Régis Le Bris said the 19-year-old Tommy Watson's dramatic stoppage-time winner to clinch Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League encapsulated a rollercoaster season and suggested team spirit will be key if they are to cope with the step up next season. The French head coach masterminded Sunderland's return to the top flight after eight years in his first season at the club.
Watson, a 73rd-minute substitute, scored in the fifth minute of added time to complete a dream comeback victory after Eliezer Mayenda cancelled out Tyrese Campbell's well-taken opener. Watson, who joined Sunderland aged eight, will move to Brighton next month after the clubs agreed a £10m deal in April, but the forward gave his boyhood club the perfect parting gift. “We'll see each other in the Premier League next year, in the big time,” Watson said.
“At the end this game is a good example of the season,” Le Bris said. “Emotionally, it's impressive … The end of the second leg was absolutely crazy. It was the case again, to create this connection, this emotion, these memories for the fans and for us. We need to live these tough moments and it will be really important in my life.” Sunderland finished 16th in the division last season and a young side triumphed despite falling behind. “We showed a strong character even when we are not dominant, even when we struggle as a squad,” said the former Lorient manager.
A deflated Chris Wilder, a boyhood Blades fan, conceded defeat was a bitter blow. “We had an opportunity to change the narrative around the playoffs and we've not taken it,” the United manager said. Wilder also questioned the use of the video assistant referee system, which was influential in disallowing Harrison Burrows' volley at 1-0, when the offside Vinícius Souza was deemed to have interfered with the view of Anthony Patterson. “We play 46 games, two playoff games and all of a sudden it's a subjective decision by the referee,” he said.
Wilder said the manner of Sunderland's goals was painful. “We don't secure the ball at the top of the pitch, the middle of the park is wide open and it's amazing what the stories bring up, a local lad who is on his way to Brighton counters and finds a fabulous position and a finish and then the game has gone past us, it's 97, 98 minutes, so fairytale stuff for the boy and Sunderland,” Wilder said. “For us, it's going to take quite a while to get over it.”
