OTD: PROMOTED V WHU 1980

On this day in 1980, Sunderland clinched promotion with a 2-0 win over West Ham at Roker Park thanks to goals from Kevin Arnott and Stan Cummins. Here’s Sobs’ recollection of that day.

The ’79-’80 season had started moderately, and we dodged about mid-table until the turn of the year when we snuck into the top half and hit the top with a 2-1 win at Shrewsbury in mid-April. A couple of draws dropped us to third, then that draw at Cardiff on May 3rd, with most of Wearside moving to south Wales for the weekend, dropped us to fourth. With three to go up (no play-offs) we needed a point from the last game, at home to West Ham, to secure one of those places, and there were only two points for a win in 1980. With no game the following Saturday, thanks to the small business of the FA Cup Final, and all other Division Two games having been played, we shoehorned in a testimonial/benefit match against QPR at Roker on the Monday after the Cardiff trip for Mick Docherty, whose knee had given out the previous season. For some reason we put out a team of first-choicers, risking all sorts of injury to win 3-2 thanks to goals from Rob Hindmarch, Bob Lee, and Pop Robson, with Bob Hazell and Gordon Hill replying for the Hoops.

That left us with just the one game, West Ham at home, in which to get the point that we needed, and there was none of that waiting for other results business. Oh, and West Ham had won the FA Cup by beating Arsenal 1-0 (Brookin’) two days before they arrived at Roker on Monday May 12th. They were in seventh, so there was no real purpose to them playing other than to fulfil the fixture, while we had that point to chase that would move us up from fourth to third and the promised land of Division One. As we’d not lost at home all season, and were on a 13 match unbeaten run, we had every reason to be confident.

Thanks to some negative workplace comments by myself about certain goings on regarding the awarding of a contract to the gaffer’s brother, any hopes of an early finish were dashed, so it was a six o’clock departure from Darlo for the game on that Monday night.

By the time we got near the ground, it was apparent that something was amiss. Night games always concentrate the times of arrival of the crowd, as most have to work and don’t have the luxury of a whole morning to get there, but this one was something else. I was two people from my usual turnstile when it shut, prompting a mad scramble around the ground to find an entrance. No luck – despite the official attendance being over six hundred less that the recent victory over the Mags, there was no room for us or several thousand others. We tried climbing the walls, and Hanrad got as far as the chimney stack on one of the cottages out the back of the Fulwell, but it being a cottage, and the Fulwell being rather taller, he could see nothing but corrugated iron and a floodlit sky. With mixed emotions (both sad and disappointed, but glad that we only needed the one point), we set off home and did the radio listening thing again in the car. 47,129 did manage to get in, and Ken Knighton set the Lads up:

Chris Turner

Steve Whitworth, Gordon Chisholm, Rob Hindmarch, Joe Hinnigan

Shaun Elliott, Mick Buckley, Kevin Arnott, Stan Cummins

John Hawley, Pop Robson

... and Barry Dunn on the bench.

We attacked the Fulwell in the first half and West Ham continued their FA Cup form by starting the stronger, with David Cross having a few efforts – Chris Turner gave the home fans kittens by letting one squeeze under his body, but it went for a corner. However, we began to get a grip of things and Hawley’s low shot from the edge after a swift move down the right was easily saved by Mervyn Day in the visiting goal. With West Ham, all in white, looking decidedly as if they’d been celebrating their FA Cup win ever since Wembley, Day was called in to action several times before could only push two Pop Robson shots away, with the second going straight into the path of Arnott, who gleefully slotted it home for his tenth of the season. That’ll do nicely, with six minutes to go to half time, at least a point virtually guaranteed, and promotion very much in the bag.

The visitors’ Wembley heroics began to catch up with them after the break, and with Pat Holland having already replaced Stuart Pearson at half time, there was no substitute left when Ray Stewart limped off on 68 minutes, so it was no real surprise when little Stan picked up the ball on the edge of the box, danced away from some pretty half-hearted attempts at marking him, and hit a left-footer into the side of the Roker End net beyond Day’s left hand on 71. His twelfth of the season, and we were passing Ramside Hall when it went in, resulting in the car going all over the A690 in wild celebration, narrowly avoiding contact with the railway bridge. Trevor Brooking had spent most of the game celebrating his Wembley winner by cuddling his mate Pop, and we had the point we needed to clinch promotion.

For the record, we ended up on 54 points, one behind champions Leicester and one ahead of third-placed Brum, who edged Chelsea into fourth spot on goal difference. Oh, and Burnley got relegated, something they’re still good at.

Given the fact that so many couldn’t gain entry that night, it was somewhat ironic that many regular attendees were already in Florida for the post-season game against Fort Lauderdale Strikers on a pre-arranged package holiday. Two days after that glorious promotion, we won 2-1 thanks to Alan Brown and Kevin Arnott, with the reply coming from former mag Ray “Rocky” Hudson – who, after retiring, hung around for seemingly decades to talk about soccer on American radio (currently at SiriusXM 157). Somehow, I still have an SAFC in Florida T-shirt.

“If you'd wanted to finish early you should have asked,” said the gaffer when he discovered we’d missed the game. Hmm. Never mind, the Lads had gained our third promotion to the top flight and that was the most important thing.