Match Day Thread Sunderland AFC v Luton Town FC – Saturday 13th May 2023 - KO 17:30

The Ref dose like a yellow card,if I’ve read it right he’s taken 29 championship games and dished out 116 yellows

 

It'll be fine we'll just keep on sending Amad out in increasingly elaborate disguises.

 

Is anyone driving up from the south ...

... and I don't mean Peterlee

 

I’m driving up from Southampton today like.

 

Bloody hell mate, top man!

My son is driving up alone tomorrow, from Mansfield, and happy to either take passengers of jump in with someone else ...

... he's staying with us at Newcastle Airport and back Sunday morning.

Have a safe journey mate.

 

I wonder if the FA will lend an invisible guiding hand to us and the Smoggies.

 

Ive just looked through yesterdays training photos and Huggins is on quite a few of them, also playing in a competitive 6 a side match.
I wouldnt be suprised to see him play some part over these next 2 games.

 

Yeh looking at those photos (which I appreciate can’t tell a full story), Huggins seems be in full training and looking fit.

 

He's a talented player and easily good enough at this level ...

... the team spirit is excellent and I'd have no fears if he played.

 

I'm going for a 2-1 win after conceding an early opener

 

I have mate. Hoping to hit town around 3:30!

 

LOCKYER PRE SAFC

Luton defender Tom Lockyer is ready to "thrive" when Luton come to the SoL, in front of 45,000+ people. It will be the biggest crowd Luton have played in front of since 1985, when they lost 2-1 to Everton in the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park (45,289).

THRIVE IN BIG GAMES
“Enjoyable! I think you’ve got to thrive in the occasion otherwise it will pass you by. I’ve always enjoyed the bigger games and the bigger atmospheres, going to the lesser grounds and the lesser teams can be not as fun sometimes. The bigger games are what everyone looks forward to, but I think it’s one you have to thrive in or it might pass you by. It’s one to be enjoyed isn’t it, it will be amazing."

OCCASION
"We’ll have to handle the occasion, maybe whoever handles it better will come out better on the day, but it‘s one to look forward to. These games don’t come around often in a player’s career, so to be involved in these types of game is one you look forward to and one you’re going to remember at the end of your career.”

SILENCE THE CROWD?
“I think that will take some doing. The game’s on at half five and I think they’ll be in the boozer from nine or whatever! Like you’ve seen in the last game, one ref’s decision and a bit of magic from them can spark everyone back up again, so it’s going to be a tricky one for sure. That’s when you need calm heads sometimes."

PLAY-OFF EXPERIENCE
"We’ve got a good experience in the squad now, a mixture of youth and experience, so hopefully that helps, but with the play-offs, you never really know until you get in the moment. We’re trying to prepare as best we can, but ultimately play-off games are different to regular games, so it might be who handles it best on the day.”

ONE MOMENT IS ALL IT TAKES
“Like you’ve seen at their place, they had that penalty late on, which was never in a million years a penalty, everyone knows that, we’ve had the apology from the referee at the time. Before that, we were comfy and then after that we were backs against the wall and quite lucky to get away with just a point. That’s football for you, moments change games and hopefully we can handle the occasion better than the opposition and that will put us in good stead."

AWAY FANS
"I don't think you’ll know until we get out there and we see the fans, but that being said, if our away fans are anything to go by from last time as well, we can hear them all the way up in the heavens like we did last time, that will be fantastic as well.”

 

Yeah that’s the box office final isn’t it

 

If that’s their player falling in the box, he wants a penalty. If the lad doesn’t grab Amad, he probably scores. Bit soft by todays standards, but anywhere else in the field it’s a foul. Doesn’t make it not a foul in the box

theur manager saud he didn’t think it was a pull. But he didn’t know fir certain.

 

We're arriving on the train so will probably to to Jamesons and the new Railway then leave Mrs Smug in Chaplins so she can watch the match. We had a spare for her but she's given it to a lad from Holland who was coming without one

 

^^^^^^^^^^ This.

 

The Championship experts have Luton as favourites to win the playoffs this year.

There's no pressure on us at all, it's a free hot and we're underdogs.

 

couldn’t you have tried Plymouth at least !! Great effort bud

 

"We have shown time and time again that this is anything but another football club. This is Sunderland AFC and we will keep fighting til the end"