Lynden Gooch and Sunderland are in the midst of a push to climb back up to the League Championship and Sunday provided a signature moment that could help provide some momentum in that quest.

Gooch scored the winning goal in Sunderland’s 1-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers on Sunday in the EFL Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium.

Gooch raced onto a perfect long pass from Aiden McGeady and calmly struck his shot past the on-rushing Tranmere goalkeeper for the only goal in the EFL Trophy Final, a tournament consisting of teams from EFL League One and EFL League Two.

Sunday’s triumph comes as Sunderland is in an outstanding run of form, having gone 6-0-1 in its past seven matches to climb into fourth place in League One, just two points behind Peterborough for the second of two automatic promotion spots (first-place Hull City has a comfortable lead atop the table).

Gooch has been with Sunderland for the better part of a decade, having debuted when the Black Cats were in the Premier League and enduring the team’s demise, which saw Sunderland relegated in consecutive seasons. Given the team’s current form, a climb back up to the League Championship is looking like a good possibility, with Gooch a key figure in the team’s push for promotion.