Sunderland went into this sport in fourth place within the Second Division on fifty-two factors. The groups above us had performed all their video games and will do no extra however wait on us enjoying our last sport at Roker Park towards the .
With two factors for a win (three factors could be launched in 1981/82) Leicester Metropolis have been champions and couldn’t be caught. Birmingham have been second on fifty-three factors, the identical factors as in third place on aim distinction. No matter the results of this last sport, Birmingham have been promoted. So it was Chelsea who have been sweating on the results of this sport.
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The irony of being on this scenario with Chelsea was not misplaced on a few of our older supporters. In 1962/63 it had been ourselves who needed to wait and hope that Chelsea wouldn’t win their final sport towards Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge (performed after each different workforce had completed their league programme within the division). Chelsea gained seven – nil, they went up and we stayed down with the identical factors however an inferior aim common to the Blues.
To rub salt on this specific wound, had we overwhelmed Chelsea in our last sport of the season at Roker Park we might have gone up as a substitute of them. 62,000 followers turned up anticipating promotion in positive type, however we fluffed our traces and Chelsea gained a horrible sport by an unpleasant aim. Ready for the results of their sport towards Portsmouth solely extended the agony for Sunderland followers in 1963!
West Ham supervisor John Lyall had promised Chelsea that his workforce, regardless of their herculean efforts at Wembley simply two days earlier, could be proper at it at Roker Park when he advised the press: “You may promise Chelsea we will probably be having an actual go. We’ll give nothing lower than 100%.”
Second Division West Ham had overcome First Division within the last by a aim to nil and had, by all accounts, celebrated lengthy and arduous earlier than travelling to the North East. The excellent news for them was the one participant lacking from their squad was Paul Allen, a younger participant of great potential, who had left the squad to hyperlink up with the England Youth workforce in East Germany.
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West Ham have been out of the promotion race however mendacity in sixth place and had been there or thereabouts for a lot of the season. They’d already overwhelmed us within the league on the Boleyn earlier within the season and overwhelmed us there in a League Cup replay after forcing a draw at Roker Park.
I used to be nervous in regards to the opposition going into this sport. They have been an excellent footballing facet. I had little doubt they might and would trigger us some difficulties if we weren’t proper at it for the ninety minutes. With Trevor Brooking and Alan Devonshire of their midfield that they had creativity. In Phil Parkes that they had a keeper who could be recognised with worldwide caps and a very powerful defence to beat, with Alvin Martin drawing loads of consideration. Billy Bonds and Senior have been skilled and wily too. Up entrance David Cross and Stuart Pearson have been a proper handful. Cross was on eighteen objectives for the season, two of them scored towards Sunderland. He was a ahead who all the time gave us issues irrespective of who he was enjoying for!
Sunderland had centre-half Jeff Clarke out injured for this sport. He had been one in all our most constant gamers all through the season and could be an enormous loss. Versatile Gordon Chisholm would deputise.
Joe Bolton too was nonetheless a long-term absence. Simply earlier than the switch window closed, supervisor Ken Knighton had gone to Fourth Division Wigan and paid an excellent sum of £135,000 for the companies of Joe Hinnigan. It had appeared a excessive price for a comparatively unknown Fourth Division participant on the time, however had proved an impressed purchase as he performed his approach into the workforce and our favour with some rollicking performances.
Alan Brown, on 9 objectives for the season and with some dynamic performances behind him, had failed a health check earlier within the day and John Hawley got here in for his ninth sport of the marketing campaign, wanting so as to add to his one aim for the season. Hawley had been a £200,000 purchase from , however had probably not set the grass alight at this level in his Sunderland profession.
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A participant who had obtained his profession off the bottom in positive type following his switch was Stan Cummins. Jack Charlton at Middlesbrough had prophesied that Stan could be a million-pound participant. Because it was, we paid £300,000 for him from Boro and what a signing he had proved to be, lighting up Roker Park with dazzling wing play and ball abilities. His means to create objectives for his team-mates was matched by his eleven objectives to date this season.
Pop Robson was Sunderland’s high scorer, in positive kind on twenty-two objectives in all competitions, and could be eager so as to add to his tally towards his former workforce.
When the £100,000 paid to Sheffield Wednesday for Chris Turner and Claudio Marangoni from San Lorenzo at £380,000 at the beginning of the season was factored in, it could take Sunderland’s spending to over one million on transfers for the primary time ever.
While Turner had proved to be a younger goalkeeper of excellent expertise, Marangoni had made much less of an impression (although there was probably an argument available, with the advantage of hindsight, that we had been enjoying him within the incorrect place)!
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Sunderland had delivered an excellent season and an distinctive second half to the marketing campaign. In twenty-three video games from December eighth via to the season’s finale, we misplaced solely twice, successful twelve of these video games.
By five-thirty that evening the bottom was packed and although the official attendance was given as 47,129, I witnessed various followers myself who “bunked in” given the huge queues that snaked round Roker Park.
The Sunderland workforce gave West Ham a guard of honour onto the pitch and the huge crowd joined in with heat applause to pay respect to them for his or her implausible cup last win.
My anxiousness about enjoying the Hammers on this do-or-die sport was triggered within the first section of the competition. West Ham, with Brooking and Devonshire on the coronary heart of every little thing, stroked the ball round confidently and with a good diploma of effectiveness. In 1975/76 we had gone up as champions beneath Bob Stokoe, boasting an unbeaten residence file within the league, and we had appeared untouchable at Roker Park in that season. To a level I had felt many similarities on this season, though we had drawn 5 video games at residence coming into this one, versus two in 1975/76. The way in which the sport began had many people within the stands pondering we have been going to lose our unbeaten residence file!
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Chris Turner made an excellent save from David Cross, palming away a back-header.
The younger keeper then confirmed his nerves and allowed a weak shot from Cross to slide beneath his physique, remarkably bobbling simply previous the publish. Ray Stewart additionally took a throw that was flicked – headed on by Pearson that had Turner scrambling to fingertip this away. Alarmingly, the ball rolling into the online, however Steve Whitworth obtained there simply in time to clear it off the road. All we needed to present for the primary twenty minutes was a snap-shot by Shaun Elliott that Parkes saved comparatively simply.
Elliott’s shot did jolt the group out of its anxiousness state and as we bayed for extra, Pop Robson duly obliged with a shot that introduced a terrific save out of Parkes.
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David Cross was then nicely arrange by Devonshire, however missed when it appeared simpler to attain.
Shortly after this, step up the mercurial Kevin Arnott. Pop Robson performed a serious function within the opener. To start with Pop examined Parkes with shot that he deflected away from his aim. Ever alert and defying his thirty-four years, Robson pounced on the rebound and drove his second shot goalward. Parkes managed to deflect this effort too, however proper into the capturing alley of Kevin Arnott, who was shifting ahead at tempo, adjusted easily and side-footed the ball previous Parkes. It was Arnott’s ninth of the season and triggered wild celebration as an enormous collective launch of rigidity hit the overwhelming majority in Roker Park.
Half-time arrived with no additional scoring because the Lads have been cheered to the very rafters for his or her candy tea and orange phase journey into the dressing room.
West Ham have been first to point out after the break with a trademark blunderbuss from full-back Ray Stewart that flew simply previous Turner’s left-hand publish.
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It did appear as if the Stewart try kick-started the entire Sunderland workforce as initially Joe Hinnigan fizzed a low cross alongside that hall of uncertainty that had the Fulwell and Roker Ends surging as Arnott and Cummins simply failed to attach with it.
Hinnigan was concerned once more a minute later, booked for hauling again substitute Pat Holland (who had come on for Stuart Pearson). He adopted this up by miskicking in entrance of aim when gloriously arrange by the busy Mick Buckley, who had pulled a terrific cross again from the byline having been set away by a slide-rule Arnott ball.
Stan Cummins then labored a little bit of magic earlier than smashing a goal-bound shot that Parkes did nicely to save lots of.
Shortly after this West Ham went down to 10 males as Ray Stewart left the sector with a hamstring harm on sixty-eight minutes.
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The little maestro was at it once more a few minutes later in essentially the most dynamic vogue. There was little indication of what was to return as Cummins picked the ball up in midfield. He shimmied previous one defender, side-stepped one other after which nearly sat Alvin Martin on his bottom as the massive stopper had no concept which approach Stan was going to go (at tempo) earlier than smashing a low shot previous Parkes that billowed the online. What a aim this was. The din that greeted it shook the outdated stadium in addition to the avenues round Roker Park.
Sunderland weren’t carried out, smelling blood they went for the jugular as West Ham appeared to simply accept the inevitable as their cup-winning exertions and celebrations caught up with them.
Shaun Elliott, a continuous dynamo on the evening, flashed a robust shot simply previous Parkes’ publish after which, a few minutes later, cracked one other pile-driver from the sting of the field that regarded a aim all day lengthy, just for Parkes to tug off a cracking save.
The sport completed with utter delirium on the terraces. Our heart-breaking finish to the earlier season, the place regardless of successful our final sport at Wrexham we didn’t go up by a degree having gone into that final sport in a promotion (third) place, was nicely and actually laid to relaxation because the scenes of celebration unfolded on one other magical Roker Park evening beneath the floodlights.
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The following day the workforce and backroom workers flew to Miami for a fortnight’s break, with promotion and the celebrated Day by day Categorical 5 – a – facet trophy additionally within the trophy room and a first-ever penalty play-off victory in a cup competitors, that simply occurred to be over Newcastle, topping off a positive season in type.
Assistant supervisor Frank Clark advised the press: “This is step one on the ladder, we have now obtained to construct on this.”
Chairman Keith Collings mentioned: “I’m extra happy on this event due to the pressures on our new supervisor Ken Knighton. We’ve the gamers to succeed, they don’t seem to be a bunch of cloggers.”
Sadly what appeared like a heat, respectful relationship between new supervisor and chairman was quickly to be damaged as Collings stepped down and Tom Cowie took the helm.
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Ken Knighton would mirror on the sharp distinction in his relationship together with his chairman when he mentioned: “I keep in mind when the press convention was referred to as to introduce the brand new chairman Tom Cowie. At this he mentioned to the press gathered that opposite to hypothesis Ken Knighton would nonetheless be the supervisor subsequent season. The factor was there had not been any hypothesis! It’s truthful to say we had a stormy relationship and I left the membership the next April.”
Nonetheless, leaving Roker Park that night and winding my approach residence, my head was stuffed with the delights of the highest tier that awaited, with Previous Trafford, Anfield et al in my sights. With a workforce that appeared oven-ready for the elite division, I might hardly wait to get on the highway with the pink and white military!
Division TwoDate – 12.05.1980Venue – Roker ParkAttendance – 47,129
Sunderland 2 – 0 West Ham
Aim scorers – Arnott 39 minutes; Cummins 71 minutes.
Sunderland – Turner; Whitworth; Hinnigan; Chisholm; Hindmarch; Elliott; Buckley; Arnott; Cummins; Hawley; Robson. Sub – Dunn.
West Ham – Parkes; Stewart; Brush; Bonds; Martin; Devonshire; Neighbour; Pearson (Holland 46 minutes); Cross; Brooking; Pike.