Roy Keane cruelly winds up Jill Scott as Sunderland Wembley absence explained
Sunderland are gearing up for a historic day at Wembley Stadium as they face Sheffield United in the play-off final.
A last-gasp Dan Ballard header was enough to secure the Black Cats a memorable 3-2 aggregate victory over Coventry City.
As for Sheffield United, they clinched a convincing 6-0 aggregate win over sixth-placed Bristol City.
Roy Keane and Jill Scott both have links to Wearside, and the pair discussed their former side ahead of the game.
Jill Scott unable to make Wembley play-off final
Roy Keane is remembered fondly for his time at Sunderland, where he achieved promotion to the Premier League.
The former Republic of Ireland manager then steered the Wearsiders to safety in their first season back in the top flight.
After that, the Black Cats enjoyed a ten-year stay in the Premier League before being relegated in 2017.
| Matches | Won | Drew | Lost | Points-per-match |
| 100 | 43 | 16 | 41 | 1.45 |
As for Scott, she played for Sunderland Women at the start of her career before representing Everton and Manchester City.
Her greatest achievement was winning Euro 2022 with the Lionesses before retiring from football and becoming a pundit.
Scott and Keane discussed Sunderland on The Overlap (21 May), with the former Man United man taking a jibe at Scott.
The former Lioness stated that she would not be at Wembley as she would be covering the Women’s Champions League final in Portugal instead.
Keane responded: “She cries every week about Sunderland… just go to Sunderland.”
“‘Sunderland ’til I die’ until someone offers me more money….”
Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher laughed loudly at that comment, before Scott added: “That is actually not the truth.”
Sunderland must channel underdog spirit at Wembley
While Regis Le Bris’ side will head to Wembley as underdogs, it is a title they will relish.
The Blades will have all the pressure on them as they chase an instant Premier League return under Chris Wilder.
However, they Yorkshire club have never achieved promotion via the play-offs.
Although Sunderland’s play-off record is not great, they did achieve the feat by defeating Wycombe Wanderers in 2022.
The pair shared the spoils when they met this season, with both sides winning narrowly at home.
However, it could have been oh so different if Patrick Roberts had converted his penalty at Bramall Lane.
Sunderland will be riding a wave after their late Coventry winner and must revel in their underdog status.