Cats’ cup trip to Bury a live TV contender

Sunderland have been drawn away to Lee Clark’s Bury in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The Black Cats will head to Gigg Lane on competitive business in the week beginning Monday, August 7 – immediately after the first game of the Championship season.

The clash with Clark, who made almost 100 appearances for the Black Cats during two years on Wearside before departing in controversial circumstances, looks to be a good bet for live TV coverage, along with Aston Villa’s trip to Colchester United.

The Red and Whites have met Bury three times previously in the League Cup.

In the club’s last season outside the top flight, in 200607, Sunderland succumbed to a miserable 2-0 defeat at Gigg Lane in a game which saw Spanish midfielder Arnau Riera sent off after just four minutes.

The penultimate match of Niall Quinn’s short reign as manager saw John Fitzgerald and Andy Bishop notch for the Shakers in the final eight minutes.

The other meetings came over two legs in 1997-98. Sunderland won 2-1 in the first ever cup tie at the Stadium of Light, with Nicky Daws putting Bury ahead before Darren Williams and Michael Bridges turning the tie around, in front of a crowd of 18,775. Defender Jodt Craddock made his debut for the Black Cats that night.

The return, a week later, saw Sunderland triumph 2-1 again, for a 4-2 aggregate victory, with Martin Smith and Alex Rae on target before David Johnson responded by scoring past debutant keeper Edwin Zoetebier.

Sunderland already have an opening pre-season friendly scheduled against League One club Bury on Friday, July 7. That follows a five-day training camp in Austria and precedes three games in Scotland against Hibernian, Livingston and St Johnstone.

The Carabao Cup is regionalised for the first time this year in order to limit midweek travel for away fans, but only for the first round.