When fourth official Jeremy Simpson stood on the touchline with a board showing ten minutes of added time to be played, there was a collective intake of breath at Hillsborough. As far as Sheffield Wednesday were concerned, he might has well have been holding a massive, flashing, neon sign, bearing the word 'DANGER'.
For Sunderland fans, the board would have read 'BELIEVE'. Sunderland were trailing 1-0 on the night and, with the scores level at 1-1 on aggregate, the countdown had begun and extra-time loomed in the play-off semi-final.
But late goals have kept the Black Cats' promotion dream alive time and again throughout the run-in. Since Alex Neil arrived in February Sunderland had scored ten goals after the 80-minute mark and those goals had yielded an extra ten points, making the difference between finishing fifth and in the play-offs, and eighth and nowhere.
