Sunderland AFC transfer rumours: Remi Matthews' contract stipulation 'revealed' as rival boss fumes after late penalty drama

Sunderland ended their winless run and booked a place in the play-offs with a win against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The occasion marked the end of a miserable run after Lee Johnson’s men bagged a first victory in League One since Oxford United’s visit to the Stadium of Light on Good Friday.

Goals from Ross Stewart, Chris Maguire and Dever Hume were enough to secure all three points against Argyle at Home Park.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Indeed, the head coach said it was a 'massive' step forward for his team.

Sunderland stopper Remi MatthewsSunderland stopper Remi Matthews
Sunderland stopper Remi Matthews

He stated: "It wasn't a relief as such because I always had the belief that we would do it. The relief is that it's now, 'right, bang, here we go'.

"That's genuinely how I feel.

Here, though, we take you through all of the latest transfer gossip and talk from around the division:

Sunderland stopper set for contract extension if Black Cats win promotion

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Remi Matthews could be in line to extend his stay at the Stadium of Light.

A report by The Sun claims that the 27-year-old is due a contract extension and a pay rise should Sunderland win promotion to the Championship.

Matthews has made six League One appearances for the Wearsiders so far this campaign with Lee Johnson preferring Lee Burge as his first-choice goalkeeper.

Manager of potential play-off opponents fumes following late penalty drama

Lincoln City manager Michael Appleton has criticised referee John Busby following a late penalty decision against Peterborough United.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Imps looked to have seen off Posh’s come back from 3-0 down to 3-2 to keep the race for automatic promotion alive when the referee awarded a penalty in the 96th minute.

TV replays revealed it was a poor decision but Jonson Clarke-Harris stepped up and scored to grab an unlikely 3-3 draw and seal the point Posh needed to go up.

Alongside Sunderland, Lincoln are now guaranteed a play-off place.

Following the game, Appleton said: “If I called it anything less than an absolute disgrace, I probably wouldn’t be doing it justice.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We knew when we got 3-0 up that Peterborough would have absolutely nothing to lose.

“That made them dangerous in terms of their attitude towards the game because losing 5-0 would have made no difference at that point.

“We missed a bit of a sitter at 3-1 and started to wonder if it was going to be one of those days.

“Conceding the free-kick for Peterborough’s second goal was disappointing and then someone turned their back in the wall.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But it has all come down to a decision that is completely undefendable. There is genuinely no-one in the ground who would say any different and it is really frustrating.

“The referee must have a Peterborough postcode.

“We firmly believed we could go on to win our final two games and put all the pressure on Peterborough.

“I was delighted with the way the players went about their business and showed their quality.

“We have a young group who are only going to get better and use this experience to make sure we’re doing the celebrating in the future.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor

Related topics: