Alex Neil praised Jack Clarke for producing the moment of quality that delivered the injury-time goal that sent Sunderland to Wembley for the League One play-off final. The Black Cats drew 1-1 in the play-off semi-final second leg against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, which meant they went through 2-1 on aggregate.
But it was a close-run thing, with Lee Gregory putting the Owls ahead on the night 15 minutes from time and levelling the tie, before Patrick Roberts scored the crucial goal four minutes into stoppage time. On-loan Spurs wideman Clarke was outstanding on the night, helping out Dennis Cirkin defensively while also causing problems for Wednesday every time he went forward and he laid the groundwork for the goal, had beaten his man inside the penalty area before squaring for Roberts to apply the finish.
"It's what happens with players, particularly young ones, they dip and they come back, they dip and they come back," said Neil. "Jack has got good quality. He can take the ball, he can dribble, he can go past people, and those kind of players are really useful to have in the team and he delivered the moment we needed and Pat [Roberts] got on the end of it.
READ MORE: Alex Neil reacts as Sunderland book a place at Wembley in the League One play-off final
"The hardest thing always is to get really creative players to work extremely hard, but our lads have got an appetite and an understanding of the greater good. The rest of their teammates demand it, I demand it, and they demand it of themselves. You don't win anything without hard work and graft - that's a pre-requisite - and then, as for the rest of it, if you've got quality, that's a bonus. We've got that quality, and we also put in the hard work and the graft."
Sunderland will now face Wycombe Wanderers in the final at Wembley a week on Saturday, with a place in the Championship at stake. The Black Cats have a miserable play-off record, having lost six times in the end-of-season competition over a 35-year timeframe.
Understandably, that history weighs more heavily on supporters than it does on Neil or his players, but the head coach feels that the fans will have a different feeling going into the play-offs this time. "The determination that we have in this group, I think our fans believe in this team and believe that we'll go to Wembley and do everything we can to win the game," said Neil.
"The belief they've got in this team, the run that we've been on, the fact that we keep scoring late goals and coming back. I'll be confident and they'll be confident, but we know that we need to go and deliver.
"Wycombe are a difficult team, I watched them on Sunday night and they dig in, they grind and they do everything to get a result. We're going to have to do likewise. But first of all, I want to have a couple of days rest, see my kids, recover. Then it's back to work and get started. What we've done is given ourselves an opportunity now."
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