, though several pundits and fans accused the Black Cats of overcelebrating the goal [talkSPORT], and Bent was having none of it.
Via talkSPORT, he said: “Come on, they scored an equaliser to send them through in the last minute of extra time. It wasn’t like it was midway through the game, you’re talking about the very last stage of extra time.
| First leg | Second leg |
| Coventry 1-2 Sunderland | Sunderland 1-1 Coventry |
“Everyone thinks ‘this is going to penalties. It’s a lottery. Then someone pops up with that. I’ve got no issues with the overcelebrating.”
Quite frankly, had it been any other club in that situation, they would have done the exact same thing, albeit on a much lower scale.
Wembley date beckons for the Black Cats
Sunderland’s last outing at Wembley ended in victory, and those of a Wearside persuasion will be hoping they can make it two from two and cement their spot back in the Premier League for the first time since 2016.
Fans from all around the world will be supporting Sunderland against Sheffield United, who have promotion ambitions of their own after missing out on the automatic places.
Just nine days remain until the final gets underway, and there is plenty of optimism from Sunderland supporters. Can this be our year? There is no reason why it can’t be, with the final on 24 May shaping up to be a huge occasion already.