Jermain Defoe: Top 5 SAFC Goals

5: 20/3/16 - Newcastle United 1-1 Sunderland

You can't beat a derby goal, and Jermain just loves a volley against that lot.

His goal in front of the Gallowgate just before half-time was hugely important in a match that wasn't just a derby, but a relegation six pointer that we could not afford to lose.

The lads were all over Newcastle in the first half when a thunderous shot from Fabio Borini was excellently saved by Rob Elliot. Chancel Mbemba cleared the ball with his head but Defoe was already two steps ahead, perfecting his body shape to smash a volley into the bottom corner, before wheeling away to celebrate as pandemonium ensued up on level 7 amongst the Sunderland supporters.

4: 10/11/16 - Sunderland 3-0 Hull City

Defoe's 150th Premier League goal against Hull City was just brilliant.

A floated cross from Billy Jones was excellently flicked on by Duncan Watmore, and from there Jermain did what he does best. Taking control of the ball with both Hull centre halves back peddling, Jason Denayer was sprinting down the other side to give an option but he didn't need him as he calmly took two touches to put it onto his left foot, smashing it past David Marshall into the bottom corner.

The ease, composure and confidence shown was just so typical of Defoe - pure class.

3: 2/1/16 - Sunderland 3-1 Aston Villa

With Sunderland sitting in 19th place, the Stadium of Light was a bag of nerves going into this game.

Losing five games on the trot had made the importance of taking three points off bottom placed Aston Villa paramount. Despite a first half lead, Carles Gil had equalised for Villa to further increase the nerves of the Sunderland supporters.

It wasn't a lost cause though - a hopeful punt forward from Adam Johnson was brought down with perfection by Defoe, before he lashed home from a tight angle to save our skins. Not content with the one goal, he also polished off the win with a last minute thunder bolt, and then scored a hat trick away at Swansea in our next league game.

2: 7/5/16 - Sunderland 3-2 Chelsea

Jermain's strike against Chelsea last season is probably the most important goal he has, to date, ever scored for us.

Having gone behind twice a battling second half performance turned the game completely on its head in just two minutes. Fabio Borini's equaliser ignited the crowd's flame as we urged the Lads forward and when DeAndre Yedlin's low cross went into the box, there was only one man we wanted on the end of it.

Controlling the ball with perfection, his second touch - as it quite often does - found the back of the net. It was a moment that changed the outlook of our season. I could watch over and over and over again and never get bored.

1: 5/4/15 - Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle United

Could it really be anything else?

We were looking good for five derby victories in a row - the sun was shining as bright as I can remember and for 45 minutes, we had absolutely battered them.

However, despite our dominance, it was looking likely that we were going to have to go in goalless at half time - that was, of course, until Jermain Defoe decided that he had other ideas.

A long goal kick from Costel Pantilimon was knocked down by Steven Fletcher, before the ball fell perfectly for Jermain Defoe and before you could shout "shoot", he twatted it with his left foot on the volley to send the ball well out of reach and past Tim Krul into the net. The fans went mental, the team had a pile on, he cried and hilariously Tim Krul congratulated him on the goal.

You really can't knock that kind of quality though, can you Tim?

That half-time was electric. I'm not sure that there are words to describe just how those twenty or so minutes felt, but it was mint and was enough to have etched Jermain Defoe into Sunderland folklore for many moons to come.