View From The Away End: An enthralling trip to The Liberty Stadium!

Yesterday at 01:00 AM

This was one of those rare away days that's hard to summarise, but for all the right reasons.

While last month could be written off as a November washout, the build-up to the festive period seems to offer some much-needed cheer to Sunderland fans. Granted, four points from our two recent home games was probably the minimum acceptable total without provoking a full-blown meltdown, but at least the draw against Bristol City came in a more palatable format, with a last-minute equaliser in our favour for a change.

After starting the season off with a sun-soaked win in the Welsh capital back in the halcyon days of August, we travelled even further west for a trip to their bitter rivals, this time braving the bleak midwinter. Swansea are part of that irritating cabal of clubs that always seem to have the Indian sign over us, but at least we knew we had a stopover in one of Britain's most underrated nightlife spots to look forward to.

Our Airbnb right next to the harbour was a gem, and we could hear the enticing bedlam of Wind Street in the air. The first destination was the trendy BeerRiff Brewery roundthe corner, where we ran into Sunderland's Chief Business Officer David Bruce, and it felt reassuring to know the club is in the hands of people who have good taste in IPAs.

Shaking off our post-Wind Street hangovers in the morning and continuing the trend of surprising encounters, we enjoyed the first Saturday morning pints next to the bay in the company of a troupe of German Mackems who had travelled over from Munich, making our trek from London look like light work in comparison. We also encountered SAFC's coaching duo Dodds and Proctor, who graciously accepted our impromptu guard of honour as they walked by.

A Spoons breakfast and a few more ales in the city centre later, it was time to head over to the creatively named Swansea.com Stadium. Leeds dropping points made some of us dare to suggest that maybe something was in the air this weekend; everything on the trip thus far couldn't have gone much better. This optimism was made to look ridiculous after just twenty minutes, when their striker poked in past our statuesque defence to open the scoring, and they quickly added a second with a postage-stamp free kick. The home fans and their irritating drum over to our left were in full flow, and we mentally prepared to consign this to the dustbin of great trips spoiled by the football.

Thankfully, Sunderland had other ideas, and Ballard's stooping header soon brought us right back into the contest. The rest of the half passed by fairly uneventfully as the Lads struggled to gain a real foothold in the game, but after the break we asserted concerted pressure on the Swans, and it felt like a matter of time before it would tell. Neil's beautiful strike that crashed into the bar was one of those cathartic moments that all away fans dream of when they jump into the car or board the train in the morning.

We were still celebrating the equaliser when Bellingham smashed in the third, and beautiful, chaotic euphoria took hold. This wasn't one of those forced "limbs" celebrations you see on social media for clout; this was pure, unadulterated joy, and it was brilliant to be part of. As a few of us remarked when the final whistle went, this is why we spend such ludicrous amounts of time and money following the team far and wide.

The walk back to the station felt like a victory parade, and to their credit, the home fans were very gracious in defeat and complimentary of our fans and team. Some of them even offered to get a photo with our respective flags, though they slightly ruined it by holding theirs the wrong way round. I suppose Saturday just wasn't their day.

This was one of those rare away days that's hard to summarise, but for all the right reasons. As I sit at my desk (on my lunch break, in case anyone from HR is reading), it's a struggle to adequately describe the emotional rollercoaster of that 90 minutes in South Wales, and comparisons to some of the best away days I've ever done come to mind.

The only meaningful other competitors are the League Cup semi at Old Trafford and the play-off at Sheffield Wednesday. While those had much more at stake than this mid-season Championship game, there was something in the cold December air on Saturday that just felt significant, and the raucous celebrations and the unity between the players and crowd during and after the comeback will live long in the memory.

If the 7000-strong army travelling to Blackburn on Boxing Dayget to enjoy a trip anywhere near as good as this one, it'll be a very Merry Christmas indeed.