Le Bris hails 'absolutely fantastic' semi-final win

Regis Le Bris admits he went on a rollercoaster of emotion through the second leg before Sunderland's last-gasp goal against Coventry ensured their passage to Wembley.

Dan Ballard headed home off the underside of the crossbar with virtually the final touch of extra time to ensure a 1-1 draw on the night and a 3-2 victory on aggregate to book a date with Sheffield United on 24 May in the Championship play-off final.

"The end was absolutely fantastic," the Black Cats boss told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I think the emotion is brilliant. The first 90 minutes I was frustrated – I thought it was possible for us to play better. But we were in a strange position, one goal up, do we need to defend, do we need to attack, probably we were a bit nervous, but after their goal and in extra time we showed we were able to play good football with a different shape.

"It was a question of confidence. With young players it's a new experience, the second leg of a semi-final and they stayed together. It was clear even if we didn't play good football we were well connected, the energy was strong and we defended incredibly well.

"After that it was a question of mindset - you can make the difference just because you believe more than the opponent."

Le Bris made his first sub after 83 minutes, with Chris Rigg replacing Wilson Isidor, while Romaine Mundle came off the bench five minutes into extra time, in place of Patrick Roberts.

"We have to manage what we have and I think we did well," Le Bris said. "For the last 30 minutes we had other options but they were short options due to injuries. We changed dynamic, It was a success at the end."

The Frenchman also paid tribute to Ballard who returned to the starting XI for the first time last Friday night, having missed 11 games during the run-in due to a hamstring problem.

"Dan Ballard he's impressive, his physicality in the back-line is so important for us and to score at the end... (even) better," he said.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Regis Le Bris via BBC Sounds.