Roberts sinks Sheffield Wednesday and sends Sunderland to Wembley

Patrick Roberts scored on the final day of last season to help send Sheffield Wednesday down to League One, and the winger condemned the Owls to another season in the third tier with an injury-time winner to put Sunderland 90 minutes away from promotion.

The match was heading into extra-time after Lee Gregory slid the ball home to cancel out Ross Stewart’s first-leg winner but Roberts pounced in the 10 minutes of time added on to earn victory for Sunderland thanks to fine work by Jack Clarke on the left, who tricked his way inside the box before fizzing it into the path of Roberts. The duo once cost a combined £21m, which proved handy to Alex Neil.

A packed Hillsborough roared every touch from a Sheffield Wednesday player in the early stages. The biggest cheer of the opening five minutes was saved for Sunderland’s Alex Pritchard when he leapt over an outstretched leg on the edge of the box, only for the referee and home supporters to show the midfielder what they thought of his artistic attempt to win a free-kick.

Needing a goal to level the tie, Wednesday could only bide their time for so long, especially due to the fact Sunderland had one eye on the clock from the first whistle. Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was harangued whenever it was deemed he had held onto the ball for an extra split-second.

Barry Bannan’s intelligence on the ball ensured the surround sound did not stop. Whenever the midfielder collected a pass, the volume was raised in expectation. When he did finally measure a pass perfectly, Josh Windass whipped a shot at goal, only for Danny Batth to be in the way. Bannan raised the noise levels once more just before the half-hour mark when he slid in to catch Pritchard on the top of his boot with his studs,