View From The Away End: Villa Park Heartbreaker… But A Canny Day Out

For the first time in what feels like decades, Sunderland fans can largely relax, and enjoy the drama playing out above and below us at the top and bottom of the table. We’re in a sweet spot where we have a tantalising goal to aim for in the shape of European qualification, but no real pressure to achieve it, with the main objective for the season already well and truly in the bag. About a month ago, our season seemed in danger of fizzling out, but after that incredible win in the derby (which I am in no way bitter about having missed) and an unspectacular but solid win over the 2026/27’s runaway Banter Club Tottenham Hotspur, we headed to Villa Park on the crest of a wave.

The gap between these games was mainly characterised by the hilariously overblown reactions from Spurs fans currently in the “anger” stage of grief, generally depicting Brian Brobbey as some sort of evil bogeyman responsible for every injustice in football. Unsurprisingly, there was a real clamour for tickets for this one, and the awkward Sunday kick-off time didn’t reduce the excitement among the fans. I’d certainly tolerate plenty of Sunday kick-offs next season if it means we’ve nabbed a Conference League spot, but let’s worry about that if and when we come to it.

There was an early blow as a tube shutdown led to us missing our scheduled train, but it wasn’t the end of the world as it gave time for a nice pint in the sun outside King’s Cross. We were joined by Jonny, a Villa-supporting friend of the London Branch, though we made it clear that if the result went horribly wrong he could make his own way home. Villa have enjoyed a strangely up-and-down season in the league, but still find themselves well in the driving seat for a Champions League place and have a good chance of bringing home the Europa League trophy, so we knew an extremely tough test awaited.

The reverse fixture back in September feels like an age ago. We really acquitted ourselves well to claim a deserved point after Reinildo’s red card, and hopefully a similar performance this time around would see us leave with something in the bag. Pulling into sunny Birmingham, we headed to the Figure of Eight Wetherspoons to enjoy the beer garden weather before jumping in an Uber to the ground.