Sunderland transfer deal announced hours before Plymouth Argyle clash in Championship - moments missed

Sunderland faced the Championships bottom club Plymouth Argyle at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with plenty of talking points emerging before, during and after the game.

The Black Cats were below par throughout the game but looked to have snatched the win when Wilson Isidor and Trai Hume scored after Ryan Hardie’s opener. But substitute Nathanael Ogbeta scored in stoppage time to mean the hosts missed a huge chance to cut the gap to the top two in the Championship after Sheffield United slipped up.

Here, though, we take a look at the moments you may have missed before, during and after Sunderland’s game against Plymouth Argyle at the Stadium of Light:

Sunderland transfer deal goes through before kick-off

Just a couple of hours before kick-off at the Stadium of Light, news of a completed transfer deal (of sorts) filtered through.

Ahead of the clash, non-league club Tamworth announced that Sunderland youth defender Ben Crompton had extended his loan deal with the club for the remainder of the season.

Crompton has already made his first-team debut for Sunderland, featuring in an EFL Cup clash against Crewe Alexandra last season. The defender was also named on Le Bris’ bench against Portsmouth at the very start of the campaign.

However, with first-team minutes hard to come by, Crompton signed for Tamworth on loan earlier this campaign after impressing for the Black Cats against the non-leaguers in the National League Cup. The initial loan deal was extended by a month before being again extended until the end of the current season.

Crompton, who signed for Sunderland from Shrewsbury Town, is under contract at the Academy of Light until the summer of 2025 and played for Tamworth against Premier League side Tottenham in the FA Cup and took Spurs to extra-time before eventually losing.

Chris Mepham gets lucky in first half against Plymouth

Sunderland defender Chris Mepham was perhaps a little lucky not to be booked in the first half after pushing Plymouth plater Houghton over towards the end of the opening 45.

The Black Cats had won a corner and were waiting for it to be delivered when the Wales international pushed his opposite number over in the box. Both players were called over by the referee but avoided cautions.

Former Sunderland men return to the Stadium of Light

Ex-Sunderland stalwart John O’Shea returned to the Stadium of Light for the game against Plymouth Argyle and was well received by fans inside the ground at half-time when he was presented to the crowd.

After leaving Sunderland, O’Shea enjoyed a stint with Reading before moving into coaching. Since then, the former Manchester United has performed roles at Stoke City and Birmingham City but is now the Republic of Ireland’s assistant head coach.

Sunderland academy graduate Bali Mumba also returned to the Stadium of Light, starting for Plymouth Argyle in defence as the Pilgrims picked up a 2-2 draw. The former Norwich City man was superb as Miron Muslic’s side improved from Wednesday’s 5-0 drubbing against Burnley.