Patrick Roberts scored a brilliant injury-time equaliser as Sunderland retrieved a two-goal deficit against Watford - and they must now win at Preston on the last day of the season to give themselves a chance of securing a play-off spot. The Black Cats are now two points outside the top six, meaning anything less than a win at Deepdale will not be enough, although the dynamics have shifted slightly as Preston can no longer themselves finish in the play-offs.
Sunderland may also need other results to go their way on the last day, but that depends how their rivals fare between now and then. Sunderland were by far the better side against Watford, yet found themselves trailing to two set-piece goals.
Christian Kabasele had headed the visitors in front from a corner inside the opening 20 minutes, with Ryan Porteous heading in from another corner 20 minutes from the end. But Tony Mowbray's men struck back immediately with Luke O'Nien scoring from close range, and then as they piled the pressure on in the latter stages Roberts came up with a wonder-strike in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 45,000 to extend the Wearsiders' unbeaten run to eight games.
READ MORE: Sunderland 2-2 Watford: Highlights and reaction as Black Cats keep play-off hopes alive
Mowbray made just one change to the side that won at West Brom last weekend, bringing back Roberts in place of Abdoullah Ba, who dropped to the bench Watford boss Chris Wilder made three changes, in his case to the side that lost 1-0 at Hull City last time out.
Hamza Choudhury, Yaser Asprilla, and Keinan Davis came into the side, in place of Ismael Kone, Leandro Bacuna, and Joao Pedro. Kone and Bacuna were included on the bench, but there was no place in the matchday squad for 11-goal leading scorer Joao Pedro, who has been strongly linked this week with a summer move to Brighton.
Sunderland dominated early on, with Pierre Ekwah bringing an early save out of Daniel Bachmann, and Amad whistling a free-kick inches wide of the right-hand post from 30 yards out. But Watford took the lead on 17 minutes with their first meaningful attack.
They won a corner on the left and, with Ekwah caught ball-watching, Imran Louza's set-piece found Kabasele eight yards out and he powered a header past Anthony Patterson into the top left-hand corner. Midway through the half, Sunderland went close when Amad cut infield from the right and his low left-foot shot was pushed away by Bachmann, with Jack Clarke's follow-up deflected behind for a corner.
A couple of minutes later, at the other end, Patterson saved a swerving long-range effort from Ryan Andrews with his chest, and the ball came to Davis but he scuffed his follow-up shot wide. Ten minutes before the break, Amad flicked the ball into the right-hand channel for Roberts and he raced into the penalty area and tried to bend the ball into the bottom far corner, but he did not wrap his foot around the ball enough and his effort drifted wide.
Sunderland survived a scare right at the start of the second half when Ismaila Sarr skipped past Dan Neil on the right, his deflected cross was going in until Patterson pushed it into the air and when it dropped to Ken Sema, he scuffed his shot and Patterson was able to grab the loose ball. Next it was Sunderland's turn to spurn a good chance, when Roberts' cross from inside the box on the right found Trai Hume, his goalbound header was pushed away by Bachmann straight to Amad, but he miscued his shot well wide when he should have scored.
Watford caught Sunderland out again from another corner on 69 minutes, this time with Porteous beating O'Nien in the race to meet Louza's set-piece and he glanced home. But that two-goal advantage lasted only a minute before O'Nien pulled one back for the Black Cats.
They won a corner which was delivered into the box and it was kept alive by Amad, with the ball eventually coming to O'Nien to poke home from close range. Minutes later, Roberts surged into the box and saw a shot deflected over the bar as Sunderland pushed for an equaliser.
And late in the game Clarke fired high over the bar from inside the area when he was presented with a shooting chance. Multiple stoppages meant that seven additional minutes were added and Sunderland laid siege to the Watford goal.
And in the sixth minute of injury-time, Clarke fed the ball to Roberts on the right edge of the box and he moved into the area before curling an unstoppable shot over Bachmann into the top left-hand corner to earn his side a point.
How they lined up
Sunderland: Patterson, Gooch, Hume, O'Nien, Cirkin, Ekwah (Pritchard 58), Neil (Michut 75), Roberts, Amad, Clarke, Gelhardt (Ba 75). Subs not used: Bass, Lihadji, Anderson, Taylor
Booked: Clarke, O'Nien
Watford: Bachmann, Andrews (Hoedt 88), Porteous, Kabasele, Kamara, Choudhury, Sarr (Ngakia 82), Sema, Louza, Asprilla (Bacuna 58), Davis. Subs not used: Hamer, Araujo, Morris, Kone
Booked: Choudhury, Porteous, Davis
Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey)
Attendance: 44,944
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