County and we all remember how that went. A blistering start from Town saw Simon Weaver’s side 2-0 up at half-time before a free-kick from Notts County just after the break reminded everyone the tie wasn’t over. As the Magpies pushed for the equaliser, space was appearing and in the 70th minute, Town took full advantage. Jack Muldoon carried the ball down the right before delivering the inch-perfect cross into the penalty box for Diamond to glance the ball past the keeper. The winger runs over towards the camera, strikes a pose, and then embraces his teammates. It was the goal that confirmed promotion. Diamond returned to Sunderland for the 202021 season and felt ready to make the step up to League One. The winger had a strong pre-season and was then sporadically used by Phil Parkinson at left wing-back until Parkinson’s sacking in November. Diamond admits that he “wanted more” after previously having a full season of football under his belt and the winger even asked on a couple of occasions if he could go out on loan, but the management staff were adamant Diamond would have a part to play. The arrival of Lee Johnson just before Christmas saw Diamond get an instant run in the team and he provided both goals and assists as the Black Cats tried to keep up the pace with their promotion32 I About Town
chasing rivals. Having just turned 21 at the start of 2021, Diamond is still a young player learning the ropes and so found himself in and out of the side as the campaign progressed. When the season reached its end, Sunderland were in the play-offs and Diamond featured in their semi-final second leg against Lincoln City but they lost the contest 3-2 on aggregate. It would be another season in League One for the former Premier League side. “It was a very up and down season,” Diamond admits. “I had a good run of games but the team changed around a lot, and as a young player, you need consistency and that comes from playing games. I think I did improve during that period of ups and downs but it was just hard to find consistency.” Now approaching the start of the 2021/22 season, Diamond was again set to fight for his place in the Sunderland starting XI and this time make that left-wing position his own. He featured against Town during pre-season, but a week before the transfer window was due to shut, the winger had a conversation with Johnson who informed him that another winger was being brought in on loan and that would probably reduce Diamond’s time on the pitch. The option was to stay or to go out on loan. Diamond chose the latter.
