Upon reflection, Sunderland’s away win at Gillingham was more important than we probably realised at the time. After a sluggish start to the season in which the team had tasted victory just once in their opening six games, Mick McCarthy’s side were beginning to encounter obstacles in their mission to secure promotion.
Whilst the emergency sirens weren’t quite sounding just yet, Marcus Stewart finding form at Priestfield Stadium was certainly welcome — particularly given that McCarthy admitted after
the game that his striker had been close to being dropped for the match.
After just twenty minutes, the visitors were already three goals to the good, with Julio Arca giving Gillingham right-back Ian Cox a torrid time. All three goals came down the Sunderland left, with our Argentine maestro involved in each one in one capacity or another.
Truthfully, Sunderland were in cruise control from the opening minute and had already passed up some excellent opportunities before Stewart opened the scoring. Stephen Elliott then doubled the advantage with a header before Stewart added his second, all within the opening twenty minutes of what had threatened to become a very long afternoon for the hosts.
In many ways, it was surprising that Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler didn’t make any changes, although his side did manage to stem the tide somewhat as half-time approached.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Stewart completed his hat-trick after intercepting a weak back-pass intended for goalkeeper Steve Banks before calmly slotting the ball into the net. The 4-0 scoreline was a fair reflection of Sunderland’s dominance and much to the delight of McCarthy, who praised his striker for responding perfectly to the potential setback of being left out of the starting XI.
“If my players have got a problem with a decision I make, I tell them to say it on the pitch. He’s done that.
“He was very good in training and I said to him to take that into the game and he was great.
“It was not just his goals but the manner in which he played. He ran their back four ragged.”
It would prove to be a memorable season for both Stewart and Sunderland, with the striker spearheading an attack that would eventually fire us back into the Premier League. Looking back at the campaign as a whole, the afternoon at Priestfield can perhaps be viewed as the moment when McCarthy’s side truly began to find their rhythm.
Sunderland would lose just once in their next eleven games, winning eight of them in the process. From early October onwards, the team never dropped out of the play-off places, and what had begun as a sluggish campaign would ultimately develop into a season to remember for everyone connected with the club.
As for what happened the following season, well, we’ll leave that for another day.
