How much euphoria can one fanbase take in less than a year?
Quite a lot, as it turns out, and after a dramatic latest edition of the Wear-Tyne derby, what was once a trio of unforgettable Sunderland moments is now a quartet — the likes of which we’ll doubtless look back on with increasing fondness as the years go by and new red and white heroes emerge.
Four names: Dan Ballard, Brian Brobbey, Tommy Watson, Nick Woltemade. Two headers, one poacher’s finish and one inch-perfect strike inside the Wembley
upright.
But…which was the moment among four all-timers? Which is the one that carries the most meaning, emotional weight and sheer sense of “Thank God for such-and-such a player stepping up when it counted”?
Well, let’s dive in and try and sort this out. Here’s how I saw them and would rank them from fourth to first — in a completely non-scientific or analytical way, of course!
4) “Mukiele with decent whip…. OH, WOLTEMADE!”
In truth, the first derby of the season and first in the league for almost a decade wasn’t the most beautiful game to watch.
The spirit of the dearly-departed Gary Rowell undoubtedly hung in the cold December air as a packed Stadium of Light attempted to channel the emotion of the great man’s passing into even more vociferous support for the Lads, but the game itself was cagey, nervy and somewhat stodgy at times — albeit with Sunderland competing far more strongly and with far more intelligence and guile than they had during the ill-fated FA Cup tie against the same opponent less than two years earlier.
After some tense exchanges, a half-cleared Sunderland corner eventually found its way to Nordi Mukiele, who arced a teasing cross into the box for Nick Woltemade to play the unlikely role of red and white sleeper agent, making a complete horlicks of what was clearly a defensive header and powering the ball into the net with the kind of confidence he’s often demonstrated when playing for Germany.
Cue the kind of reaction one would expect — primarily because we’d scored what turned out to be the winning goal, and also for the hilarious fact that a Newcastle player had actually scored the winning goal. Mukiele’s cross was devilish; the Mags’ reaction was glorious, and Peter Drury’s accompanying line (“Dreadful moment for Newcastle’s centre forward, and Mackem mayhem!”) was a call for the ages.
Local derbies are all about the outcome rather than the process, and this was sweet revenge for the 0-3 in the cup, the pre-season predictions of yet more Newcastle dominance and all of the taunts we’d endured during the years of exile.
“Feel what it means,” bellowed Drury at full time.
He wasn’t wrong.
3) “Here’s Brobbey!”
Last Sunday’s storming of St James’ Park defied logic for two reasons.
First and foremost, the fact that we went there with an injury list as long as your arm and a worrying inability to score open-play goals — and that Newcastle’s second half performance was occasionally breathtaking in its ineptitude, allowing Régis Le Bris’ men to kick the door in and leave Tyneside stunned.
After Anthony Gordon opened the scoring following a defensive error, this game could’ve swung away from Sunderland but after growing stronger during the remainder of the first half and eventually levelling things thanks to Chemsdine Talbi, the Lads clearly scented victory and when Noah Sadiki played in Enzo Le Fée — albeit on a slightly more acute angle that was perhaps ideal — you had a sense that something was happening.
What followed were two nutmegs for the price of one as he waited for the moment to slip the ball between the legs of the stretching Lewis Hall and the disco-dancing Dan Burn, with Brobbey on hand to stab home at the second attempt — with his celebrations and those of his teammates telling their own story as the upper tier of the Leazes End erupted.
Newcastle’s fans genuinely thought they’d wipe the floor with us and I wasn’t entirely convinced about Sunderland’s chances of victory, but at the end of an absolutely immense display, the former Ajax forward wrote his own chapter in the storied history of this fixture.
Double done. Newcastle left crestfallen. A day to remember.
2) “Plenty of movement inside the box…”
Easily the greatest moment in the history of the Stadium of Light, Dan Ballard’s thunderous header from a position more akin to a long jumper’s takeoff stance than a centre back’s alignment from a corner was something for the ages, carrying Sunderland all the way to Wembley and eventual playoff glory as 2024/2025 headed for a truly unforgettable climax.
The videos have been replayed countless times: Le Fée’s corner, Ballard’s leap, the ball thwacking the bar and nestling into the net, the crowd’s stunned and euphoric reaction, Le Bris’ show of emotion and Sunderland’s players running in all directions as the enormity of what was happening hit them…yet it’s never grown old and still feels as surreal and otherworldly today as it did just under a year ago.
To say the least, the Lads truly did this the hard way.
A 1-2 lead over Coventry City heading into the second leg was always likely to be fragile, and after a nervy performance and the concession of a soft goal to Ephron Mason-Clark, it felt as though our chances were diminishing and the ultimate test of our ‘Til The End ethos was still to be tackled — and that’s exactly how it played out.
It was knife-edge, nerve-shredding stuff but with time almost up, Le Fée dropped the ball on a sixpence and Ballard did the rest. In close to three decades, the Stadium of Light had never seen anything like it — and it may never do so again.
1) “What a parting gift that is!”
Put yourself into the boots of Tommy Watson as you pick up the ball in the playoff final after a heavy touch from Kieffer Moore…
You know this is your final game for Sunderland before you head to Brighton. You’ve been disgracefully vilified and criticised in certain quarters for some time — and you’ve now got a chance to surely send your boyhood club to the Premier League if you can just hold your nerve, pick your spot and slide the ball into the net in front of the eyes of the footballing world, and under maximum pressure.
Do you believe in footballing fairytales?
Even the most hard-nosed and sceptical among us would surely question the existence of such instances after this Wembley finale, and for Watson to be at the heart of it felt more than perfect. Eliezer Mayenda had given us renewed hope after a less-than-convincing performance in the Championship’s showpiece game, but we still needed something to avoid the added tension of extra time and maybe even a penalty shootout.
As Watson picked his spot, aiming for the bottom corner as the Sheffield United defence backed off and Michael Cooper scrambled to get across, it was as if the entire world stopped for a split second. Was he going for goal? Yes. He’s taken it on. He’s backed himself. He’s done it.
It was the goal that changed everything; the strike that opened up a thousand windows of opportunity, giving a young lad his own place in the Sunderland history books and ensured that a season of ups and downs would end on the most pitch-perfect note of all.
Watson was indeed Brighton-bound but after his moment of inspiration, we were top flight-bound. What a day. What a moment. What a story.
