We all know that Sunderland AFC never like to do things the easy way, and it seems this trait has filtered through to our branch football team.
While the highlight of the season was undoubtedly the 1-0 charity game win in January against Newcastle, this game came with a heavy price, as 90 minutes of unforgiving derby action took its toll on a fatigued squad. Over winter we had around ten first team players struggling with injury, illness, or absence at the Boro and Leeds away games. For one crucial fixture against a team next to us in the league we were reduced to two squad regulars available, in an injury crisis that would make Ange Postecolgou spontaneously combust.
This selection nightmare, coupled with a freakishly tightly-packed league table and the fact that the bottom three of twelve teams would face relegation, meant it was a frantic and nerve-shredding end to the season.
Finding ourselves in the bottom three with four games to go, our prospects seemed bleak, and the picture looked even worse after limp defeats to modest opponents in Krapy Rubsnif and Fraud FC. We realistically needed to take six points from our last two games and to hope that our rivals Milk Boys would drop points against either bottom of the league Hawk Tuah-Nil or mid-table The Flying Saucemen.
To make matters worse, our opponents included title chasing El Patio Doors, who had dished out a chastening 4-1 defeat to us earlier in the season. A certain Uruguayan manager in 2014 might have said that we needed a miracle.
As Sunderland proved in our decade in the Premier League, however, it’s never over until it’s over, and a 5-1 win against Finsbury Sharks coupled with a surprise 1-1 draw for Milk Boys saw us back in with a great chance going into the final day. Our task could hardly be tougher, however, as we faced an El Patio Doors team who still had a chance of taking home the league title.
There was a tense atmosphere, with a draw being no use to either side, and both sides unleashed their attacking prowess to achieve their respective aims. A bright start by Sunderland was brought to an abrupt end, when EPD took the lead early on, but the Lads retaliated quickly, with a close-range equaliser from Jonny Winship and a bottom-corner effort from Anthony Connolly giving us the lead. The Doors struck back soon after as a low effort found its way past Sam Andrews in goal, but SAFC’s midfield talisman Adam Cansfield drove us back in front with an unstoppable effort.
3-2 up at half time, but there was plenty of work to be done.
The second half, however, saw an absolute masterclass in counter-attacking play from Sunderland, as we absorbed the pressure from EPD and tore them apart on the break, with Jonny Winship grabbing two to complete his hat-trick, and this season’s top scorer Matty Leadbeater adding the icing on the cake with the sixth. We could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we had another season of Championship football; the Monday night league’s League One is even more nightmarish than its EFL equivalent.
With the next season running from Spring to Autumn, we’re hoping for a much-more positive and injury-free campaign next time around, but knowing Sunderland it’s unlikely to be dull.
The final league table:
Anyone interested in joining the Branch Football Team should contact Sports Secretary Ben Littledyke on 07501 076 770, or register their interest at www.weardownsouth.com.
Comments