Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday at the Stadium of Light on Saturday | Liam Palmer and Josh Windass score as Black Cats complete great escape on Wearside
Saturday 4 May 2024 15:50, UK
Sheffield Wednesday sealed their Sky Bet Championship survival with a 2-0 win at Sunderland.
The Owls looked destined for League One when they picked up just three points from their opening 13 matches of the season, with no Championship side having previously survived from such a miserable position.
However, October's appointment of Danny Rohl proved inspired, with the German overseeing a remarkable turnaround in the second half of the campaign.
The final-day win at the Stadium of Light, which came courtesy of first-half goals from Liam Palmer and Josh Windass, means Wednesday lost just three of their final 14 matches, a run that enabled them to haul themselves to safety despite having spent virtually all of the season in the bottom three.
In the end, the Owls finished just three points behind Sunderland, whose season imploded the moment they decided to dismiss Tony Mowbray in the autumn. Mike Dodds' lengthy spell as interim head coach resulted in just two wins from 13 games.
With their Championship status at stake, Wednesday were the brighter of the two sides throughout on Wearside and went close after just nine minutes. Callum Styles gave the ball away cheaply in his own half and Windass whipped a dangerous ball across the face of goal, with a sliding Anthony Musaba unable to make contact at the back post.
Windass went close himself shortly after, dragging a shot across the face of goal after Barry Bannan released him behind the Sunderland defence.
However, there was a scare for the visitors midway through the first half when Luke O'Nien headed home Styles' free-kick. The effort did not count, though, as the flag had gone up for offside.
That was a rare threatening moment from the Black Cats, and Wednesday claimed the opening goal their bright play deserved just before the half-hour mark.
Bannan was the architect, unlocking the Sunderland defence with a brilliant through-ball. Palmer advanced into the penalty box and fired home a clinical low finish.
Sunderland almost equalised within five minutes. Bannan's misplaced pass enabled the Black Cats to sweep downfield, and Jack Clarke curled a fine effort against the outside of the post from the corner of the 18-yard box.
It proved a crucial moment, as within four minutes, Wednesday claimed the second goal. Pol Valentin pulled the ball back from close to the byline after breaking down the right and Windass drilled a first-time finish past Sunderland goalkeeper Nathan Bishop.
Patrick Roberts fired wide from eight yards out as the Black Cats wasted an excellent opportunity to get back into things just before the interval, but while Clarke came close in the second half, Wednesday's survival-clinching lead was never seriously threatened.
Sunderland's Mike Dodds:
"I've said to the group that we are where we are in the table and we deserve it, to be brutally honest I don't think the table lies.
"We haven't given the fans enough to cheer about, not just in my tenure across the entire season. There have been too many games this season where we haven't lost the game, I feel like we've handed it to the opposition.
"I felt that today, in terms of two goals that were so avoidable and then in front of goal, it's been a real consistent theme across the season that we've been really snatchy in front of goal and not looked comfortable.
"The table doesn't lie so there's some real learnings to be had from everyone and I think the group are clear that there are certain things next season that have to be non-negotiables.
"As players and staff, we won't accept another season like that."
Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl:
"I do not think it is normal to stay in the league when you have just won one game in 19 matchdays from the beginning of the season. It says a lot about the mentality of our players that they have turned things around.
"I have to say 'thank you' to our chairman because he is the guy who gave me the opportunity for my first job as a manager. We should not forget this, and we should be proud of the whole club.
"There has been a real togetherness in the six months that I have been here, and we all have to be happy and proud about what we have achieved.
"When I arrived, the players were open-minded and we raised our intensity straight away. We had ups and downs, but we always showed a good reaction.
"We said we maybe needed eight wins with 16 games to go, but if you look now, eight wins would not have been enough.
"We took nine wins from those 16 games, and I think the form table from those games shows us in the top three or four in the league. That says a lot."
