Sunderland manager Alex Neil claims advantage but expects 'tough' Sheffield Wednesday return leg

Sunderland manager Alex Neil says his team have the advantage in the battle to reach the play-off final but predicts a “tough” match against Sheffield Wednesday.

The two teams duked it out at the Stadium of Light last night in the first leg of the League One play-off semi-final. Sunderland got the better of Sheffield Wednesday thanks to a goal from Ross Stewart.

On Monday night the teams will meet for the second leg at Hillsborough. The match will be shown live on Sky and the winner will earn a trip to Wembley for the final.

Speaking after his side’s win, Neil said : "All we've done is give ourselves an advantage but we need to make that count. It's certainly not going to be easy. We know how tough of a game it's going to be but there's a big prize at the end of it.

"You could see with the lads’ effort last night how desperate they are to do well for this club and for themselves and each other. All we can do is go there and do our best and we will do our best.

"We'll be organised, we'll know exactly what we are trying to do and we'll carry it out as best as we can. If we continue to do that then there's no reason why we can't go there and get a result.”

Neil took over at Sunderland in February when the club’s progress in League One had faltered. He managed to turn their form around and get them back in contention for promotion.

Speaking about the atmosphere of the first leg, which was played in front of a crowd of nearly 45,000, Neil said: "I've been involved in a lot of big games and that is certainly right up there for me. There are moments in football, in fact moments in life, that don't come along that often."