Sports

Sunderland Promoted To The Premier League After Eight Years

Published

2 months ago

May 24, 2025

Sunderland clinched promotion to the Premier League after eight years away as Tommy Watson’s stoppage-time strike sealed a 2-1 win against Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final on Saturday.

Regis Le Bris’ side trailed to Tyrese Campbell’s first-half goal at Wembley, but Eliezer Mayenda equalised in the closing stages before Watson delivered the priceless last-gasp winner.

It was an astonishing twist to the single richest match in world football as Sunderland recovered from a sluggish start to hit the jackpot with a promotion worth an estimated £200 million ($270 million) in increased revenue.

Watson’s moment ensured Sunderland fans can look forward to renewing hostilities with bitter rivals Newcastle next season.

Sunderland’s return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017 comes after a dark period that included a four-season spell in the third tier.

The Black Cats suffered five successive defeats coming into the play-offs, but they dug deep to reach the top-flight in the most remarkable style.

With a penalty shoot-out just seconds away, Dan Ballard’s last-gasp extra-time header sealed a 3-2 aggregate success in the semi-final second leg against Coventry.

They looked down and out with only 14 minutes left at Wembley before the stunning denouement.

Promotion completed an impressive rise for Le Bris, a 49-year-old Frenchman who arrived at the Stadium of Light last year after suffering relegation from Ligue 1 with Lorient

United are still without a win at Wembley in 100 years and have now endured four Championship final defeats among 10 failed attempts to win promotion via the play-offs.

United had finished in third place in the table, 14 points clear of fourth-placed Sunderland in the regular season, but that gap proved irrelevant.

– Farewell gift –

Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson made a brilliant save in the second minute, diving to his left to claw Kieffer Moore’s header off the line.

Patterson’s stop conjured memories of Jim Montgomery’s incredible save to help Sunderland shock Leeds in the 1973 FA Cup final.

Injured trying to stop Moore’s header, Sunderland captain Luke O’Nien was forced off with a dislocated shoulder that left him writhing in pain.

United deservedly took the lead in the 25th minute.

Ben Hamer showed why he was voted Championship Player of the Year with a perfectly weighted pass to Campbell, who guided a composed finish over Patterson from 12 yards.

It was a poignant moment for the 25-year-old approaching the first anniversary of the death of his father — former Arsenal and Everton striker Kevin Campbell.

Harrison Burrows thought he had doubled United’s lead nine minutes later, but his strike was disallowed for offside against Vini Souza after a VAR check.

United substitute Andre Brooks barged through on goal after the interval, but Patterson stuck out his foot to make a superb save.

It proved a costly miss, as Mayenda hauled Sunderland level with only their second shot on target in the 76th minute.

Patrick Roberts’ pin-point pass reached Mayenda just inside the area and he punished United’s sloppy marking with a fierce finish into the roof of the net.

O’Nien, his shoulder in a sling, sprinted off the bench to embrace Mayenda, waving his one healthy arm in jubilation.

That celebration was only the precursor to the ecstatic scenes sparked by Watson five minutes into stoppage-time.

Seizing on Moore’s loose pass, Watson drove towards the edge of the United area and curled a low shot into the bottom corner past Michael Cooper’s fatally slow dive.

Watson is due to join Brighton in the close-season and his thrilling winner was the perfect farewell gift, ensuring Sunderland will join the 19-year-old among English football’s elite.

Related Topics:Premier league Sunderland

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Sports

Ex-Super Eagles Coach, Monday Sinclair, Is Dead

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2025

Editor

Former Super Eagles interim head coach, Monday Sinclair, is dead.

Sinclair died at the age of 88.

His death was confirmed on Wednesday by former Super Eagles goalkeeper Peterside Idah, who played under him at Sharks FC and considered him a mentor.

Peterside wrote in a tribute shared via Facebook on Wednesday, “Our daddy is gone. What a man.

“He signed me to play for Sharks. Gave me my first match against Niger Tornadoes of Minna.

“The first day he saw me come to train with Sharks, he said, ‘My friend, are you a boxer?’

“He said I was built like Tyson. From that day, I found me a football father. I became very close to him and his family, with Puppa K as a very close brother.”

Sinclair, who featured for the Green Eagles in the 1960s, was widely respected for his sharp eye for talent and enduring contribution to football development in Nigeria.

He began his coaching career with the now-defunct Sharks FC of Rivers State, before going on to handle Niger Tornadoes, Enugu Rangers, and Bayelsa United.

In 1997, he was appointed interim coach of the Super Eagles and later served as head coach of the Equatorial Guinea national team.

Sinclair was credited with mentoring some of Nigeria’s most iconic footballers, including Peter Rufai, Taribo West, Finidi George, and Peterside himself.

His grassroots influence left an enduring legacy on Nigerian football.

His passing comes just days after the death of another football legend, Peter Rufai, who battled a long-term illness.

Sports

Messi’s Multi-goal Streak Ends As Cincinnati Beats Miami 3-0

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2025

Editor

Lionel Messi’s Major League Soccer-record streak of multi-goal games ended at five on Wednesday as his Inter Miami squad was blanked 3-0 at FC Cincinnati.

The 38-year-old Argentine star forward had scored a brace, two goals, in five consecutive matches for Miami, giving him 16 goals on the season as Inter managed four wins and a draw in the run.

Not since 2012 when he played for Barcelona had Messi netted a brace or more in five consecutive matches.

But Cincinnati kept Miami to only two shots on goal in the contest.

“Clearly today we were outplayed from the beginning of the match,” Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said through a translator.

“It was very difficult for us to win the individual duels. Maybe one of the reasons is that physically we come with a very big hustle and bustle and in the long run we end up paying.

“Leo suffered a knock at the end but it ended well.”

US 20-year-old midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela opened the scoring for Cincinnati in the 16th minute.

Brazilian striker Evander followed with a goal in the 50th minute and struck again in the 70th to provide all the scoring the hosts needed.

“We didn’t play the game we wanted. They put us under pressure all the time, we weren’t fresh or lucid and they beat us very well,” Mascherano said.

Miami fell to 11-4 with five drawn for 38 points, fifth in the Eastern Conference and eight points adrift of first-place Philadelphia, the overall MLS leader which beat Montreal to stay one point ahead of Cincinnati in the overall MLS standings.

Inter Miami has three games in hand on both clubs but would need to win them all to overtake their rivals for the overall league lead.

“The opponent outplayed us from start to finish,” Mascherano said. “The result and the way they beat us obviously worries us. Now we have to rest and think about the next game.”

That will come on Saturday when Miami will visit the New York Red Bulls, who got two goals each from Cameroon’s Eric Choupo-Moting and Sweden’s Emil Forsberg in a 5-3 home win over New England on Wednesday.

– De Paul to join Miami –

A source close to negotiations told AFP on Wednesday that Inter Miami has agreed on terms with Argentine international Rodrigo De Paul, a midfielder for Atletico Madrid.

The deal is for the next four seasons with De Paul to play the remainder of 2025 in Miami on loan from Atletico Madrid with a subsequent purchase option for Inter worth more than $12 million.

De Paul could play for Miami for the first time on July 30 against Mexican side Atlas in Inter’s debut match in the Leagues Cup, a tournament between MLS and Mexican League clubs.

He will leave Europe after four seasons in Madrid to join countryman Messi 11 months before the World Cup to be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

Messi has not said if he will play in the World Cup.

De Paul and Messi were teammates on Argentina’s 2022 World Cup champions and reuniting them could help entice Messi to sign a new contract with Inter, whose deal with the superstar expires at the end of this year.

The club wants Messi to stay for the 2026 season, in which Inter will open a new stadium in Miami.

DePaul, 31, joins a Miami core that includes Messi, Uruguayan Luis Suarez and Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Charlotte was named host city for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday. This year’s all-star matchup will be in Austin, Texas, next Wednesday with the MLS All-Stars facing the Mexican League All-Stars.

Sports

Nigeria Crash Out Of FIBA U19 World Cup

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2025

Editor

The Hungary basketball team on Wednesday defeated Junior D’Tigress, 77-51, to send Nigeria packing from the ongoing FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Czechia.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian girls were completely overwhelmed by their opponents as they struggled throughout the encounter.

They started on a good note, recording a 9-9 scoreline in the first quarter of the game, but fell apart in the second quarter, losing 12-30.

The team fought back in the third quarter but could only make 15-16 points, which was not good enough to pressure the European team.

Hungary took the 4th quarter more seriously and recorded a 16-15 score to keep their lead and eventually coasted home to victory.

Hungary’s Kinga Jisepovits led the floor for her team with 19 points, while her teammate Eliza Farbas recorded 13 rebounds.

Nigeria’s Tobenna Nweke led the floor with 12 points as Francis Chukwu recorded 9 rebounds to their credit.

The Nigerian girls crashed out of the competition but became the first African team to win a match in the history of the competition and also play in the round of 16.
(NAN)