Fast and furious final day drama is all very well, but a gentle canter over the line is better for the nerves. Sunderland's comfortable win at Morecambe made sure it was very much a case of the latter.
There were no guarantees ahead of time that that was how it would turn out. With Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Wycombe, and Plymouth competing for just three available play-off places, there was the potential for an uncomfortable afternoon for the Black Cats at the Mazuma Stadium.
A win would do it for Sunderland, but if they had had one of those days where they could not buy a goal (Charlton and Lincoln away spring to mind) or - worse - suffered a shock defeat (see Doncaster at home, Cheltenham away), it would have left them hostages to fortune. In the end, victory meant the Black Cats secured a fifth-placed finish, and with it a play-off date with Sheffield Wednesday, under their own steam and without having to rely on the shortcomings of others.
