In the third of five first-team warm-up friendlies of the 1992/93 season, The Lads suffered what was viewed at the time as an embarrassing defeat at Brunton Park.
There are still many fans who view a defeat, or even a draw, against lower-league opposition in pre-season games as a hugely negative outcome (look at the joy that some of our fans took in the visitors’ draw at Gateshead last week). However, I think such games were scrutinised even more heavily as recently as five or six years ago.
So, coming
off an excellent FA Cup run and final against Liverpool in May, it was seen as quite a scalp for Carlisle United. As it turned out, all it really heralded was a rather abysmal season for the Black Cats, who only avoided relegation to the Third Division thanks to results elsewhere.
As quite often was the case for Sunderland, there was either no, or perhaps just one, home fixture in the build-up to the new season. This came the following week, in a match against Tottenham Hotspur to celebrate Sunderland being granted city status.
As I hope most even-minded fans now accept, pre-season games are almost entirely about fitness and don’t often provide much of an indication of the season’s direction. Nevertheless, it is in nobody’s interest for coaches and players to be doubting themselves before the opening games, when the real battle begins.
So, the 3-2 defeat at Carlisle wasn’t ideal in a five-match practice run that ultimately produced three draws and two defeats.
Carlisle had propped up the Football League the previous season and, of course, playing Sunderland was a big occasion. They were certainly up for the challenge, and the Cumbrians were two goals ahead by half-time thanks to strikes from George Oghani and Andy Watson.
They extended their lead early in the second half from the penalty spot through Andy Barnsley in the 63rd minute, leaving The Lads clearly shell-shocked.
Sunderland eventually hit back with two late goals from trialist Terry Butcher and Don Goodman. However, the travelling supporters, who made up nearly half of the 3,000 crowd, saw little cause for optimism with the new season just two weeks away.
Despite local newspaper reports at the time expressing optimism for Carlisle’s campaign, they too would struggle, eventually finishing third from bottom of the Fourth Division.
Oghani, a signing from Burnley who had only put pen to paper a few hours before kick-off, was one of seven new faces in the Carlisle side and immediately struck up an understanding with Watson.
He broke the deadlock when Watson danced his way to the byline and his cross rebounded off John Kay. Oghani was on hand to stab the ball past the advancing Tony Norman.
Six minutes later, David Scope beat the Sunderland offside trap before squaring for the on-rushing Watson, who hammered home Carlisle’s second.
A somewhat bedraggled Sunderland tried to inject some energy into proceedings after the break, making three changes.
However, it was local lad Gary Owers who came closest when his powerful header from a Rogan cross crashed against the crossbar.
Just two minutes later, Carlisle all but put the game beyond Sunderland’s reach, taking a three-goal lead from the penalty spot after Sampson handled the ball.
Once again, Oghani was at the heart of the move, deftly chipping the ball over substitute goalkeeper Tim Carter. The former Goole defender could do little more than get fingertips to the ball, leaving Barnsley to make no mistake from the spot.
Butcher reduced the deficit when he headed home an Owers cross and, six minutes from time, Don Goodman struck to make the scoreline slightly more respectable.
All in all, though, it was a forgettable afternoon for the Black Cats.
Score: Carlisle United 3-2 Sunderland AFC
Scorers: Oghani (34), Watson (40), Barnsley (pen 63)
Butcher (65), Goodman (84)Team: Norman (46 Carter), Kay, Rogan (79 Martin Gray), Owers, Butcher, Sampson, Colquhoun, Cunningham, Byrne (46 Davenport), Armstrong (46 Brian Atkinson)
Attendance: 2,960
Referee: Les Norden (Cumbria)
Malcolm Crosby, who had been appointed permanent manager not long before the FA Cup Final, largely due to fan pressure on then chairman Bob Murray, did not last beyond January.
The final straw came with Sunderland’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday following an uncharacteristic error by goalkeeper Tony Norman, which inspired the fanzine It’s An Easy One For Norman – still one of my favourite fanzine titles ever.
The aforementioned trialist, Terry Butcher, who had been brought in to play under Crosby, eventually took over the reins.
The wider discussion about the importance of friendlies continues to be debated and, in all fairness, may never go away.
However, in the current climate, under the current regime, I’d like to think that most fans now see them for what they mainly are – fitness exercises rather than meaningful indicators of what is to come.
