James Copley and Nick Barnes react to THAT Dan Ballard header as Sunderland book Wembley place

Sunderland Echo

Transcript

00:00Hello, James Copley and Nick Barnes here.

00:02Sunland have just booked their place at Wembley with a last-minute goal from Dan Ballard.

00:06Barnes, you've just said he's speechless, which is rare for a commentator.

00:12Have you ever seen anything like that?

00:14No. Honestly, you couldn't make it up if you wrote that in a Royal Rovers,

00:20you'd be deemed a fantasist.

00:22I mean, it's just extraordinary because for 90 minutes,

00:25Coventry, I think, arguably were the best team.

00:27They got themselves back in it, got their noses in front, their tails were up.

00:31It's only when they brought on Mungle and they changed the formation,

00:34suddenly you thought there was a bit of life in Sunland again

00:36and they started creating chances.

00:39But even then, you thought, they're running out of time, they're running out of time.

00:42And I'm thinking, this is ticking down, it's going to be penalties.

00:45Isis Orr was off the pitch, Roberts was off the pitch.

00:47I'm thinking, who's going to be taking the penalties now?

00:49It may not have been a bad thing.

00:50But then for the drama of that last seconds of the game,

00:55I mean, it's so apt that till the end has been...

00:59I mean, again, you couldn't make up that drama, could you?

01:02The narrative there till the end.

01:04And just before the corner was taken,

01:07I was saying about how we went to Wembley in League One

01:11and Charlton scored with literally pretty much the last kick of the game.

01:14And how that felt at the time.

01:15And how that felt at the time.

01:16It absolutely kills you.

01:17It was awful.

01:20For then you to be on the end of the goal, scoring the goal,

01:23seeing Ballard put that in, was just absolutely remarkable.

01:27It was the most incredible thing.

01:28I don't really remember seeing scenes like that at the Stadium of Life

01:31for a long time.

01:32Maybe a Derby game, but that was phenomenal.

01:35The crowd.

01:36From the start, from when the players came in on the bus,

01:38all the flares and the approach to the stadium,

01:40the 46,500 and Jimmy Montgomery, that was so emotional.

01:45And Jimmy getting the stand named after him.

01:48Again, I use that word, the narrative.

01:50But the narrative, it's been bookended with that amazing...

01:55And it had to be Dan Ballard, didn't it?

01:57I mean, after the game on Friday night.

01:59Talk about those two performances,

02:01because you won't see two better performances

02:03from a Sunderland player consecutively.

02:05And what courage as well by Regis De Vries to make that decision.

02:08There's not many people who would have dropped Meppen.

02:10And how many headers did Ballard make again tonight?

02:13It's clear.

02:13And as he said himself,

02:15he didn't expect to be in the team on Friday night.

02:18He'd been out for so long.

02:19He didn't think he would start the game.

02:21And he's played two immense games.

02:24I mean, Ballard's written his name in folklore now.

02:26And whatever happens at Wembley against Sheffield United,

02:29for this team, this young team,

02:32to get there in the manner in which they got there,

02:36that is fairytale stuff.

02:37That is absolute fairytale stuff.

02:39They've got every chance against Sheffield United.

02:40They have.

02:40Who are a good side and deserve respect.

02:42He came close down there.

02:45It was feisty and no doubt it'll be a feisty final.

02:48But they will go in.

02:49Well, after a win like this,

02:50you go in with absolute belief.

02:52You go in with absolute confidence.

02:53You go in believing yourselves.

02:55I think Regis De Vries has always believed in this team.

02:58Setbacks and whatever.

02:59And I don't know what was going through his mind tonight

03:01during the game when it wasn't going Sunderland's way.

03:03But he's found a way again.

03:05He's found a way.

03:06And I think you saw that thing about trusting in the coach,

03:09trusting in Regis De Vries over the last few months.

03:12And you can't help but trust him because the results are proving it.

03:17We'll see you and about, what, 45,000, 50,000 other people

03:20down in London very shortly.

03:21Yeah.

03:22I mean, when is it?

03:23Two weeks?

03:23Less than that, isn't it?

03:24It's just, Wembley Way is,

03:27well, it's going to be a wash with red and white, isn't it?

03:29Because they're both red and white.

03:30But, I mean, it is.

03:31Who wears red and white?

03:32Well, it's definitely right.

03:33It's definitely right.

03:34They do wear the red and white.

03:35Because they're finished above.

03:36That's a shame.

03:37But, I don't think anybody will care.

03:40No, nobody will care.

03:41Right.

03:41Thank you very much.

03:42Cheers.

Category

Transcript

Recommended