Alex Neil says Sunderland booked their play-off place 'in comfort' as they saw off Morecambe on the final day of the season. Nathan Broadhead scored the only goal of the game early in the match at the Mazuma Stadium, although the final scoreline did not reflect the Black Cats' dominance.
The win meant that Sunderland earned a top six finish under their own steam, rather than having to rely on results elsewhere, and they finished fifth in the table which means they will play fourth-placed Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-final, with the first leg at the Stadium of Light on Friday. The stakes were also high for Morecambe as they knew that they could secure survival in League One with a win, but even though they ended up empty-handed there was a celebratory mood around the ground at full-time as Gillingham's defeat at the hands of Rotherham meant that the Shrimps will stay in the third tier.
"We got the job done and we got it done in comfort, really," said Neil. "We should have finished it off in the second half when we had a couple of great chances, and I don't think Patto [goalkeeper Anthony Patterson] had a save to make so it was another clean sheet which was great.
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"We know we can perform better, but today was about getting the job done and making sure we were in the play-offs. We needed to make sure that we won the game.
"It was a tough game. It was scrappy in bits. Our goal was excellent, we had a couple of transitions that we should have made better use of, but it's understandable with what's at stake.
"They're fighting for their lives, we were fighting to get into the play-offs and the importance of the match was crucial."
Sunderland were always favourites going into the game but Neil insists they could not afford to take anything for granted. He said: "There's a disparity between their home and away records and people write [Morecambe] off too easily.
"Their goal average at home is -1 and away it is -29, so we knew it was going to be a tight match. They have beaten Oxford, drawn with Bolton, drawn with Ipswich, so they have made it really tough.
"I think you could see with the line-up that the intention was to put them to the sword and win the game, but as we know with any game in this league, they are not easy. You need to perform well, you need to move the ball well, you need to win first and second balls to give yourself a chance."
There was an injury concern for Neil going into the play-offs with goalscorer Broadhead limping off in the first half with a knock. With that in mind, Neil took off Ross Stewart - his only other out-and-out striker - 20 minutes from time to ensure he did not pick up an injury.
"It's a worry," said Neil of Broadhead's injury. "And the worry we have now is that we finished the game with no centre-forward on the pitch for the last 20 minutes."
Of the decision to substitute Stewart, he added: "I knew what the scores were elsewhere and I thought the game was comfortable, so I needed to make sure that we protected him."
Neil will now begin planning for the play-offs, and the two-legged semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday. He said: "It'll be a tough game. They're an experienced team and I have seen them quite often this season.
"I've used them a lot in our prep because we play in a similar shape to them. One thing it will mean is that there will be a full set of fans there in both legs.
"We'll rest up tomorrow and then we'll get started."
Either Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday will meet the winners of the other semi-final between MK Dons and Wycombe in the final at Wembley on May 21.
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