Having used up seven lives, can Black Cats be 8th time lucky?
1973 FA Cup Final hero, DICK MALONE, has a dream
We’ve all seen the outpourings of joy from Rangers fans following their Premiership title triumph after a 10-year wait.
It may have felt like a lifetime for the Ibrox masses, but their suffering has been far from unique.
Remember Hibernian and their eternal wait to win the Scottish Cup again, which finally ended in 2016 after 114 years.
South of the border, one of the sleeping giants of English football, Sunderland, will this afternoon try to fix a curse that has stuck with them for 48 years.
Everyone can remember the famous day back in May, 1973 when the Black Cats, then in the old Second Division, toppled the mighty Leeds United in the FA Cup Final, thanks to Ian Porterfield’s winning goal.
Since then, Sunderland have been back to Wembley seven times, and been unsuccessful on each occasion.
They will aim to put that right today against League Two Tranmere Rovers in the Papa John’s Trophy – the equivalent of the Scottish Challenge Cup.
Managed by for mer Hear ts and Kilmarnock midfielder, Lee Johnson, Sunderland are in the League One play- off spots, too, and pushing for a return to the Championship after three years in the third tier, as well as Wembley glory.
Dick Malone was one of the heroes of the Team of 73, and the man from Carfin just outside Motherwell would love to see the current Sunderland crop finally write a new chapter of success at the national stadium.
“It would be great for the club and the supporters if they could do it,” he told The Sunday Post. “It would give everybody such a lift.
“Sunderland supporters, like those of the other North East clubs, are great fans. They have such passion and loyalty and they have put up with so much.
“Given the size of the club, you wouldn’t think it would be possible not to win for so long at Wembley.
“But, crikey, look at Leeds United, and how long they were out of the Premier League until Marcelo Bielsa came along.
“Lee Johnson appears to be doing a good job and the team is getting results. As a result, confidence should start to blossom.
“I was a great believer that confidence was 60% of your make- up as a footballer. If you weren’t confident, you wouldn’t play particularly well, whoever you were.”
Forty- eight years ago, Malone was part of a Scottish core that played a vital role in Sunderland’s cup exploits.
Porterfield grabbed the glory, the “Little General” Bobby Kerr lifted the cup as captain and Billy Hughes, brother of Lisbon Lion John, had scored the winner against
Arsenal in the semi-final at Hillsborough.
Malone later returned north and helped Queen of the South to promotion, but the attachment to Sunderland is strong and he still lives in the city.
And he knows the 1973 Final will never be forgotten as the legend grows with each passing year.
“Shock- wise, I can’t think of anything on the same scale in the cup final,” he says. “Leeds United were the holders, and the best team in England, if not Europe, at the time.
“But whatever game we went into, we always thought we would win because we had great players, and none better than Billy. That’s why we did so well.
“We absolutely trounced Manchester City 3- 1 in a Fifth- Round replay at Roker Park, when City were a top side, after drawing 2-2 at Maine Road.
“Then we ran Arsenal off the park in the semis. And we thoroughly deserved to beat Leeds in the Final. We had more chances than them.
“So to beat not just Don Revie’s side, but those other two top sides on the way to the final was something special.
“I don’t think any of them had watched us play, and they all seemed to underestimate us as we were a very good team.
“The pity is that the Cup Final team was broken up so soon after, for pennies really.
“We sold Dennis Tueart and Mickey Horswill to Manchester City, and then spent fortunes trying to replace them.
“Sadly, that just made the team worse.”
Stevie Chalmers (above) hit a late equaliser to keep Celtic in the Scottish Cup with a 1-1 draw against Hibs.
The Edinburgh side had gone ahead at Parkhead through Bobby Kinloch.
Hearts were knocked out at the fourth round stage, losing 1-0 to St Mirren.
Don Kerrigan got the Buddies’ winner after Gordon Marshall parried a shot by John Mctavish.
Dunfermline reached the semi-final by beating Alloa 4-0, while Airdrie’s Tommy Duncan gave them a 1-0 success away at Motherwell.