Paul Hardyman’s failure to score from the spot in a tense Wear/Tyne derby proved to be one of the lasting memories of the 1989/1990 season, and yet he was only placed on penalty duties in the first place after a failure against Newcastle at the start of the campaign…Newcastle Town, that is.
Boss Denis Smith liked to take his squad to Keele University in his native Staffordshire each year, and although back on familiar ground, the manager looked on in dismay as during our first friendly of the summer,
Marco Gabbiadini wasted a golden opportunity against The ‘Castle.
Gordon Armstrong had been fouled in the box only for goalkeeper Phil Butler to save the resulting effort from twelve yards, and with this being the third failure in five attempts — meaning the game ended goalless — Smith admitted afterwards that he would have to consider the matter further.
As it happened, the issue resolved itself quite quickly and the following day, a practice session saw new recruit Paul Hardyman come into contention and when he then got a chance in match conditions, his confident finish saw him establish himself as first choice taker.
It came on this day against nearby Crewe Alexandra in the second pre-season friendly — a game that had seen the Rokermen take an earlier lead from another dead ball situation.
Armstrong had made it 0-1 to Sunderland in the sixth minute when he scored directly from a free kick awarded after Eric Gates had been fouled, with a smartly attempt taken whilst the home defence squabbled about the formation of their wall.
The lead was then doubled just before the half hour mark as Gates was once again toppled — the free kick awarded for that being floated in by Gary Owers with Armstrong tripped by goalkeeper Paul Edwards as he shaped to shoot.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26068856/20250727_105501.jpg)
It was at this point that Hardyman came to the fore, putting the spot kick away with some panache.
Although two further penalty shouts were turned down before the half time whistle, Smith had seen enough to cement his thoughts on who the new first-choice taker should be, and from then on in his focus turned to getting minutes into the legs of his squad.
A host of substitutions were made, including the reintroduction of ‘Gabbers’, who’d initially made way for Thomas Hauser, only for the German to aggravate a hamstring niggle.
Graham Easter grabbed a late goal to set up a tense finish during which Paul Clayton hit the post, but Sunderland were able to hold firm and register their first win of pre-season as Smith’s plans continued to take shape.
The following morning, Gary Bennett, who’d looked impressive despite having badly blistered feet, was named as captain for the upcoming season and Hardyman was soon trying to get to grips with his new responsibilities.
We practiced penalties on Friday and when the boss watched me score from both my attempts he asked me if I fancied taking over.
I used to take them for the Youth team and never missed, but Kevin Dillion was the penalty king at Portsmouth so I was never given the opportunity of taking penalties at senior level.
On Friday I put the ball to the left of the goalkeeper, but against Crewe I felt confident enough to switch to the other side.
Whether I feel as confident in front of a big crowd is a different matter, but I hope we get a few more and that I stick them away.
The full back did indeed get to ‘stick’ a few away, scoring from the spot four times in the league and twice in the League Cup during the campaign proper.
As is often the case however, it was a penalty failure that was best remembered, with his miss and subsequent attempt at the rebound in a playoff semi-final against Newcastle United going down in infamy.
The situation, which saw him suspended for the second leg after he connected with goalkeeper John Burridge and not the ball, might’ve been viewed in a different light had Sunderland not won so convincingly on Tyneside and eventually been awarded promotion, but one thing’s for sure: Hardyman didn’t mind being put on the spot in the first place!
Saturday 29 July 1989
Pre-season friendly
Gresty Road
Attendance: 1,808
Crewe Alexandra 1 (Easter 84’)
Sunderland 2 (Armstrong 5’, Hardyman (pen) 28’)
Sunderland: Norman (Carter), Agboola, Bennett (Heathcote); MacPhail, Hardyman, Pascoe; Owers, Armstrong (Lemon), Brady (Lynch); Gabbiadini (Hauser), Gates
More from rokerreport.sbnation.com:
- Roundup: Sunderland 'Stranded' In Southampton; Moyes Bemoans Bad Luck & Watmore Claims Unity
- As Yet Another Defeat Blends In With All The Others, Questions About Our Future Still Remain
- The Relegations: #2 - 1969-70
- BCA: The Magnificent Twenty Seven
- Fan Focus: The Ugly Inside Talk Saints v SAFC
- Is Ellis Ready To Embrace The Drop?
- PLP: Can Chelsea Or Liverpool Win The League?
