Looking back at triumph and woe
SUNDERLAND head into next week’s League One play-off final brimming with confidence after a strong finish to the season – and with their 48-year Wembley hoodoo finally having been broken.
Wembley appearances have been viewed with a growing sense of apprehension over the previous four decades as Sunderland’s defeats at the national stadium racked up.
But such worries are now a thing of the past, following Sunderland’s victory against Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy final under the arch in March last year. It was their first win in nine attempts since their famous FA Cup triumph against Leeds United in 1973, and the only sadness was that there were no fans there to see it as the game was played behind-closed-doors due to the Covid rules then in place.
The trophy win was all well and good but the play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers a week on Saturday is a different order of magnitude with a place in the Championship at stake – and this time there will be 37,500 Sunderland fans there to cheer on Alex Neil’s side and to turn Wembley Way into a sea of red and white. For Sunderland, it will be their second play-off final in four years and it is a chance to end the club’s four-year stay in the third tier and climb back into the Championship.
For Wycombe, it is an opportunity to make an immediate return to the Championship having been relegated last term.
In the meantime, here is part one of a guide to the triumphs and the tragedies of Sunderland’s previous Wembley appearances, all the way from 1937 to the present day.
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1937 FA Cup final: Sunderland 3-1 Preston North End
Sunderland’s maiden Wembley appearance ended in victory as the Rokermen, managed by Johnny Cochrane, brought the FA Cup back to Wearside for the first time.
Frank O’donnell put Preston in front on 44 minutes, but Bobby Gurney levelled for the reigning champions seven minutes into the second half, with captain Raich Carter completing the turnaround 20 minutes later and Eddie Burbanks adding the third five minutes from time.
SATURDAY, MAY 5, 1973 FA Cup final: Leeds United 0-1 Sunderland
There was a 36-year gap between
Sunderland’s first and second trips to the Twin Towers, and they returned in very different circumstances. Far from the reigning champions of England, Sunderland were instead competing in the Second Division and they were firmly cast in the role of underdogs against Don Revie’s elite – if unloved – Leeds team that was looking to win the cup for a second successive season.
Bob Stokoe’s side failed to read the script, however, and Ian Porterfield scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game in the 31st minute. This was also the game which saw Jimmy Montgomery write his name into FA Cup folklore with the most famous save in the history of the competition, parrying an initial header from Trevor Cherry before a split-second later somehow managing to divert the follow-up from Peter Lorimer onto the bar and over.
With this win, Sunderland became the first second-tier team to lift the cup since 1931.
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1985 League Cup final: Norwich City 1-0 Sunderland
Sunderland had to wait 12 years for another cup final and this is where their tale of Wembley woe began. They took on Norwich City in the League Cup final, with future
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce lining up in the Canaries’ defence.
A minute into the second half, David Corner tried to usher the ball out near the corner flag but was dispossessed by John Deehan, and when the ball came to Asa Hartford inside the penalty area, his shot deflected off Gordon Chisholm and left goalkeeper Chris Turner no chance. Sunderland were later awarded a penalty, but Clive Walker dragged his spot-kick wide of the right-hand post.
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1988 Football League Centenary Tournament: Wigan 0-0 Sunderland (Wigan win 2-1 on penalties)
Sunderland were back at Wembley as part of a 16-team tournament to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Football League, and they faced Wigan Athletic in the opening round. The opening round games lasted just 40 minutes, and Denis Smith’s Sunderland fought out a goalless draw against fellow Third Division side Wigan.
The game went immediately to a sudden-death penalty shootout, with John Macphail scoring the first spot-kick and Stan Mcewan levelling for the Latics. But Colin Pascoe saw his penalty saved by Phil Hughes, and that allowed Paul Cook to convert to send Wigan through.
MONDAY, MAY 28, 1990 Second Division play-off final: Sunderland 0-1 Swindon Town
This was Sunderland’s first experience of a play-off final, and they arrived at Wembley having beaten rivals Newcastle United 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-final. Swindon, meanwhile, had beaten Blackburn in the other semi.
The only goal of the game came on 25 minutes when Alan Mcloughlin’s shot took a deflected off Gary Bennett and beat Tony Norman, leaving Denis Smith’s Sunderland despondent as the Robins celebrated on the day. But it proved a pyrrhic victory for Swindon, as a League Management Committee hearing demoted Ossie Ardiles’ side two divisions – later reduced to one on appeal – for financial irregularities, which meant losing finalists Sunderland were promoted to the top flight in their place.
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1992 FA Cup final: Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland
Just as in their last FA Cup final outing in 1973, Second Division Sunderland were the underdogs as they took on a Liverpool side still regarded as a footballing superpower even though their 1970s and 1980s dominance had come to an end. There was to be no fairytale ending this time, however, and Malcolm Crosby’s Sunderland were comfortably beaten as Michael Thomas gave the Reds the lead a couple of minutes after half-time, and Ian Rush added the second goal midway through the second period.
John Byrne had scored in every round en-route to the final, but he could find the net in the shadow of the Twin Towers. This defeat, 30 years ago this month, was Sunderland’s most recent appearance in an FA Cup final.