Sunderland 2 : 0 Wycombe Wanderers

Sunderland finally sealed a return to the second tier after a surprisingly comfortable win over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.

Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart scored in each half but the Black Cats never really looked in any trouble against an off-colour Wycombe side.

Sunderland dominated the first half taking seven shots to Wycombe’s one. They deservedly took the lead when an Elliot Embleton shot seemed to catch David Stockdale’s feet rooted to the turf. He belatedly stuck out an arm but that was nowhere near enough to divert the path of the ball.

After half-time, Wycombe were arguably the better side and created some half chances but never really stretched the Black Cats keeper Anthony Patterson.

Lewis Wing was brought on very soon after the interval, but Sunderland continued to look dangerous on the break, more dangerous perhaps more incisive than Wycombe looked during their periodic spells of possession.

The Northerners put the game to bed when Ross Stewart slid a daisy-cutter through Anthony Stewart’s legs, leaving Stockdale unsighted till way too late.

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth was generous in his tributes to Sunderland post-match and won a great deal of credit by remaining out on the pitch at the end to applaud his conquerors. Admirably many of his players also waited and joined him.

Some Wycombe fans also stayed to applaud them although many had also stayed to pay tribute to Adebayo Akinfenwa who had played his last minutes in a wonderful career.

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“Both sets of fans were superbly behaved and mixed with no incidents. They were that well behaved the local police were picking up litter and taking photos for fans. I’ve never ever seen that before at Wembley.

I saw one incident where Wycombe fans were refused entry post-game to a Sunderland pub, and the Sunderland fans were asking the bouncers to allow them in.”

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Mackems manager Alex Neil had revived the side who sacked manager Lee Johnson after a 6-0 thrashing by Bolton. That now seems an eternity ago.

On the day, his side exhibited no big match nerves despite the presence of around 50,000 Sunderland fans. The day must surely be remembered for Sunderland ending a long spree in the third tier but there was another aspect to the day.

It had been a very bad week for football fans leading up to the final. Pitch invasions at high profile matches at Nottingham, Everton and elsewhere had caused many fans to worry about a return to the bad old days of hooliganism.

In addition to fears of pitch invasions, Wembley had very recent memories of the most toxic day of all when England hosted Italy in the Final of EURO 2020.

[Eye witness from Wembley: How the police, UEFA, idiots, media and politicians let England down]

The participating clubs themselves have no notable history of antipathy although a few had taken upon themselves to raise tensions with irresponsible tweeting.

However, it was obvious that this was no England match.

The thousands of red and white striped fans were in an ebullient but utterly responsible mood. As the two sets of fans crossed paths on pavements to make their way to the respective bars, the Torch for Wycombe and the Green Man for Sunderland, there was no growling or eyeballing.

Mostly there were wishes of good luck. Sunderland fans had clearly taken one inward look at the events of the wee at other grounds and collectively concluded ‘that is not who we are‘.

In the end, Sunderland fans represented their club, their city and the north-east superbly and would be welcome back in Wembley anytime.

Indeed, both sets of fans were so well behaved, the local police were picking up litter and taking photos for fans. A stark contrast to recent scenes at Wembley and elsewhere.

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There was even one incident where Wycombe fans were refused entry post-game to a Sunderland pub, and the Sunderland fans were asking the bouncers to allow them in.

No-one should have been surprised.

There was much mutual respect aftert their last meeting when Sunderland traveled to Wycombe in the league. The players put on a fantastic show but the Sunderland fans determination to be supportive during the game and respectful guests before and after made the occasion a memorable one

Wycombe Wanderers hold Sunderland in six-goal thriller and show what a day out at the football should be

The fans who descended on Wembley carried on that spirit.

This is not going to be like German football where clubs, as well as the customary hated rivals, also have occasional friendship agreements such as those that bind Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen, or 1. FC Nürnberg  with Schalke 04.

Great sportsmanship from everyone involved at @wwfcofficial the Premier league could learn a thing or 2 from this. I saw lots of Wycombe and Sunderland fans chatting before and after the game. The way football should be. Good luck for next season lads

— Sunderland AFC Supporters (@SAFCBANTER1973) May 22, 2022

That’s just not a tradition in England. However, post game comments on social media reflected a very favourable view from both fansbases towards each other despite the massive disparity between the sizes and historical success of both clubs.

After a week where crowds were invading pitches and assaulting players, all spectators remained off the pitch at full time. One man who could have left but didn’t was Gareth Ainsworth who stayed on to applaud the Black Cats players. Many of his players stayed there despite their disappointment.

Sunderland will be promoted while Wycombe once again left their last game of the season without quite achieving another year in the Championship. Howver there are signals of a bright future for both.

Ross Stewart was included in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad to play Ukraine in the World Cup qualifier. The likely surge in season ticket sales and Alex Neil’s growing reputation might make the Stadium of Light an attractive proposition for players too.

2021/22 was the first year in which Ainsworth was able to dabble in the transfer market. He is sure to get the backing of the ownership to do so for a second time.

There is the basis of a team that managed an incredible 83 points this year. With Rotherham, Wigan and Sunderland being replaced by Derby, Peterborough and Barnsley, the top end does not look to be significantly stronger than this season.

If Ainsworth can add forwards of the calibre of Sam Vokes, as well as harness the recent upsurge in form and confidence of experienced players like Jordan Obita, Chris Forino, Dominic Gape and Ryan Tafazolli, he can fosuc on nurturing younger players like Anis Mehmeti and Ali Al-Hamadi.

In fact Al-Hamadi achieved something his colleagues failed to this weekend, as he was in the Bromley FC squad that triumphed in the FA Trophy final 24 hours later.

First everyone deserves a good rest. Both clubs contributed a significant amount of mental energy this season.

Work can begin on their respective 2022/23 seasons soon enough.

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