Sunderland battle into play-off final

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Highlights of the Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final second leg between Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Highlights of the Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final second leg between Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Sunderland are through to the Sky Bet League One play-off final after their battling goalless draw at Portsmouth on Thursday night earned them a 1-0 victory on aggregate.

Leading from Saturday’s first leg at the Stadium of Light, Jack Ross set his side up to frustrate their opponents at Fratton Park, and they got the job done to reach Wembley – where they will face Charlton or Doncaster on Sunday, May 26.

For Portsmouth, who struggled to make chances throughout, it was a frustrating end to a season that initially promised so much. They led the way throughout most of the first half of the campaign in League One, but a poor run in early 2019 left them in the play-offs, and they will compete in the third tier again next season.

Sunderland batten down the hatches at Fratton

Having not previously met since facing each other in the Premier League more than nine years ago, this was their fifth fixture this season.

The old saying goes that familiarity breeds contempt, and that was clearly the case in the first half with many more off-the-ball flashpoints than there were chances being created at either end. Gareth Evans and Tom Naylor of Pompey and Sunderland’s Chris Maguire – the goalscorer in the first leg – all picked up daft bookings within the first quarter of the game.

Sunderland will face either Charlton or Doncaster in the play-off final

Finally, after 40 minutes, came an opening. A ball into the box was smartly nodded square from Oli Hawkins to Gareth Evans, but his headed was denied at point-blank range by Jon McLaughlin in the Sunderland goal.

McLaughlin was called into action again to make two more important saves after the break. The first came from Hawkins as he tipped his header over after 53 minutes, the second with 20 to go as he denied substitute – and former Sunderland man – James Vaughan.

It was a fine display from the goalkeeper, and Portsmouth’s lack of creativity meant they simply could not find a way past him, leaving Sunderland to celebrate their passage to Wembley at full-time.

Man of the match – Jon McLaughlin

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Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole and Jon McLaughlin are hoping to go one step further after reaching the League One play-off final with a win against Portsmouth.

Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole and Jon McLaughlin are hoping to go one step further after reaching the League One play-off final with a win against Portsmouth.

On a night where the only job was to shut the opposition out for 90 minutes, McLaughlin did just that. He made a string of fine saves to deny Portsmouth, but also showed superb composure throughout with his aerial presence, catching every cross and providing genuine assurance behind his defence.

The managers

Jack Ross: “You are always justifying these [team selection] decisions if you get the end result. We knew, coming here, that it would be an intense atmosphere and we wanted to try and have some control of the game.

“I thought we could have been better in possession, certainly in the first half, but as the game went on, I thought we were more and more comfortable and we knew that we had players coming off the bench. You have to find a way to win the games over the tie and thankfully we’ve done that.

“I’ve trusted this group of players all season. We’ve played 60 games now and they’ve put an awful lot of work in for me in that time. We prepare diligently for every game and so our preparation for this game has been thorough; we understood what we wanted to do within the game and then you have to trust your players to do that.

“The truth is, in an atmosphere like this tonight, they can’t really hear you from the sidelines, so it doesn’t make a difference what I say then.

“I think having been there [Wembley] so recently means that we are accustomed to the environment, the atmosphere it can generate and so we go there with a degree of familiarity. I don’t think it’ll make a huge bit of difference in the game, but it’s a nice feeling to be going back there.

“We’re a club with big expectations and rightly so. To turn around something that had been heading in the wrong direction for so long is not easy and we’ve done that this season. We’ve made big strides, not quite to where we want to be just yet, but we’re on the path.”

What’s next?

Sunderland will play in the Sky Bet League One play-off final on Sunday, May 26 at Wembley against Charlton or Doncaster, who meet in the second leg of their semi-final on Friday night. Portsmouth will begin the 2019/20 season in the third tier on the weekend of August 2-4.

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