Tom surprises everyone against Birmingham City – and possibly that includes the player himself
Although this 3-0 victory over Birmingham City on April 18, 1981, was an important one in yet another relegation struggle, it probably doesn’t ring many bells today, even among those who were at Roker Park.
But it was a remarkable day for Sunderland striker Tom Ritchie. Ken Knighton, sacked asmanagerjustfivedaysbefore this game, had been bemusingly dogged in his pursuit of the player from Second Division Bristol City.
The Scotsman had little physical presence and looked more like a geography teacher than a footballer. He didn’t have a great first touch and was almost 30 years-old.
Sunderland snapped him up.
After weeks of speculation about Sunderland “matching his terms” he arrived on Wearside for £185,000 – 12 percent of the then-record transfer fee received by a British club. the equivalent now would be around £12.5m.
However, the fans weren’t disappointed by Ritchie as they hadn’t expected much from him in the first place.
Neve r th e l e s s , R i tc h i e’s scoring record, moderate at City, dipped further at Sunderland. By the time he turned out against Birmingham he had played 11 times without scoring.
When the team sheet was read out over the PA, his name was met with a combination of resigned amusement and a few boos.
There was little excitement in the 28th minute when he received the ball on the edge of the Birmingham penalty area. However, he pivoted like a gymnast before battering the ball into the top corner. Rummenigge would have been proud.
The roar went up, but only after a split second of silent disbeliefatthisunexpectedcoruscation. Nine minutes later our hero made it 2-0, converting an Alan Brown cross.
In the second half Birmingham conceded a penalty when Sunderland-born Kevin Dillon fouled Stan Cummins. Ritchie, now brimming with a hitherto unknown James Bond-like confidence, scored again.
T h i s w a s t h e s e a s o n’s fourth-last fixture and the th re e p oi nt s were pivota l in survival, which was only ensured on the last day. *This is the last edition of the Retro Football Echo as the new campaign starts next weekend and Monday’s Match pullout will return. We hope you enjoyed thisnostalgic lookbackover.
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