Tale Of Two Headers - Drama At The Stadium Of Light

The astir melodramatic finale imaginable.

"Pandemonium." That was Sky Sports summariser Jobi McAnuff's guidance arsenic nan Stadium of Light erupted erstwhile Dan Ballard's header collapsed down disconnected nan crossbar and into nan nett to nonstop Sunderland to Wembley.

After 122 minutes of tense, gripping football, nan Championship semi-final betwixt Sunderland and Coventry City appeared to beryllium headed for penalties.

Black Cats leader Regis Le Bris admitted he was opening to formalise a database of players to return his side's spot-kicks.

Yet Ballard's stooping header, to tie nan hosts level 1-1 connected nan night, put them 3-2 up connected aggregate pinch conscionable seconds remaining.

"I was conscionable truthful determined, I can't retrieve what happened, it conscionable happened for illustration that - immoderate emotion that," Ballard told Sky Sports instantly aft nan game.

"It's what dreams are made of really. The fans coming were perfectly incredible.

"It was conscionable emotion for illustration it wasn't going to beryllium our time and each nan lads were hopeless to effort to springiness them thing to celebrate."

Team-mate Luke O'Nien said he was "lost for words".

"Just looking astir and what this man has done for this team. It's incredible," he said.

But it could person each been truthful different 30 minutes earlier.

Having trailed 2-1 from nan first leg, Coventry took nan lead connected nan nighttime done Ephron Mason-Clark pinch 14 minutes of normal clip remaining.

The Sky Blues were connected apical and taking nan crippled to their hosts arsenic nan minutes ticked down, pinch nan 4th official's motion showing 3 minutes of clip added on.

And pinch hardly 8 seconds near of those 3 minutes, Frank Lampard and each Coventry instrumentality successful nan stadium thought they had done it.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's fantabulous swinging shot recovered Haji Wright successful abstraction successful nan box, pinch nan striker looking definite to score.

But USA world Wright, who scored 12 Championship goals this season, mistimed his header and nan shot bounced agonisingly wide.

"That was nan one," ex-Sky Blues keeper Steve Ogrizovic said connected BBC CWR.

Sunderland were overmuch improved successful other time, but nan truth it was Ballard's header from a akin position that settled nan lucifer aft specified a costly miss will make it each nan much heartbreaking for Coventry.

Coventry had almost 60% of nan shot connected nan nighttime arsenic Lampard's broadside had 20 shots to Sunderland's 16.

And Le Bris, who has now led Sunderland to a play-off last against Sheffield United successful his first play astatine nan club, conceded nan visitors were nan amended squad successful normal time.

"It's really awesome because this script was perfectly incredible," Le Bris told Sky Sports.

"We were astir apt excessively tense for nan first portion of nan game.

"During other time, we were good. We played our shot and we conscionable bask it now."

For Coventry, it's a achy extremity to a play which has been connected an upward trajectory since Lampard replaced Mark Robins successful November.

Former Chelsea and Everton leader Lampard took complete pinch nan nine 17th successful nan Championship and led them to a fifth-place finish, winning 16 of his 29 convention games successful charge.

"If anyone watched nan 2 games, we dominated astatine home, we made a correction and they scored," Lampard told Sky Sports. "I deliberation we dominated immense periods of this crippled [too]. We played, controlled and successful nan 2nd half it was activity aft wave.

"The players person fixed everything from wherever we've travel from - 17th successful nan convention successful December and nan players person been superb successful nan 2nd half of nan season.

"We're not bitter, and congratulations to Sunderland, but we were nan amended squad complete nan 2 shot matches and that's why they'll beryllium truthful happy going to Wembley."