Sunderland defeat Wycombe at Wembley to win League One play-off final | OneFootball

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·21 May 2022

Sunderland defeat Wycombe at Wembley to win League One play-off final

Article image:Sunderland defeat Wycombe at Wembley to win League One play-off final

Goals from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart gave Sunderland victory over Wycombe in the League One play-off final at Wembley to clinch promotion to the Championship.

Embleton's 12th-minute strike put the Black Cats ahead as they dominated the match from the beginning.


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His blasted effort from outside the area went straight through Wycombe keeper David Stockdale, who then made a string of saves to keep the score at 1-0.

Ross Stewart's 26th goal of the season - his fifth against Wycombe - gave Sunderland a cushion with 11 minutes to go, as they saw out the game to join Wigan and Rotherham in the second tier next season.

Sunderland fans made the trip down in numbers for the final, filling their end and even using some of the top two tiers in the Wycombe half, and it was the north-east side who started brighter, with Alex Pritchard sending a fierce free-kick into the side netting.

They did not need to wait long for the opener and it was one for Stockdale to forget, with Embleton collecting the ball near the halfway line and charging at the Wycombe defence.

Ryan Tafazolli stood off him and he took advantage of the space, smashing a shot goalward which hit Stockdale on the shoulder and went in before he could react.

Stockdale did well to keep out efforts from Pritchard and Stewart as Sunderland looked likely to add to their early goal.

Substitute Brandon Hanlon burst down the left for Wycombe but his shot was tame and easily collected by keeper Anthony Patterson, who also denied Sam Vokes.

Stewart made the result safe when he received the ball on the edge of the area and sent a neat right-foot finish into the bottom-left corner past Stockdale.

Veteran striker Adebayo Akinfenwa came on for Wycombe in the final game of his career, but the 40-year-old was unable to change the outcome.

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