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23 mins: Ben Sheaf goes in the book for a hefty midfield challenge, and complains at length about the decision.
22 mins: It’s Wilson on Wilson as Isidor briefly collides with the Coventry keeper, then rolls around as if he’s been shot. All a bit tedious, and the referee isn’t buying it.
21 mins: Mayenda slaloms past his marker and fires in a shot from a narrow angle that Ben Wilson has to parry away. The ball is lofted towards Isidor at the back post, but he can’t steer a tricky header on target.
20 mins: Coventry are bossing possession but it’s all in front of the Sunderland defence – and now Sakamoto gets penalised for a foul throw. The indignity!
18 mins: Coventry win a corner, Ballard clearing behind under pressure from Rudoni. Dan Neil clears the first delivery away but it ends up with Rudoni, who is shepherded away from goal by Cirkin.
16 mins: Mason-Clark, who is operating on the left with Haji Wright in the middle, cuts inside and fires a shot that’s well struck, but straight at Patterson.
14 mins: An ambitious long diagonal ball from Coventry is headed back to the keeper by Hume.
12 mins: Sunderland are just quicker to the loose balls, the 50-50s, etc so far. Sakamoto and Sheaf do well to break up an attack here, though.
11 mins: Wilson Isidor pounces on a loose ball and hurls himself over as Kitching steps across him. He’s booked for a dive, which looks a good call at first viewing.
10 mins: Ephron Mason-Clark, who replaces Thomas-Asante in the only Coventry change, gets into space on the left side of the area, but can’t find a colleague in cyan and the ball is cleared.
8 mins: Coventry haven’t been able to make a dent in Sunderland’s well-drilled back line yet. But it’s early.
“Is it just me or does Regis Le Bris look like he could be former Sunderland manager Chris Coleman’s stressed-out cousin?” asks Peter Oh. I can see the resemblance; Coleman managed both these clubs, and was pretty stressed for most of those tenures.
6 mins: Van Ewijk slips in the box, allowing Enzo Le Fee to chest down and shoot – but his effort flies over the bar.
5 mins: Marginal gains dept: it seems Sunderland have moved their advertising boards to stymie Coventry’s long throw weaponry – and the visitors also found the heating turned up in their dressing room earlier.
3 mins: Ben Sheaf tries to pick his way through the Sunderland midfield but is dispossessed. Every interception is being greeted with huge cheers.
2 mins: Coventry, in their traditional sky blue, are caught offside on their first foray upfield. It’ll be interesting to see if the hosts stick to their first-leg game plan and sit back early on here.
Kick off
The home fans have unfurled a massive, black cat tifo emblazoned with the words “Till The End”. I’m sure they’d rather get it done in 90 minutes.
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
In playoff history, 10 teams of 64 who lost the first leg at home were able to turn it around … including Frank Lampard’s Derby County in 2019.
Regis Le Bris: “We expect a tough game, we are halfway there … the crowd will be behind us, they can help through difficult moments.”
Frank Lampard: “We’ll play the game in front of us … we know how the first leg went, it’s fresh in our mind. We want to play how we’ve been playing in the second half of the season.”
Here’s how Sheffield United booked their place at Wembley:
Team news
Sunderland (4-4-2): Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin; Roberts, Neil, Bellingham, Le Fee; Mayenda, Isidor.
Subs: Moore, Browne, Rigg, Mundle, Abdul Samed, Mepham, Hjelde, Watson, Jones.
Coventry (4-2-3-1): Wilson; van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Grimes, Sheaf; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Wright; Mason-Clark.
Subs: Collins, Binks, Allen, Simms, Paterson, Bidwell, Thomas-Asante,
Latibeaudiere, Eccles.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Preamble
Coventry City haven’t played in the Premier League since 2001; Sunderland fell out of the top flight in 2017 and are yet to return. Both clubs have, to different degrees, been through troubled times since, but now the golden ticket is in reach again.
Chris Wilder and his Sheffield United side are the final-level boss waiting at Wembley’s gates, but only one team will get to take them on. Sunderland have a clear edge after winning 2-1 at the CBS Arena last week, but the playoffs are rarely so straightforward.
Will Frank Lampard continue his impressive run, taking Coventry from relegation fears to the playoff final? Or will Régis Le Bris back up his claims that Sunderland’s beach-worthy late league form would improve when it counted?
There’s only one way to find out. Join me for kick-off at 8pm BST, with team news to come.
