On this day in 1979, a 21 year old Gary Rowell became an SAFC legend. Having born and raised in County Durham as a Sunderland fan, to go and score a hat-trick away at St James’ Park is the stuff of dreams.
As is often the case, supporting the Lads is defined by a rare brilliant game. In otherwise
disappointing seasons, we can take solace in a couple of great games a season. Especially when they come against the Mags and especially when we thrash them in their own back yard.
Whilst this season was all too familiar in the sense of missing out of promotion, it was also distinct in how agonisingly close we came to going up. At the end of the season, we were just one point off second and third and only two behind champions Crystal Palace – there can’t be many Second Division seasons which have been this tight at the top.
However, whilst the season was ultimately a failure, it did spawn a couple of iconic victories. One of which is the superb and unlikely victory away at Burnley where we played the majority of the game down to nine men. Mick Henderson and Joe Bolton were both sent off in the first half but a brace from none other than Gary Rowell secured an almost impossible victory.
Speaking of Gary Rowell, his involvement in that other iconic 78/79 fixture compensated for an
otherwise disappointing season. On February24th , the visiting fans who were early into the
ground were treated to the sight of a lunatic in full magpie regalia join them on the Leazes terracing. Thankfully for him the police hoyed him out while most of our fans were heading up from the station. We attacked that end, and just six minutes into the game, we took the lead through Rowell’s goal. A Jeff Clarke free kick was flicked on twice and Rowell pounced, evading the Newcastle defenders to finish in the bottom corner, right in front of the away end.
Twenty minutes later and the young striker had doubled our advantage. After dispossessing a
Newcastle player on the half way line, the ball was laid off to Kevin Arnott who played a first time,
inch perfect pass over the Mags’ back line, right into the path of Rowell. Again, Rowell had eluded the defenders. The pass is just perfect and when I say inch perfect I mean, literally inch perfect. Rowell buried it first time and it was a devastating goal – seconds after losing possession, the Mags had conceded again. Arnott’s vision and Rowell’s prowess in front of goal were unmatched.
Before half time, our domination continued and it looked like we had another goal when Bob Lee
had the ball in the back of the net, only his finish was disallowed. After the break, the Mags pulled one back within 5 minutes. Not soon after this though, we restored our two goal cushion when Rowell completed his hat-trick. Newcastle gave away a penalty and there was only one man to take it.
Rowell capped his brilliant performance with a great assist. Having picked up the ball on the right hand side of the box initially with his chest, he controlled it and then took on a player; beating him and laying an inviting ball up towards the back post which Wayne Entwhistle met with his head. This was our greatest derby victory since the 9-1 demolition job in the 1908-1909 season. Whilst this victory has an almost semi-mythic quality, with everyone in attendance likely long dead, the 4-1 victory lives long in a generation’s memory. Not least for the man himself, Gary Rowell:
“I remember looking at all the Newcastle fans behind the goal trying to put me off. But I stuck it in
for my hat-trick and I remember turning around and at both sides of the ground were Newcastle
supporters and they were just absolutely gutted, but behind the goal at the far end were our
supporters and they were just jumping up and down going absolutely mental, it was just a brilliant feeling.”
“It was a brilliant feeling playing out the last ten minutes at St James’s knowing you’d absolutely
stuffed them. It was probably the best day of my life. The young supporters who weren’t even there, probably weren’t even born always mention it. It just gets a great reaction. If I go round town now people go, ‘Gary, here’s a pint for stuffing the Mags’.”
If anyone does see Gary in town, do be sure to get him a pint.
