Plymouth Argyle face Sunderland and Middlesbrough trips after play-off despair for north-east duo

Plymouth Argyle will have to make two trips to the far-away north-east of England next season after Championship play-off semi-final defeats for both Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Sunderland held a 2-1 lead going into the second leg of their semi-final away to Luton Town at Kenilworth Road but were beaten 2-0 as their hopes of back-to-back promotions were dashed.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, had home advantage for their second leg against Coventry City at the Riverside Stadium following a 0-0 draw at the CBS Arena.

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Michael Carrick’s side could not make that count, though, as they lost 1-0 and Coventry earned the right to play Luton at Wembley on Saturday, May 27 with a place in the Premier League the prize for the winners.

The round trip of 808 miles from Home Park to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light will be Argyle’s longest of the 2023/24 Championship campaign.

There is a good chance they will travel to the north-east by plane, though, as they did for long-distance away games against Grimsby Town, Ipswich Town and Morecambe this season.

Argyle have made five previous visits to the Stadium of Light and have a record of two wins and three defeats on Wearside. The last time was in December 2021 when the Pilgrims, in only their second game with Steven Schumacher as their manager, were beaten 2-1.