A close game was settled in Sunderland favour courtesy of the afternoon’s one moment of class.
The 20th century was just a few weeks old when Preston North End arrived at Roker for their latest fixture, and whilst they had been one of the leading clubs during the late 1890s this new era found them struggling near the bottom of the league. A recent upturn in results had not been enough to take the Invincibles away from the relegation picture and at Sunderland looked set for another difficult afternoon, with the Lads starting to find their feet under new manager Alex Mackie.
The Scot had taken charge ahead of the 1899-1900 campaign and quickly had his side amongst the front runners, with an early win at Preston helping set the tone. Whilst form around Christmas had not been as convincing the Lads were still favourites prior to the return, albeit injuries had forced a number of tactical switches plus the reintroduction of Bobby Hogg and Bob McNeill to the starting XI, so there was the slight fear that they could be a little discombobulated.
The visitors meanwhile had no such worries – not only were they at full strength, but that had arrived in the town the night before and spent a pleasant evening at the Queen’s Hotel on Fawcett Street prior to heading over to the north side for the game itself. Despite this, it was Sunderland that looked the most comfortable in the opening twenty minutes and even though the surface was soft they coped well with the conditions.
Billy Hogg was at it from the start and within a minute had sent a shot across the bows following a direct run, and from that quick start the hosts looked to maintain the pressure. Their efforts paid off when after 17 minutes Sunderland made it 1-0 through William Fulton, whose moment was all the sweeter for it was against a club he had previously been on the books of but never played senior football for.
The strike came following a smart move down the right hand side of the pitch, and when the ball was crossed into the box a sharp Fulton was able to nip in ahead a fraction of a second before the keeper Peter McBride. It was not the last of the goalmouth action however, and it took some time for Preston to even be able to string a couple of passes together in their opponent’s half such was the strength of Sunderland’s attacking play.
Things turned after the break but neither side were able to match inside-forward Fulton’s clinical instincts. His team did carve out a couple more presentable openings, but Preston were more involved too and had they been able to display better finishing could well have got something out of the game. Ted Doig, whilst having to remain alert, often saw good opportunities being blazed high or wide of his goal though – Andy Gara missing the most clear-cut chance – and when Peter McIntyre was forced off hurt towards the end Preston’s attempted revival was all but done.
Bobby Hogg and McNeill had both made strong returns and Colin McLatchie, another ex-Preston man, worked hard in the final third to help ensure a sixth straight win (including a friendly) for the Rokermen against his old club. Once great rivals as they challenged for early honours, Sunderland and Preston were now at opposite ends of the table and days like this, where a tight encounter was settled by one moment of quality, showed exactly why once of them would end the season in third whilst the other only just avoided the drop.
Saturday 20 January 1900
Football League Division One
Sunderland 1 (Fulton 17’)
Preston North End 0
Sunderland: Doig; McCombie, McNeill; Ferguson, McAllister, Jackson; Bi Hogg, Leslie, Bo Hogg, Fulton, McLatchie.
Roker Park, attendance 6,000
Category: General Sports
