Over the last 132 years Sunderland have played West Brom 158 times and have secured 58 wins, 44 draws and 56 defeats. The Lads have had some good games against the Baggies over the years…
SUNDERLAND 8-1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - DIVISION 1 - 1892
Let’s start with our biggest win over the Baggies which was in 1892. On the 22nd October, Tom Watson's men were gearing up to face Henry Jackson’s West Bromwich Albion. This game took place in Sunderland’s second title winning campaign and it did not disappoint. A Hughie Wilson own goal put Sunderland 1-0 down in the first minute, but the Lads came back with a bang. Hughie equalised and goals from Johnny Campbell and Jimmy Millar buried the Baggies by half time. Tom Watson would have been very pleased with his side's great response to going 1-0 down. Campbell and Millar then both scored again to make it 5-1. The goals didn’t stop there, with Will Gibson scoring in the 81st minute, Jimmy Millar completing his hat trick one minute later and John Scott putting the final nail in the coffin in the 89th minute. A fantastic victory for the Lads, a victory that sent a statement to the rest of the league.
SUNDERLAND 7-1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - DIVISION 1 - 1896
Speaking of big victories, let’s talk about another battering. On the 25th of January 1896, Tom Watson’s Lads were hosting Clement Keys’ Baggies. Jimmy Millar scored a hattrick in the first 45 minutes, but it wasn’t the only thing he was involved in. Millar accidentally blasted a fan in the face with the ball, ruining that man's personal experience of the day. Sunderland went into half time 3-0 up. Johnny Campbell and James Gillespie made it five in the second half, but Roddie McLeod pulled one back for the Baggies. Their hope was short lived because a Johnny Campbell brace finished them off. Both Jimmy Millar and Johnny Campbell scored a hattrick in this game, which just shows the quality that was in this team. Another great victory for Tom Watson, and another big win over West Brom.
SUNDERLAND 6-1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - DIVISION 1 - 1935
Now this game was a Raich Carter masterclass, not to mention this took place in another title winning campaign for the Lads. It was the 11th of September and Johnny Cochrane’s Lads were hosting Fred Everiss’ Baggies at Roker Park. Raich Carter opened the score sheet in the 19th minute, but was quick to double his lead, scoring again in the 23rd. Patsy Gallacher and Bert Davis sent the lads in 4-0 up at half-time, a great first half for Cochrane’s men. Raich Carter completed his hat trick in the 56th minute, but yet again Raich came back and scored his fourth in the 62nd minute. Billy Richardson did score a consolation goal, but it was simply too late for the Baggies to mount any form of comeback. Another great win for the Lads that again showed the quality of Sunderland icon Raich Carter...
SUNDERLAND 4-0 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - PREMIER LEAGUE - 2008
Moving on to more recent times, let’s talk about the time Ricky Sbragia’s Lads battered Tony Mowbray’s Baggies. It was the 13th of December 2008 and Sunderland were experiencing a new manager bounce, due to Roy Keane’s recent departure. Kenwyne Jones opened the score sheet in the 22nd minute, he then doubled our lead 2 minutes later. Andy Reid scored the 3rd in the 40th minute and we went into half time 3-0 up. A fantastic first half for SAFC, arguably the best half of the season. Things only got better for Sunderland, with Djibril Cisse converting a penalty in the 47th minute. The game slowed fizzled out from there and Sunderland picked up a huge three points at home. A brilliant display from Sunderland - definitely the best performance all season. The result played a crucial part in keeping the Lads in the Premier League for another year.
SNDERLAND 2-2 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - PREMIER LEAGUE - 2011
This is a very personal game for me, because it was my first Sunderland match. It was 1st of October and Steve Bruce’s Black Cats were hosting Roy Hodgson’s West Brom. Things started really badly for Sunderland, with James Morrison putting the Baggies 1-0 up in the 4th minute. To add insult to injury Shane Long made it 2-0 just one minute later. Sunderland found themselves 2-0 down after five minutes. However the Lads showed good heart and Nicklas Bendtner pulled one back in the 24th minute. That was quickly followed by an Ahmed Elmohamady equaliser two minutes later. It was game on as we went into half time level: a good situation considering we were 2-0 down after five minutes. Not much happened in the second half, and the game ended 2-2 but as a whole it was a good spirited performance from Steve Bruce’s men. Both sides went on to have solid seasons, with Sunderland finishing 13th and West Brom finishing 10th.
SUNDERLAND 2-0 WEST BROMWICH ALBION - PREMIER LEAGUE - 2014
On the 7th of May 2014, Sunderland completed their 'Great Escape' under Gus Poyet with a fairly comfortable win against West Brom. It was our fourth consecutive Premier League win, meaning survival was confirmed with a game to go. Jack Colback put us ahead with a neat stabbed finish, before our on-loan superstar Fabio Borini doubled the lead after half an hour. Gus Poyet needed a 'miracle' but earning 13 points out of a possible 15 (including famous wins at Chelsea and Man United) led to joyous scenes at full time. Poyet described our escape (along with a League Cup run) as the greatest achievement in his career. Remember Gus- miracles do happen!
LAST SEASON
Last season we shared the spoils with West Brom overall, we won one and so did they, with the away team winning in both fixtures, with the same scoreline too, as even as you could get. The first time we played them was at the Stadium of Light, so of course we lost 2-1 and it was a tough result to take at the time, as the win for the Baggies lifted them out of the drop zone. We initially went ahead thanks to an Amad Diallo penalty, but Tom Rogic and Daryl Dike both got on the scoresheet to get the comeback win. It was a freezing cold Monday night made even colder by a disappointing display from the lads.
In the return fixture it had a similar outcome to the previous matchup. The hosts went ahead thanks to a penalty, and the away team rallied to come from behind and get the win. John Swift netted the Baggies penalty, and then in the second half Dennis Cirkin continued in his rich vein of goalscoring from, grabbing two goals to turn the result on it's head. There was no real surprise about the outcome of the game, we had been the better team for much of the game, and it just took us some time to get the winner. In contrast to the earlier game this season there was more on the line as we were in the business end of the Championship and after full time we had moved into the play-offs whilst West Brom were two points shy of us.
