We've played Burnley 117 times altogether in our history, and have nine more wins than losses against the Clarets. Here are some of our most notable results in the past...
SUNDERLAND 2-3 BURNLEY - DIVISION ONE - 1890
This was the first time we faced Burnley, and it was a defeat for the Lads playing at home at Newcastle Road. Alec Stewart put Burnley ahead before John Spence and Johnny Campbell put us ahead. But Claude Lambie and Alexander McLardie won the game for the Clarets with two goals in the space of two minutes. The interesting thing about this game was that all five goals were scored in the first half...
BURNLEY 5-1 SUNDERLAND - DIVISION ONE - 1953
Burnley wiped the floor with us in a high-scoring game in 1953, with striker Bill Holden scoring four goals - and would go on to play for Sunderland. Future SAFC manager Jimmy Adamson also got in on the act, before Sunderland's Tommy Wright pulled back a consolation goal on 85 minutes.
BURNLEY 5-1 SUNDERLAND - DIVISION ONE - 1953
I didn't accidentally type this result twice, Burnley actually beat us 5-1 twice in the same calendar year. This time Len Shackleton put us ahead after five minutes. But Adamson got one for himself yet again and Holden also scored, as well as Burnley legend Jimmy McIlroy and Les Shannon.
SUNDERLAND 4-3 BURNLEY - DIVISION ONE - 1966
We came from 3-1 down to win this game 4-3, with George Mulhall scoring twice and John O'Hare and Neil Martin also scoring. We had a star-studded line up that also included: Jimmy Montgomery, 'King' Charlie Hurley, Cecil Irwin, Len Ashurst, George Kinnell, George Herd and Jim Baxter.
SUNDERLAND 5-0 BURNLEY - DIVISION TWO - 1980
Another high-scoring game came in 1980, with Stan Cummins replicating Bill Holden's feat of scoring four goals in this fixture. Kevin Arnott got one for himself, but arguably an even bigger occasion was that SAFC fans got to see a rare Claudio Marangoni appearance. Ken Knighton paid a club record £320,000 fee in 1979 for Marangoni who, despite his true talent, could not adapt to the pace and hurly burly of the English game. As a consequence, he left a year later. But he was a starter in this 5-0 demolition of Burnley!
SUNDERLAND 3-2 BURNLEY - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2007
This game came in late April, and all but sealed our return to top-flight football. The score was 2-2, with Daryl Murphy's opener cancelled out by Burnley's Andy Gray and Wade Elliott (before David Connolly equalised for us). But with 10 minutes on the clock, Carlos Edwards fired in an amazing strike to win the game, and put us top of the table. Our promotion was confirmed the next day, as Derby failed to beat Crystal Palace!
BURNLEY 4-1 SUNDERLAND - PREMIER LEAGUE - 2016
I don't want to write about this match any more than you want to read about it. When Burnley put four past us on New Year's Eve, it became clear to everyone that this was the year we were getting relegated. The performance was shocking, and nobody expected another miraculous comeback. Especially David Moyes, who in his post-match interview described the performance as "dire". Andre Gray became the first ever Burnley player to score a Premier League hat-trick, with Ashley Barnes also scoring from the spot. Jermain Defoe pulled back a consolation goal for the travelling Mackems, who went to Turf Moor in their numbers despite the awful mood around the club.
BURNLEY 1-3 SUNDERLAND - LEAGUE CUP - 2019
Who remembers the time George Dobson scored a goal against Premier League opposition? In fact, he wasn't even the most unlikely scorer in that game. In a bizarre sequence of events, Tom Flanagan and even Will Grigg found the net that day! Jay Rodriguez put the home side in front but a spirited fight-back saw us progress to the next round, where we defeated Sheffield United!
SUNDERLAND 2-4 BURNLEY - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2022
Tony Mowbray's side were coming off a 2-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, and were looking to bounce back. However, Vincent Kompany's Burnley were going to be a big test. Sunderland got off to a dream start when Jack Clarke assisted Amad Diallo to make it 1-0. It was the Manchester United loanees first goal for the club. Things continued to get better when academy graduate Dan Neil made it 2-0 in the 20th minute. The Lads went into half time 2-0 up, however everything went downhill from here. Nathan Tella pulled one back in the 50th minute, that was followed by a Manuel Benson equaliser 11 minutes later. Things went from bad to worse when Anass Zaroury put the Clarets 3-2 up in the 69th minute. Burnley showed why they were a force to reckoned with, when Josh Brownhill made it four in the 87th minute. Four goals in one half stunned the Black Cats. It was disappointing at the time, but now we know just how good this Burnley side are.
BURNLEY ?-? SUNDERLAND - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2023
For tonight with all our injuries in mind, I'd be delighted with a draw, I know we don't want to have that mentality of being happy with a draw but in certain circumstances I think you have to be. This Burnley side are cruising to the Premier League and I think when they get there they will manage to stay up. Don't get me wrong, we definitely have the capabilities to cause an upset and I'm sure Mogga will have the lads geared up to show no fear and hopefully we see an interesting game.
