Sunderland ended their 48-year wait for a win at Wembley in a cup final with a narrow 1-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers in the Papa John's Trophy final.

Lynden Gooch scored the only goal of the game, as he held his nerve whilst one-on-one with goalkeeper Scott Davies, after being threaded through by an expertly-weighted pass from Aiden McGeady.

Tranmere edged the first-half in terms of clear-cut chances, with Danny Lloyd having a couple of opportunities to put them ahead, but some resolute defending from Lee Johnson's side saw them head into the break level.

McGeady's moment of magic saw him find Gooch in the second-half though, and the American cooly slotted the ball past the onrushing Davies to spark jubilant scenes amongst the Sunderland squad.

It's been a tough few years for Sunderland, with the club dropping out of the Premier League in 2017, before then being relegated the following year.

One player that featured for the Black Cats whilst they were in the Premier League was American international Jozy Altidore, with the forward making over 50 appearances in total for the club, before departing in 2015.

Altidore took to Twitter following the club's Papa John's Trophy win, and was evidently delighted to see his former side pick up the win at Wembley on Sunday. He also labelled the club's supporters as 'wonderful', with the Stadium of Light faithful not being able to attend the match in person due to off-the-field events.

Sunderland are set to return to action in midweek, when they take on Accrington Stanley, in what could potentially be a tricky test for the Black Cats, as they look to build on their impressive run of form in League One.

 

 

The Verdict: 

It's great to see him keeping track of his former side.

Altidore scored his fair share of goals for Sunderland, but the club's supporters have not had much to cheer about in recent seasons, so this will be pleasing to see them end their wait for a win at Wembley Stadium.

Tranmere certainly gave them a good run though, and could have been a goal ahead with a strong first-half performance on the day.

But Sunderland's quality shone through in the second-half, and they'll be looking to build on this cup final win as they turn their attentions to winning promotion back into the Championship this term.