Without that ambition, there will undoubtedly be no bold capture of Florent Ghisolfi, Sunderland’s recently appointed director of football.

Without that goal, we will not be able to attract players like Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki to Wearside, and the very core of this team may have been dismantled and its component parts sold off in bulk, leaving us with the prospect of facing a brutal-looking 2025/2026 Championship campaign without many of our leading lights.

I don’t mind saying that whenever I watch it back (I still give myself that pleasure every now and then), I’m struck by an irrational fear:

that he misses the opportunity, the game goes to extra time and penalties, and we have to cope with the pain of another Wembley loss.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

That may seem too dramatic, but it might be the result of my inner doom-monger attempting to break out. After all, the playoff run that resulted in promotion is something that rarely happens to Sunderland fans, but for two magical weeks, everything came together, and the finale under the arch was the kind of thing that’s now part of our club’s fabric, a genuine ‘Where were you?’ moment.

To this day, I can’t believe Watson — a very great player who I truly hope continues to improve down on the South Coast — maintained his calm at that point in the game.

Kieffer Moore’s heavy touch created the opportunity, but Watson had to be sharp enough to read it, and despite Patrick Roberts furiously gesturing to his teammate to play Dennis Cirkin in, the winger was having none of it, and the almost casual nature of the finish belied the magnitude of the goal.

For a player who had been unfairly labelled as a Judas-type figure in some quarters and had performed erratically in the final games of the regular season, he was well within his rights to milk the moment for all it was worth, but as the summer progressed and things took shape, perhaps it’s only now that we’re truly seeing the impact of that goal.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Sunderland players have previously scored important goals. Carlos Edwards’ howitzer against Burnley always comes to mind here, but given the circumstances, the rewards for success, and the subplot of the playoff final being Watson’s final game in Sunderland colours, I don’t think there’s a particularly strong case against it surpassing them all, especially in the modern era.

As we stand on the edge of a completely new era at the Stadium of Light, there’s a little, nimble winger currently commencing on a new chapter of his career at the Amex Stadium to whom we owe a lot, and when he returns to the Stadium of Light with his new team,I’m confident the reception he’ll receive will speak for itself.

Eliezer Mayenda pulled us level, Moore assisted, and Watson finished. Cheers, Tommy.