Portaloos, selfies and victory...now that’s a weekend

The win over Gillingham may have been full of drama and chaos but the ground-out victory at Bristol Rovers was exactly the kind of win Sunderland needed.

Strong, confident and a real show of togetherness.

In the recent run of draws, Sunderland were putting doubts on their promotion chances by failing to control games.

Dominating a match doesn’t just mean banging in loads of goals, it’s about ensuring the opposition don’t make a single mark on the game.

At The Memorial Stadium, Jack Ross’ charges never looked like losing.

As a fan, stood on the open terrace after a very early train journey to the south west, those nerves still creep in of course.

If you were watching that game as a neutral though, it was clear who were the team chasing promotion and who were the side who have an awful home record.

Which is hugely important given the lads haven’t shown that clear distinction for a few weeks.

We allowed Accrington Stanley, a team who hadn’t scored in 2019, to find the net twice, and away to Oxford United we slowly lost our grip on the game.

There was no such messing about against Rovers however, we dictated the game at our own pace and won at a canter.

Jon McLaughlin was barely troubled in goal, Tom Flanagan and Jimmy Dunne looked a solid pairing, while Lee Cattermole and Grant Leadbitter could lay claim to being the most talented midfield partnership in League One.

When it comes to talent though, you don’t have to look any further than Aiden McGeady, whose beautiful free-kick sealed the points, and it was a further example of how much better he is than the division he is currently playing in.

In terms of players at their peak, there can’t have been many better players to have plied their trade in the third tier.

As a supporter, it’s about moments off the pitch too, especially in a season as enjoyable as this.

Whether it was Max Power and Charlie Wyke having to use the portaloos behind the goal before doing their touchline warmups or the bloke who slipped on the pitch while attempting to retrieve the ball.

After the game, Bristol Airport was a ghost town aside from a section of the red and white army who were awaiting an Easy Jet flight back home.

Before long, the players and staff emerged to join us all, sparking life into a weary terminal.

It’s bizarre seeing the players winding down, especially when Alim Ozturk and Robbin Ruiter start playing backgammon together!

Witnessing McGeady and Dylan McGeouch play ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ on McGeouch’s phone is certainly humanising as well.

Even after a win though, it would be easy for the players to be quite dismissive of supporters as they look to relax after a very demanding 12 days.

Selfie requests were indulged however, and the players who ended up sat with/penned in by fans on the plane were not just cordial, they were enjoying the interaction.

Bonds have been rebuilt between the club and the supporters since the summer takeover and Saturday night’s trip home was another good example of it.

In the final run of games this season, from players to fans, everyone will need to be united as we aim for promotion.

If we carry on in this way, the bonds will only go stronger and it will push us back into the top two.