For the first time in what feels like decades, Sunderland fans can largely relax, and enjoy the drama playing out above and below us at the top and bottom of the table. We’re in a sweet spot where we have a tantalising goal to aim for in the shape of European qualification, but no real pressure to achieve it, with the main objective for the season already well and truly in the bag.
About a month ago, our season seemed in danger of fizzling out, but after that incredible win in the derby (which I am
in no way bitter about having missed) and an unspectacular but solid win over the 2026/27’s runaway Banter Club Tottenham Hotspur, we headed to Villa Park on the crest of a wave. The gap between these games was mainly characterised by the hilariously overblown reactions from Spurs fans currently in the “anger” stage of grief, generally depicting Brian Brobbey as some sort of evil bogeyman responsible for every injustice in football.
Unsurprisingly, there was a real clamour for tickets for this one, and the awkward Sunday kick-off time didn’t reduce the excitement among the fans. I’d certainly tolerate plenty of Sunday kick-offs next season if it means we’ve nabbed a Conference League spot, but let’s worry about that if and when we come to it.
There was an early blow as a tube shutdown led to us missing our scheduled train, but it wasn’t the end of the world as it gave time for a nice pint in the sun outside King’s Cross. We were joined by Jonny, a Villa-supporting friend of the London Branch, though we made it clear that if the result went horribly wrong he could make his own way home.
Villa have enjoyed a strangely up-and-down season in the league, but still find themselves well in the driving seat for a Champions League place and have a good chance of bringing home the Europa League trophy, so we knew an extremely tough test awaited. The reverse fixture back in September feels like an age ago. We really acquitted ourselves well to claim a deserved point after Reinildo’s red card, and hopefully a similar performance this time around would see us leave with something in the bag.
Pulling into sunny Birmingham, we headed to the Figure of Eight Wetherspoons to enjoy the beer garden weather before jumping in an Uber to the ground. This is always my favourite part of the season, when T-shirt weather is on the cards, and every game feels crucial, so there was a palpable sense of anticipation before kick-off. Villa Park has always been one of my favourite grounds, with imposing architecture seeped in tradition from the outside, but the same run-down scruffiness as everywhere else on the inside.
The Lads took to the field in our blue away kit for some reason, which seems a strange choice to me as that is surely the one that clashes with Villa’s, but there’s doubtlessly some commercial motivation behind it. It was a disastrous start as Villa carved us open down our left, and poor marking from Sunderland left Watkins completely free to head home.
To the credit of the away end, the atmosphere remained buoyant; our record when going behind has done a lot to strengthen belief in the fanbase as well as on the pitch. Rigg’s brilliantly-taken equaliser was a rich reward for a great run of form, which is fantastic to see from a home-grown player. Another advantage of being in the ground was that we didn’t have to listen to the tedious references to his Geordie roots from the Sky commentators, always desperate to shoehorn a narrative in whenever they can.
We continued to hold our own for a while, until another similarly slack moment at the back left Watkins with another tap-in, and we retreated to the concourse at half-time a goal down. The painfully inadequate service at the bar meant we’d only just grabbed our half-time refreshments when Rogers doubled Villa’s lead, and there was a slight temptation to sit out the rest of the game in case of a repeat of the 6-1 loss here under Di Canio.
Thankfully, it was well worth returning to the stands to witness two brilliant quickfire goals that sent the away end into absolute bedlam. Travelling SAFC fans really have been treated to some great moments recently (again, still not bitter about missing the derby). Things could have been even more delirious when Diarra was played through, but unfortunately he lacked the composure of Isidor and made an ill-judged attempt to chip Martinez.
When we switched off from another cross and Abraham headed home seconds later, it felt like a genuine dagger to the stomach. You’d almost rather have just lost the game limply than have that elation and hope suddenly snatched away from you. There was no time for us to produce a third equaliser, and the home end erupted in celebration, while we saluted an excellent but ultimately vain effort from the Lads.
Fortunately, there’s only a short turnaround until the Forest game; the other results from the weekend didn’t do too much damage to our league position, and the squad will be desperate to put things right after coming so close to a fantastic result. This was arguably the toughest of our remaining games on paper, and if we can reproduce this level of attacking play and cut out the sloppiness at the back going forward, there might still be something truly remarkable to celebrate at the end of May.
