The brilliant inside story of a memorable Sunderland promotion charge through the eyes of its key goalscorer

Stewart talks us through his memories of the 2004/05 run-in, which saw his three-year spell on Wearside come to an uplifting conclusion.

This is how he remembers those vital goals still so treasured by so many supporters….

The interview is also available in podcast format and you can listen here.

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Wigan Athletic (A) April 5th, 2005

Sunderland had won seven league games in a row to surge to the top of the Championship table.

Optimism was growing and so almost 7,500 fans travelled to the JJB Stadium for a game that had all the hallmarks of a pivotal evening.

Paul Jewell’s Wigan were second, level on points with third-placed Ipswich Town.

Jewell’s side started brightly, Thomas Myhre saving from Gary Teale.

Sunderland broke swiftly and Stewart struck the winner just minutes into the contest.

Wigan felt the ball had gone out of play, but Stewart was just focused on his run into the box.

Liam Lawrence found him, and an instinctive finish sent his side on their way.

The Black Cats defended superbly thereafter and sealed a memorable away-day win that is still fondly remembered by so many...

I remember all the Sunderland fans just taking one entire side of Wigan’s stadium, there must have been a chance there were as many home fans as away .

It was a vital game, we were both going for promotion and the match itself was tough and tight.

They took the game to us a bit but we managed to win 1-0.

I scored the winner and I remember it was a sort of through ball/cross from Liam Lawrence.

The goalkeeper came out quite early, so I didn’t really have the time to go around him or do much else.

I had to take a touch and shoot really quickly, so I just tried to keep it low and hope that it missed his legs, really.

I had just a bit of eye contact with Liam as I made that run towards goal.

He put it exactly where I needed it to be, I don’t think I’d have been able to score if he’d put it anywhere else.

I knew the first touch had to be spot on because where the goalkeeper was, he’d have been able to just collect it. I think if I’d gone back inside, the defender would have got there.

So it was about just taking that touch and poking the shot through quickly.

Going away from home against the kind of team Wigan were then, pushing for promotion, you’d be happy with a draw really, come away and go from there.

So it was a vital win.

Leicester City (H) April 23rd, 2005

Sunderland took one point from their next two games, though the draw with Ipswich Town was a useful one given the table, leaving the Black Cats with a five-point advantage going into this game.

McCarthy’s side went behind early on but Stewart equalised soon after and in the second half, Stephen Caldwell thumped home an outstanding header from a corner.

The Black Cats held on, players on the pitch and fans in the stand eagerly waiting to hear how Ipswich had got on.

Finally, a PA announcement confirmed that they had only drawn with Leeds United.

Sunderland were up, and the jubilant celebrations began….

You always get that nice feel to games towards the end of the season.

It’s a bit sunnier, it’s a bit brighter later on in the game with the clocks going forward etc.

There’s that end-of-season feel and it’s nice when you’re really going for something, whether it be promotion or the play-offs.

I remember my goal, Browny [Chris Brown] brings it down and just puts it into my path. I’ve just peeled off the defender, spun round the corner and just put it in first time.

We won the game and that was promotion.

I remember being so pleased for Mick because we hadn’t had the best start to the season, we’d had a couple of draws and losses, and it just took us a while to get going.

All good teams finish really well, though, and we finished really well in that last ten to fifteen games.

These two we won stick in my mind but I know there were other important wins too.

WEST HAM UNITED (A) April 29th 2005

Sunderland travelled to Upton Park knowing three points would secure the title.

Marlon Harewood put West Ham in the lead just before half-time, but Sunderland fought back yet again.

Stewart had a key role in the equaliser, showing good movement to get away from his marker in the box. The pass to him looked too strong, but with his first touch he turned the ball into a dangerous area.

West Ham’s defence were forced to go to ground and Julio Arca forced it over the line.

Stewart came off fifteen minutes from the end, and his replacement Stephen Elliott stepped up to win it….

We’d won promotion but the job hadn’t been done yet, we celebrated but we knew we still had that chance to win the title.

We had a couple of chances to do it but West Ham, like Wigan away, is a tough place to go. Especially Upton Park, it’s one of those old-fashioned stadiums, tight with the fans right on top of you.

It could be an intimidating place and you know you’ve got Sunderland fans travelling down hoping to celebrate winning a title, so there was a lot of expectation there.

It’s about getting a result and the win was a bonus.

It was another close game, I was subbed off towards the end for Stephen Elliott, who went on to produce that bit of magic that won us the title.

He had a great season that year, really bursting onto the scene.

It was another game where we came from behind in the game and to win titles you need to have that resilience.

We had a really good team spirit.

Everyone trusted each other and we had so many different types of player, so you knew anyone coming on could do a job for the team, as Stephen did that day.

When I was at Ipswich Town, the year we went up through the play-offs, we went behind in both legs of the semi and then the final.

So that’s the character you need.

We had the fans right behind us as well, they were so good and especially away from home.

The expectancy level is high so that means that when they’re getting behind right you, it tells you that you’re at the level.

They’re not going to be happy when you’re not and so you’ve got to be quite mentally strong. That was the case at the start of the season when we had a couple of poor home performances.

You’ve got to be strong and believe you can get to that level.

That last ten to fifteen games was terrific and it was a great feeling, the first and last time I actually won the Championship.

It was a particularly special end to the season for Stewart, who had already hinted that his time at the club may be coming to an end.

His contract was due to expire and he had suggested another stint in the Premier League may not be his preference.

His first season at the club had been a challenging one, and while the second had many positives and 16 goals, it ended in play-off heartbreak against Crystal Palace.

This promotion meant he left on a high, the central striker in a two-year rebuilding project….

That first season was a tough one, 80 people getting laid off, players having to take a deferral of wages.

We were relegated and a lot of players left the club.

It was an entirely new group for Mick, who had to rebuild the club, the team and the morale of the fans really.

He had to rebuild confidence amongst players who had just been relegated and being at Sunderland, there was obviously no grace period as it’s a massive club and we were expected to go up.

That first season back in the Championship we managed to get into the play-offs, and that was a real heartbreaker against Crystal Palace.

They got the equaliser in the last two minutes to take it into extra time and then of course, I’m not on the pitch to take a penalty.

I couldn’t even watch the penalties.

There’s some steps inside that lead down to the tunnel and the changing rooms and I was just sat on them.

That was heartbreaking.

You have to be so strong in football because there’s always disappointments and so when you get those good times, you just have to really embrace them.

A guess as a team we built up really, from the play-offs that year to the winning the Championship the next, so Mick was doing a lot right.

My contract was running out at the time so I was glad I was able to stay and put it right, if I’m honest.

No one wants to leave a club under a bit of a cloud.

I was able to leave on a high, if my contract had been up the year before who knows what might have happened, I could have had to go somewhere else.

But I had that chance to make things right in my own little way, and I was able to contribute in my own little way and it means I have no regrets about that time in my career.

I don’t think you really think about these things until you get that little bit older and you reflect on the decisions you made.

Some ones that weren’t quite right, some that were brilliant and some that take a bit of time to really pay off.

I think that’s how I see Sunderland really.

You come out of the bubble and reflect now, yeah, tough beginnings, great middle and a really fantastic ending.

There’s that pride that I contributed positively to the club’s history and now, 47, I can have no regrets.

It means a lot to have won promotion with that group of players and staff.

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