Sunderland Football Club's coach, Tony Mowbray, suffered a hamstring injury while celebrating his team's dramatic late equalizer against Watford. The Black Cats managed to keep their top-six hopes alive with a spirited late comeback in the 2-2 draw against Watford, with Patrick Roberts scoring a stunning leveller in the 95th minute.
Watford was two goals ahead at a sold-out Stadium of Light thanks to headers from Christian Kabasele in the first half and Ryan Porteous in the 69th minute. However, just 60 seconds after that second goal, Luke O’Nien gave Sunderland a lifeline before Roberts’ moment of brilliance deep into stoppage time.
The scenes of joy soon turned to pain for Black Cats boss Mowbray, who pulled his hamstring celebrating in the dugout. A tweet of a popular dance move, the "Tony Mowbray," referencing the incident, circulated social media after the game. Despite an 18-year professional playing career, the former defender revealed it was the first time he suffered the injury.
Mowbray said, “I think it’s a hamstring injury. I never had a hamstring injury in 18 years as a professional because I was never fast enough, but when that goal went in, I obviously moved a bit too quick. I’m sure it’ll be fine, a bit of treatment. We have a full treatment room, but if I can grab a physio, I’ll be fine."
The draw leaves Sunderland in seventh place, two points shy of sixth-placed Millwall ahead of their final-day trip to Deepdale. Mowbray expressed his thoughts on the team's performance and what needs to be done in the next game: "It gives us real clarity that we have to go and win at Preston next week. If we do, everyone around us has tough games on paper. Let’s go and win. It’s real clarity now; we know we need to go and get the three points and see what happens. I’m pretty relaxed about it. We’ve given ourselves a real opportunity; we’ll take 6,000 fans there. Let’s hope it’s a big party."