Sunderland were moments away from being taken to a penalty shootout by Coventry City on Tuesday night

Leo Hjelde has emerged as a surprise penalty-taking option for Sunderland after his late introduction in the play-off semi final against Coventry City.

Hjelde was introduced in the 120th minute of the second leg with the tie seemingly set for penalties following Ephron Mason-Clark's goal. Dan Ballard's sensational header with the last play of the game secured Sunderland's place at Wembley without the need for a shoot out, and head coach Régis Le Bris confirmed afterwards that Hjelde's introduction was made partially with the prospect of spot kicks in mind.

Le Bris said: "Yeah, Leo was an option for that. He's not the worst [in training]!"

The Sunderland coach and his staff had begun to assemble their list of potential takers in the closing minutes of extra time, before Ballard delivered one of the greatest moments in the history of the Stadium of Light.

"Our preparation for penalties started three or four weeks ago," Le Bris said.

"So we were looking at our plans, with the opportunity still to score. We were looking at our list, who could score. We were ready, if needed. But the corner kick was absolutely fantastic for Ballard. The players deserve to live this moment and now we have a fantastic final to play."

Régis Le Bris previews Sunderland’s play-off semi final against Sheffield United

Le Bris said his Sunderland side know what a difficult task they will face against Sheffield United but urged his players to go on and make history.

“They were really good in their semi-final,” Le Bris said.

“I think they are a good team – well-organised with different threats. They have good experience, they were in the Premier League last season, so we know it will be another tough challenge. To be promoted at the end of the season, though, you have to break something or do something special. It will be tough, but we will have our ambition and our desire to win. We will need all the quality and character we have within the group, but our ambition is to win promotion.”

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