Sunderland lined up what was hoped would be an intriguing floodlit programme for October 1959, and once the Football Association and Football League had given their permission for the fixtures to take
place, it was all systems go.
Wearside would be welcoming two European clubs, meaning the proposals had to be run past the authorities beforehand to ensure the matches were going to be played under standardised rules. The continental opposition and night time kick offs added some glamour to the schedule, and whilst one of the opponents wasn’t a major power in footballing terms, they were familiar at least to many of the locals.
Later in the month, Austrian giants Rapid Vienna were due to arrive in Sunderland but ahead of that it was the turn on this day of Winterthur of Switzerland to play at Roker.
Nicknamed Rot-Weiss (red and white), the northern town had another connection — one of the area’s biggest industrial organisations, Sulzer Bros, had earlier in the decade handed a license to George Clark Ltd. of Southwick to manufacture huge ship engines on their behalf, and the two companies had worked in close partnership ever since.
The link was expected to make the event a rather cordial affair although it had first been anticipated that FC Zurich were going to visit instead of Winterthur.
FCZ were thought to have been likely to offer a sterner test for Alan Brown’s men and fears that the replacements weren’t going to be up to scratch intensified when news from Scotland reached the club during the buildup.
Playing in a similar exhibition match at Motherwell prior to travelling south, the visitors were apparently well short and once it became obvious they were going to lose, caused uproar amongst the Fir Park crowd with a series of dangerous tackles and unsavoury off-the-ball incidents.
Nevertheless, Brown was still happy enough to risk his big players and sent out a strong starting eleven ahead of a 19:15 kick off, with the only major absence being Len Ashurst, who’d been selected for an FA team due to take on the RAF in Norwich instead.
On this occasion, it appeared to have been appreciated by Winterthur, who seemed more inclined to act within the spirit of things. Their football was moderately better also, although they still found themselves out of the contest within half an hour.
Their magnificently-named manager Branislav Vukosavlijević had guided the club to a top flight promotion during the previous season, yet they were still below the level of most second-tier English sides.
Without much of a challenge to enjoy, the supporters that had been able to brave the weather were left disappointed when on a bitterly cold night, Langley Park referee William Surtees called a halt to the action due to a thick fog descending on Roker Park and making play impracticable.
Prior to that, there had been only an element of entertainment, with Amby Fogarty first raising spirits with a smart headed opener from a Stan Anderson cross. Ian Lawther then made it 2-0 when he showed a finisher’s instinct and reacted to a parried effort from Ernie Taylor, whereas his second of the evening was a cracker as he evaded three challenges before smacking the ball in off the underside of the crossbar.
The comfortable advantage and lack of competition prompted Brown to make changes at the break and offer some fringe players the chance to experience a different style of opposition play, but of course those cameos were cut short by conditions that left the whole affair being considered as nothing other than a light run out of limited value.
* Whilst organising the first match, it was agreed that the two clubs would meet again at the end of the season, when Sunderland were due to embark of a short tour of Switzerland.
The return game provided something of a shock with the hosts winning 2-1, and whilst the Lads did miss two penalties in the clash, the outcome was still indicative of their diminishing status, having just endured the lowest ever league finish in their history up to that point.
Wednesday 7 October 1959
Floodlit friendly — match abandoned after seventy five minutes
Roker Park
Attendance: 8,550
Sunderland 3 (Fogarty 13’, Lawther 18’, 29’)
Winterthur 0
Sunderland: Wakeham, Nelson, Jones; Anderson (Harvey 46’), Hurley (Rooks 46’), McNab; Bircham, Fogarty (O’Neill 46’), Lawther; Taylor, Grainger.
