Sunderland escape League One after four-year stay with play-off win over Wycombe

Wembley was deafening as 46,000 Sunderland and 22,000 Wycombe fans roared their sides on in the hopes their team would join already-promoted Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic in the Championship.

Just one point separated the Chairboys and the Black Cats going into the decisive clash, with their last meeting in the league ending 3-3 in a tight game at Adam's Park.

Both managers Gareth Ainsworth and Alex Neil have achieved promotions at Wembley previously, the former doing so with Wycombe in 2020 and the latter achieving it with Norwich City in 2015.

The tie also marked the first use of VAR in a League One play-off final, leaving plenty of room for some twists in the play-off tale.

The Mackems came out the traps almost instantly, with Pritchard's free-kick narrowly curling past goal.

And soon enough, Sunderland's early dominance paid off.

Sunderland academy graduate Elliot Embleton charged down the centre of the pitch to smash the ball in from outside the box.

The 23-year-old's effort went straight through Wycombe keeper David Stockdale, who was uncharacteristically caught like a rabbit in headlights as the youngster came towards him.

Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson stayed relatively unbothered throughout the first-half, making a hand full of comfortable saves as Wycombe tried to burst free of their own half.

After half-time Alex Neil's side struggled to recapture their superiority, as Wycombe came back strongly following the re-start.

Chairboys' top scorer Sam Vokes had golden chance after a defensive error from the Black Cats as the clock hit 60 minutes, but ultimately couldn't quite get the hit how he wanted to get the ball over Paterson.

Not long after, Sunderland had a penalty shout waved away, with the Wearsiders only given a corner after VAR was put into use for the first time in the tie.

As the match entered the last 15 minutes, Ainsworth unleashed EFL legend Adebayo Akinfenwa, with the 40-year-old marking his final game before his retirement from his 20-year-strong career.

But, unfortunately for the Buckinghamshire side, bringing on their talisman for a fairy-tale ending didn't have the impact they'd wished for.

Soon after Akinfenwa's sub, Sunderland's Ross Stewart hit the ball from the edge of the area to send it slicing through Wycombe's defence into the bottom corner - marking his fifth goal against the Chairboys this season.

The Black Cats have long associated Wembley with heartbreak and had failed at their previous two attempts to get out of the division via the play-offs.

And Saturday's victory really was an example of three time's a charm, with the former Premier League outfit ending their Wembley hoodoo to secure promotion back to the Championship for the first time in four years.

Finally, Sunderland have shaken their League One shackles off.