Denis Smith’s reign at Sunderland had got off to a steady if unspectacular start, with an unbeaten first seven league games resulting in a 13-point haul that left the lads in 5th place.
Things had looked brighter – after four games Sunderland had been top – but three points from the last three had seen the lads fall to fifth in the table.
Smith was still working hard to establish the team that he’d go on to rely upon for the duration of the season, and having lost midfielder Mark Proctor to Sheffield
Wednesday, 20-year-old midfielder Gordon Armstrong was set to play an increasingly important role in Sunderland’s team.
However, on this day in 1987, Smith’s side not only succumbed to a morale-sapping defeat to fellow promotion prospects Brighton and Hove Albion – they lost Armstrong to a broken collarbone.
Smith said:
“No injury comes at the right time, but losing him was a particularly bad blow because Gordon has taken on the role of creating things from midfield.
“Normally injuries like this tend to take six weeks so that is what we will work on. I don’t like it, but it is something we have just got to accept and get on with.
“As one door closes another one opens for someone else. We have a free week to work on things but I will be making a couple of phone calls for players I have already checked out since I came here. I was close to a couple of deals previously but I will be looking more forcibly this week than I have for the last few weeks.
“The injury to Armstrong disrupted us at Brighton and he will be difficult to replace.”
Armstrong’s injury came in the opening minutes of the game, receiving a boot from future Bradford manager Chris Hutchings as he attempted a diving header. Armstrong battled on bravely, but was replaced by Frank Gray on 12.
Sunderland had already made a confident start, looking in control of the game – and but for Keith Dublin’s intervention, would have been 1-0 up from a MacPhail effort that was cleared off the line.
The lads thought they’d taken the lead, when Eric Gates crossed from the left in the 20th minute, finding the head of strike partner Keith Bertschin. The former Norwich striker headed past goalkeeper John Keeley, who managed to arch back and claw it out from well over the line.
The Sunderland team – and Smith – were convinced it was in, but referee Kelvin Morton, who Sunderland had a number of run ins with during the 80s and early 90s, thought otherwise.
In typical fashion, Brighton went up the other end of the field and scored – Garry Nelson, author of one of the best football books going, by the way, trickled the ball past the onrushing Hesford after being put clean through.
One nil became two nil quickly. A defensive mess involving MacPhail and Bennett trying and failing to clear the ball on multiple occasions resulted in Hutchings adding a second. In between, Gates had gone close with a free kick, while just before half time, Keeley produced another great save from a Steve Doyle power drive from 12 yards.
In the second half, Sunderland went close again, Keeley saving well once more from Frank Gray, but the lads did get back into the game on 72, with MacPhail pulling one back from the spot after a push on Bertschin by Steve Gatting, brother of Mike.
Brighton, for whom Gary Rowell was an unused sub – sealed the game five minutes later. The former Chelsea pair of Dean Wilkins and Doug Rougvie combining for the latter to head home the former’s corner. Hesford – playing just his second game of the season after Steve Hardwick refused to join full time after someone called him a mag outside the ground one day – should have saved, but fumbled the ball over the line. Mr Morton saw that one only too well.
There was still time for Sunderland to see a Bertschin effort from a Gray free kick flash wide, and Smith thought the score line didn’t fairly reflect the game.
“We had the better strikes on goal, but their keeper made three great saves.
“Whether he knew a lot about them, I don’t know. “And two of their goals went through players’ legs before entering the net. “When things are going for you, shots like that hit legs and stay out.
“But we didn’t win enough in midfield. However, I am not starting to panic and getting too uptight about the defeat.”
The defeat had, however, seen Sunderland slip to 10th and Smith said:
“It is early days but we can’t afford to allow any team to break clear.
“Three of our last four matches have been away to leading clubs and have left our programme unbalanced. Although I would rather be in Wigan’s position, they could experience the same problems of not winning at home. My biggest disappointment has not been losing! What disappoints me is our failure to beat Bristol Rovers and Bury at home. If we had won those matches, we would have been joint top of the table.”
Come the end of the season, the two teams playing at the Goldstone Ground that day would be the season’s best – with Sunderland suffering just six more defeats to claim the title on 93 points; nine more than their South Coast counterparts.
