The fortunes of Sunderland and Newcastle United in the late-1980’s/early-1990’s were like a double-helix that constantly crossed paths.
While Lawrie McMenemy did his thing and saw us slide into the third tier we had left our nearest and dearest in the top flight, but as we climbed out and consolidated our position, they came down to meet us in Division Two for the beginning of the 1989-90 season. This is where both sides began pretty much on an equal footing, where aspirations of returning to the top flight were
realistic expectations.
After a bizarre twist of fate that we’ll be forever grateful for, we ended up meeting in the play-offs and we all know what happened next – and if you don’t you should definitely read more, or at least go on YouTube and find out. We were then the north-east side in the top flight as Middlesbrough and the mags took their turn to look up the football pyramid at Denis Smith’s side.
This would last one season however when we swiftly returned, but Newcastle went from play-off losing semi-finalists under Jim Smith, to mid-table mediocrity under Ossie Ardiles. This meant that at the beginning of the 1991-92 season, Sunderland were tipped as one of the favourites to go up, and Newcastle were building a young side and were one of the potential outsiders that could make a push for the play-offs.
However, after ten games the season didn’t have a feel of a successful one and Denis Smith had realised there was a need to freshen things up. Nobody had been signed during the summer because the funds just weren’t available, which was evident the season before during our struggle to stay in Division One.
Smith’s biggest asset was Marco Gabbiadini, and after Ian Wright moved from Crystal Palace to Arsenal, the dominoes began to fall and Steve Coppell snapped up Marco for £1.8m. In time, John Byrne, Don Goodman, Anton Rogan (and Peter Beagrie on-loan) would all join the club, but for a few months every man and his dog was linked with a move to Roker.
Just looking at the reaction to this derby in the archives there are links with Dariusz Dziekanowski and Peter Grant from Celtic, Leicester City’s David Kelly, St Mirren’s Icelandic international Gudmundur Torfason, Bradford City’s defender Brian Tinnion and Aberdeen’s Hans Gillhaus. While Gordon Armstrong’s £1m move to Norwich City that broke down in the summer was now back on according to reports.
By the time the derby came around on this day back in 1991, promotion wasn’t really on the agenda for either club however. Sunderland were sitting in 14th, but only four points above Newcastle who were one place above the relegation places – by virtue of goal difference.
The prize would be big for whoever claimed victory, The Lads could put the mags in a big mess at the bottom and Ardiles’ side had an opportunity to drag us into the fight to stay up, which was partly why the biggest crowd of the season at 29,224 turned up for a 12noon Sunday kick-off.
On a typically windy day at Roker, it was the Lads who started the brightest and looked like they would steamroller Newcastle, but it took around twenty minutes to break the deadlock. Gordon Armstrong drove forward and played the ball to Paul Bracewell on the edge of the box who found the surging run of Sunderland’s man of the match, Anton Rogan on the left.
The new signing from Celtic beat his man down the left in front of the Main Stand Paddock as Sunderland attacked the Roker End, and played in a looping cross that Armstrong challenged for, before it landed to Peter Davenport around eight yards out who volleyed it with his left foot into the back of the net with the help of a deflection.
Sunderland continued to pile on the pressure, with Armstrong trying a spectacular left foot volley from around 25-yards out that goalkeeper Tommy Wright could only parry away and Armstrong also had a chance from close range that Wright tipped over.
Around fifteen minutes into the second half it would cost the home side not getting a second, as Armstrong lost possession midway inside his own half and the ball found it’s way to the visitors best player on the park in the afternoon, Liam O’Brien, who strode forward and chipped Tony Norman from around 20-yards out.
The home side then lost their way a little and from a position of looking like they would comfortably win the game, a Newcastle corner with around fifteen minutes to go bobbed around the box and found it’s way to the head of 17-year-old Steve Watson around two yards out, but he managed to put it over the bar when it was easier to score.
John Kay also had a chance to win it late on, but just like nine of the ten derby clashes at Roker before this, it ended in stalemate and highlighted Denis Smith’s search for a striker that could claim all three points in games like this.
Barclays League Division Two
Roker Park
Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle United
[Davenport 21’ – O’Brien 59’]
Sunderland: Norman, Kay, Bennett, Sampson, Rogan, Rush (Hauser), Bracewell, Armstrong, Pascoe, Davenport (Owers), Byrne
Newcastle United: Wright, Bradshaw (Watson), Stimson, O’Brien, Scott, Appleby, Roche, Peacock, Howey, Hunt, Thompson (Makel)
Attendance: 29,224
