Sunderland AFC 1989/90

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The opening day of the season saw Sunderland travel to Swindon Town, where warren Hawke scored his first goal for the club at the county Ground, the campaign had kicked off well. This would be Sunderlands last opening day victory until the 1998/99 season.

The second game however was quite a different affair. With Sunderland controlling much of the early play they found David Lowe in inspirational form. Ipswich Town raced into a 3 v 0 lead. Sunderland did pull a couple back, through Gabbiadini and Gates, but the damage had been done, Sunderland paid for some slack defending. The eventual 2 v 4 defeat was a bit of a shock.

The third game of the season was at home to Middlesbrough, and a good 2 v 1 victory introduced Paul Bracewell once more to the Roker Park faithful. Signed on a month’s loan he played well in his first game back. August saw Marco acknowledged as the North East Young Eagle, he had been in sparkling form.

Into September and a visit to the Hawthorns was a torrid affair. That the game ended 1 v 1 with Gabbiadini on target wasn’t the main talking point, everything revolved around goalkeeping. Former Sunderland favourite Colin West had to go between the sticks when The Baggies minder was carried off after a heavy collision. As if to even the score, the next week Tony Norman broke his arm and was out for nearly 3 months. Tin Carter took over. Sunderland now lay 7th.

9th of the month witnessed a scintillating hat trick for Marco Gabbiadini in a brilliant 4 v 0 defeat of Watford. The hornets Glenn Roader described it as one of the best individual performances he had seen. Sunderland moved up to second. One week later and John McPhail scored a goal at the death to earn Sunderland a 1 v 1 draw at Ewood Park.

The Littlewoods Cup saw The Lads drawn to play Fulham, with the first leg at Roker Park. Hardyman saved our blushes with a penalty in another 1 v 1 draw, although the talking point was of Thomas Hauser, the German forward was dismissed.

The Tyne-Wear local derby witnessed yet another draw for Sunderland, this time 0 v 0. Nearly 30,000 went home knowing that in truth it was a fair result. Then came perhaps the best away performance of the season.

Sunderland travelled midweek to Filbert Street to take on David Pleats foxes side. In front of 10,843 the red and whites were brilliant, with Gary Owers having an outstanding game. The Lads won 3 v 2, deservedly so, and whilst the score was close, the performances of the 2 teams wasn’t. The Leicester Manager, always knowledgeable, acknowledged that on the night his side couldn’t live with Denis Smiths. The month closed with another score draw, 1 v 1, this time against Sheffield United, a Brian Deane own goal saving our blushes. Paul Bracewell was named Player of the month.

The Littlewoods return against Fulham saw a resounding 3 v 0 success at Craven cottage with Marco now in great form, scoring a brace, Bournemouth were then beaten at Roker in the League with the evergreen McPhail scoring an own goal. 2 successive away trips at Leeds United and West Ham resulted in resounding defeats 0 v 2 and 0 v 5 respectively. The game at Elland Road saw Ricardo coming on for his brother Marco.

Things then got back on track. Bradford were defeated at Roker, Bournemouth ties with at home in the Littlewoods cup. A great away win at Stoke saw Marco score again and a 4 v 2 home win over Barnsley, with Gates scoring 2 saw The Lads end the month 3rd.

John McPhail was named player of the month and Gary Owers great start to the season was recognised by his country, with an England Under 21 call-up for the game against Poland.

November started with a defeat, at bogey ground boundary park, Bournemouth were then despatched in the Littlewoods Cup, Exeter City would be next, and we drew at Roker with Wolves. A mixed bag of results.

The next game saw Sunderland knocked out of the Zenith Data systems cup by Port Vale, but the next Roker Park game witnessed a 3 v 1 success against Plymouth, Gabbiadini on target. Brighton were defeated at the goldstone Ground, with north East young Eagle of The Month, Marco again scoring, before the lads travelled to Exeter for the 4rth round of the Littlewoods Cup.

A shock was in store as with most of the game over we were looking at a 0 v 2 defeat that changed. 2 goals from Armstrong and Gates levelled the scores, but there were repercussions. The next day a leading daily paper carried a story of Sunderland "player excesses" with John Kay targeted. There was never any proof of the high jinx and it was grossly unfair on a wholehearted competitor like Kay, the "red and white tractor" as he was affectionately known to the Roker Roar.

With Tim Carter playing his 25th game for Sunderland it meant an extra £15,000 payment to Bristol rovers, his former club. The deal had now cost Sunderland £50,000. By this time Sunderland were 4rth, a position which they retained after a 2 v 2 draw at home to Swindon, 2 lucky goals giving us a point we scarcely deserved.

Exeter then travelled to Wearside and were despatched 5 v 2, a crowd of 18,130 giving the visitors a rousing reception at the end. Their striker Rowbotham had been impressive.

Back to league action and Sunderland would move up a notch in the table after away draws at Portsmouth and Ipswich. Gabbiadini scored the only goal in a 1 v 0 home win over Oxford, and he was again on target with a pretty miserable 2 v 2 with port Vale.

Brian Atkinson was named north East young Eagle of the month, surprising as he had spent half of the month in hospital after having his appendix removed.

The first couple of months of the New Year have notoriously been poor for Sunderland and so this depressing record continued. During January and February we played 10 games and won only 1, against Brighton, our first win therefore of the new decade. During this spell we were knocked out of the FA cup at Elm Park, Reading, thrashed by Coventry city 0 v 5 to exit the Littlewoods Cup, and our league position suffered, as we dropped to 5th. Included in the sequence was a well deserved draw at St James Park in the 110th Tyne Wear derby game.

March, in truth was also pretty poor, but there was a quite brilliant match against West Ham United at Roker Park, more of that in a minute. Starting with Plymouth at home Park a 0 v 3 defeat was not what the doctor ordered and the topsy turvy, roller coaster ride continued with a home draw with Leicester city, a home win over Bournemouth and a 0 v 1 defeat at home to Leeds United, in a game that saw the notorious Yorkshire fans reduced to just 500 tickets.

The 4rth meeting with Bournemouth this season had resulted in Marco Gabbiadini scoring every time. Then the game that will forever be associated with Kieran Brady, this was his match.

West Ham United have always had a reputation for playing good football and this game, at Roker Park on 24 March 1990 was a belter. It ended 4 v 3 although you began to lose track of the score. In a game that too'd and fro'd Kieran Brady showed some absolutely breathless skill, it had you drooling, but everytime Sunderland scored The Irons roared back. After the match Liam Brady waxed lyrical about Sunderlands young maestro and there was even talk of forcing himself into the Republic Of Irelands World cup squad for Italy. What a shame that all this talent would eventually be lost to football, and in controversial circumstances.

The month ended with a 1 v 0 win over Bradford City, and Sunderland were now lying 7th. There were 9 games left in the season, 4 at home, and we needed to be at least 6th to continue the season. We just made it, despite 3 defeats.

April had seen Charlie Hurley open the Whitburn training ground, named after the player of the century, and Marco had played for England B against Czechoslovakia at Roker Park. This was deserved for a footballer who was to become player of the season, and was undoubtedly one of the most exciting players we have seen in a red and white shirt over the last quarter century.

Our reward for coming 6th was a 2 legged play off semi final against North East rivals Newcastle United, who had ended 3rd.

The first leg was played at Roker Park on 13 May, ended 0 v 0, saw Hardyman sent off, for a foul on Burridge after missing a penalty. Strangely enough the Sunderland fans came out of the game in good spirits, in essence our away record was excellent, just 7 defeats all season in 23 games. Newcastle must have thought conversely that they had done all of the hard work. So to 16 May 1990, and one of the undoubted highlights for Sunderland in the decade.

St James Park was a cauldron, this was no place for the faint hearted, and with over 32,000 people inside the stadium this would be some night. For Sunderland fans it would be glory all the way, and for Newcastle virtual humiliation. In football you live for nights like what transpired, and that it was done at the home of our greatest rivals just made it twice as good.

As expected Newcastle poured forward right from the start, but with little pattern, seemingly content to cross the ball into the box at every opportunity, with Bennett happy to control the entire 18 yard area and snuff danger out when the occasion arose.

After 13 minutes the travelling red and whites, housed in the Leazes end went wild as Eric Gates gave us the lead at the Gallowgate End, the Magpies were stunned. The black and whites piled forward, but Sunderland stood firm.

With Warren Hawke having the game of his life on the left wing he combined with Gates and Marco, for Gabbiadini to slot the ball home..

The Magpie fans were incensed and raced onto the pitch heading for the Leazes end. The Sunderland fans waited and the Northumbria police intervened. Play was held up for 20 minutes and if the hooligan element thought that abandonment was on the cards they were very much mistaken. In truth the invasion made the victory all the more sweet...at times its good to know that a defeat can rankle with your oldest and bitterest enemy so much.

Play was resumed but the last 5 minutes were played out, and Sunderland won. What a night.

Our reward was a Wembley play off final against Swindon town, for the right to top flight football. 28 May was a complete reverse to the Magpie game, we crumbled. Losing 0 v 1 was a travesty, we should have been hammered and another Wembley own goal, by Gary Bennett sealed our fate. The feeling of deja vu was massive and one of the low points in many fans Sunderland supporting "careers". However lady luck for once would shine on us.

It came to pass that the football League were investigating Swindon town for financial irregularities and during Italia '90 it was decided to demote the Wiltshire team from the top flight. As it was a promotion rather than a relegation issue Sunderland were given the nod and up we went. It was mooted in certain quarters that the town fate was sealed even before the Wembley game.

Sunderland ended the decade with some good luck, a change from the bad luck which had dogged much of the 1980's. What would the 1990's hold? Little did we know how monumental the decade would turn out to be.