Even Anfield couldn’t have heard many roars as loud because the one which went up on the finish of this match — solely this time it wasn’t from The Kop however from the 6,000 travelling followers on the Anfield Highway finish.
The Lads wanted to get one thing out of this recreation to keep away from relegation from the highest flight.
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They’d beforehand been relegated after only one season in Division One following promotion 4 years earlier, in order that they had been determined to maintain a foot maintain within the elite league. As within the last recreation of that final relegation season, the match was on Merseyside, solely this time at The Reds’ residence floor, and never .
The person who made certain we didn’t need to depend on occasions elsewhere, was ‘Little’ Stan Cummins. He was to fly out that following week for his season with Seattle Sounders, leaving the Sunderland devoted with a wonderful reminiscence to relive all through the summer season.
Stan Cummins
Cummins scored many an important aim for us, together with the clinching aim on the finish of the earlier season as we beat at residence to a packed out crowd — I do know, as a result of I used to be locked exterior with a gate of over 20,000 extra individuals than the standard attendance. This one was simply as candy, and maybe extra spectacular, within the thirty second minute.
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Gary Rowell began the transfer simply contained in the half, which despatched Cummins down the left wing.
He’d already proven the Reds that he was within the temper, with a number of decided runs down the flank, however Colin Irwin ignored the warning indicators and insisted in backing off from the little magician as he bumped into the field, and the additional yard of area was all of the encouragement Cummins wanted to drive a rising shot previous Ray Clemence’s close to publish.
It was Sunderland’s final actual probability, though Alan Brown and Rowell despatched headers over the bar, however on the similar time, Liverpool by no means seemed like pulling a aim again.
Initially of the day, everybody thought that Sunderland’s poor away kind could be the loss of life of them, however additionally they didn’t anticipate a Liverpool facet missing some skilled gamers, and a few really on the pitch, comparable to Terry McDermott and Ray Kennedy, whose minds had been clearly elsewhere.
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They nonetheless had two league video games left and a European Cup Closing to arrange for, which I suppose is a few indication of the place their minds had been at. Examine that to a Sunderland group that had a steely willpower and a combating perspective that noticed them obtain their first victory at Anfield for twenty years.
Shaun Elliott Sunderland 1979
The Lads did are available in for a mini-siege late on, however Rob Hindmarch and Shaun Elliott had been excellent and the ultimate statistics will present that Sunderland had seven corners to Liverpool’s two, and that Barry Siddall wasn’t compelled right into a severe save in the entire recreation.
Early on, there have been indicators that Liverpool weren’t keen to match the aggression of the 4 Sunderland midfielders strung throughout the pitch, except for Alan Hansen, who had a great recreation, and simply two minutes earlier than Cummins’ aim, had performed a one-two with Ray Kennedy and fired his shot towards the bar from twenty 5 yards.
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The Black Cats’ powerful tackling and overlaying made certain there have been only a few probabilities for Liverpool for many of the recreation. The one different scare got here simply earlier than half time when Hindmarch flattened Howard Gayle within the field, however fortunately the referee deemed it worthy of a phrase for the defender, and never a penalty.
The second half motion was restricted, however not off the pitch as different scores filtered by from Norwich and Leicester.
Because it turned out, and towards the percentages, Sunderland had determined their very own future.
In hindsight, if the Lads had misplaced, we might’ve nonetheless stayed up on aim distinction, however they weren’t to know this. Norwich — who completed third backside — had misplaced at residence to second-bottom Leicester and it was a really candy second for the 6,000 travelling followers that deserved prime flight soccer.
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The survival boosted Mick Docherty’s probabilities of getting the supervisor’s job as Tom Cowie had sacked Ken Knighton and Frank Clark 4 video games earlier. Nonetheless, the sensible end result maybe shouldn’t be allowed to paper over some giant cracks, because it was achieved towards a below-par Liverpool group and there could be quite a lot of work to do to keep away from being in an identical place in twelve months’ time.
2 Could 1981
Soccer League Division One
Anfield
Liverpool 0
Sunderland 1 (Cummins)
Sunderland: Siddall, Hindmarch, Hinnagan; Bolton, Elliott, Chisholm (Allardyce); Rowell, Buckley, Cummins; Ritchie, Brown