"All you've got to do is keep the unbeaten run going," suggested the questioner with a smile. "Yeah - sounds easy, doesn't it?" came Alex Neil's wry response.
The exchanged summed up the situation perfectly. Sunderland have one foot in the play-off final after their first leg win against Sheffield Wednesday at the Stadium of Light, but the idea that Monday's return at Hillsborough would be a mere formality could not be further from the truth.
The Black Cats' victory extended their unbeaten run to 14 games, and they have not lost away from home in any of the seven road trips Neil has overseen. But, for all their dominance on their own patch against Wednesday, they hold only a slender 1-0 lead and can expect the Owls to throw everything but the kitchen sink at them in South Yorkshire.
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Sunderland's job is only half-complete and the toughest part is yet to come - not for nothing is the semi-finalist that finishes higher in the league table given the right to play at home in the second leg. That said, it is certainly advantage Sunderland after the first leg and they are now one clean sheet away from a fourth visit to Wembley - and a second play-off final - in four years.
Sunderland were excellent on Friday night, roared on by a crowd of more than 44,700 - a record for an English play-off semi-final - and the only disappointment was that they were unable to add further goals to give themselves a more comfortable cushion. Neil's decision to switch from the back three he has used in recent weeks to a 4-2-3-1 system wrongfooted Wednesday, and it gave Sunderland more creativity going forward with Patrick Roberts, Alex Pritchard, and Jack Clarke the trio playing behind Ross Stewart.
The first half was tight, with Sunderland controlling the lion's share of possession and territory, albeit clear-cut chances were proving difficult to carve out against a five-man Owls defence that sat deep. The breakthrough came on the stroke of half-time as Sunderland broke quickly out of defence, with Dennis Cirkin - who was back in the side after injury - playing the ball into the left channel for Stewart to chase, he pressured defender Sam Hutchinson into a mistake, and ran through to finish at the second attempt after Bailey Peacock-Farrell had blocked his initial effort with his legs.
It was Stewart's 25th goal of the season, and it almost lifted the roof off the Stadium of Light. Sunderland deserved their lead, and they had chances to extend it in the second half as Pritchard curled a shot against the bar, Cirkin headed a glorious chance over from eight yards, and Peacock-Farrell tipped over another effort from Pritchard.
The keeper then almost gifted Stewart a second goal with a misdirected clearance which was picked up by the Scot, but this time he dragged his shot wide. In the final 15 minutes, Wednesday began to apply some pressure but centre-backs Bailey Wright and Danny Batth stood firm, and Anthony Patterson did not have a meaningful save to make.
Afterwards, Wednesday boss Darren Moore said that for his team it was a question of staying in the game, and ensuring they were still in the contest when it will be their turn to be backed by a sell-out crowd at Hillsborough. Moore's men are still very much alive. It is up to Sunderland to finish them off.
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