So yes, I was there at Roker Park in January 1973 when Sunderland met Notts County in the FA Cup third round, and although they went on to win the competition in legendary fashion, they did not have it all their own way even then. Steve Death played a blinder in the County goal, and the game ended level at 1-1, with Sunderland winning the replay at Meadow Lane 3-1. How we would have liked that outcome looking back on Saturday’s repeat game!
The match was a classic battle between former Old Trafford teammates, and Paul Ince won hands down. He set up his team well, they came forward with confidence and on balance deserved their win. Sunderland have a squad already depleted by injuries, so what was Steve Bruce doing playing a weakened team? There was definitely some serious underestimation of the opposition, and the club can only blame themselves. I am sure the funereal atmosphere did not help, with just 17000 fans at the SSOL, which is normally a cauldron. The only positive I can think of is that Newcastle fans could not gloat at us, after their crushing defeat at Stevenage; not a good day for the North-East.
Lars Knutsen was born in Sunderland of Norwegian parents across the Wear from the SSOL back when shipbuilding not car manufacture was the city’s main industry. His first game was in 1968 and he has followed the Black Cats since then, with great memories of the 1973 FA Cup. He hopes the “yo-yo” days are over and defines supporting a team by whether the result affects your mood (but maybe not in the way portrayed in the book “Fever Pitch”!) so has been cheerful recently. He endured school in Newc**tle, has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, a Professorship at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and works in the Pharma industry as a consultant Medicinal Chemist.
Lars Knutsen was born in Sunderland of Norwegian parents across the Wear from the SSOL back when shipbuilding not car manufacture was the city’s main industry. His first game was in 1968 and he has followed the Black Cats since then, with great memories of the 1973 FA Cup. He hopes the “yo-yo” days are over and defines supporting a team by whether the result affects your mood (but maybe not in the way portrayed in the book “Fever Pitch”!) so has been cheerful recently. He endured school in Newc**tle, has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, a Professorship at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and works in the Pharma industry as a consultant Medicinal Chemist.
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