Patrick Roberts can replicate ‘special’ Sunderland moment v Coventry
Sunderland won’t be feeling as confident as they would have previously hoped going into their play-off game against Coventry.
Although Regis Le Bris’ side secured their place in the play-offs with plenty of time to spare this season, that seems to have led to putting their feet up a bit too early.
The Black Cats now go into the first leg of their game against Coventry without a win in six games, losing their last five.
Coventry clash lands on a special day for Sunderland
Le Bris’ side have had an excellent season in the Championship, reflected by the seven-point gap between themselves in fourth and Coventry City in fifth.
However, Sunderland’s lack of form in the final run of the season is naturally going to cause nerves with momentum counting for plenty.
Frank Lampard’s side do come into the game having won in their final game of the campaign, but did lose their two prior to that, which is a bit rocky.
Furthermore, Sunderland supporters will be ready to bring the atmosphere in the away end, given the importance of what the date represents for them.
Back on 9 May 2022, Sunderland visited Sheffield Wednesday for the second leg of their League One play-off game.
The tie seemed set to go to extra-time with the game 1-1 on aggregate as Wednesday had taken the lead on the evening.
However, Patrick Roberts stole the show in the 93rd minute, scoring the goal that won the game 2-1 on aggregate and sent his side to Wembley for the final.
Roberts has motivation to repeat Sunderland moment
Roberts has been with Sunderland for some time now, gaining promotion from League One with his side so this game will mean a lot to him.
Although Sunderland may be lacking momentum when it comes to recent results, there is no reason they can’t take motivation from elsewhere.
Roberts surely has to go into this game knowing the special thing that he did three years ago, in a season which ended in promotion for the Black Cats after winning at Wembley.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 45 | 2 | 7 |
Admittedly, neither he nor the supporters will want to wait until added time at the end of the game to breathe a sigh of relief, but being able to replicate a similar moment on the same day would give Roberts even more respect than he already has at the Stadium of Light.
It will be a tough game for the North Eastern outfit on Friday (9 May), but Sunderland have shown they can produce big moments before and will be eager to do so once more.