On This Day (25th Jan 1986): Roker Revival Enjoys A Quick Jolt!

When Sunderland beat Manchester United in a dramatic November 1984 Division One fixture few supporters leaving the ground at full time would have tipped the Lads to be relegated come the end of the season. The 3-2 success at Roker Park had been achieved on the back of notable team spirit and seemed to underline the growing hope that having spent a lot of the decade near the relegation zone the club had established itself in the top flight, and yet we now know looking back that this hard fought status was actually more fragile than ever – the campaign soon falling apart as new manager Len Ashurst failed to build on the platform provided to him by his predecessor Alan Durban.

This meant that by the time of United’s next visit in early 1986, the mood around SAFC had gone from a mixture of midtable contentment and aspiration of further development to one of, at best, ambivalence. Instead of going up against a first division equal, the current holders were now looking to continue their defence of the FA Cup at a lower-level team desperate for a scalp that could help reenergise an alarming slide that had continued beyond Ashurst’s reign and into the tenure of his own successor Lawrie McMenemy, who despite his much lauded arrival was struggling to engineer any consistency either.

Given the shock nature of the relegation and McMenemy’s stock within the game, supporters had gone into the final knockings of 1985 trying to convince themselves that their club could still turn itself around. After a dreadful start results had shown a slight improvement under ‘Big Mac’ and a glamourous cup tie boosted pulses – so much so that all seated areas of the ground were sold out prior to the game, and fans wishing to watch from the terraces were being advised to arrive early. A bumper crowd expected then, the paying spectators were to be joined by a very interested onlooker in the shape of England manager Bobby Robson, who was back in his native County Durham to check up on Bryan Robson’s injury comeback.

Known to many as ‘Captain Marvel’, the United skipper also had local roots but his return to the north east was cut short when he was dismissed during the second half of a match that whilst ending goalless, still managed to provide a good level of entertainment. Despite missing first team regulars Eric Gates, Gary Bennett, Shaun Elliott and David Hodgson, Sunderland matched their guests, with both sides needing last gasp goal line clearances to deny their opponents. It was George Burley that came to the Lads’ rescue, whilst Paul McGrath had to act quickly to prevent Paul Atkinson scoring. In the final moments Howard Gayle went agonisingly close to settling the tie also, with Robson’s sending off 12 minutes from time underlining just how frustrating it had been going up against a stubborn host.

After lashing out at Barry Venison off the ball but in full view of the linesman, Robson was given his marching orders. The swipe put his teammates under real pressure thereafter, but there was to be no fairytale ending and, in the replay, just four days later they recovered to make light work of Sunderland with a 3-0 win. The last time the two clubs had met at Old Trafford was at the back end of 1984-85, with the 2-2 draw earning the Lads their final top flight point before limping over the finishing line with three successive defeats, and now the situation seemed even more hopeless. Missing from the replay was Nick Pickering, sold on the day of the game to help fund McMenemy’s already questionable remodelling drive, and whilst the first encounter on this day had shown signs of life in the squad, the rematch confirmed what many had been fearing anyway – that any recovery was going to take much longer than initially hoped.

*The FA Cup tie was not the only event in the town that was attracting attention. That day’s Echo led with a story that had occurred the night before, when large crowds converged on Sunderland’s ABC cinema following the release of Rocky VI. Around 1,000 hopeful film-goers caused such severe congestion on Holmeside that the police had to be called in to help manage the situation, which whilst good natured was having a large impact on traffic in the area. Around 800 disappointed Sylvester Stallone fans had to be turned away once the full house signs went up outside Screen One, although the scene was much more palatable than had been witnessed at Newcastle Odeon earlier in the week, where real life punches were thrown and other violent acts carried out by patrons caught up in a scramble for complimentary tickets that staff had been tasked with handing out.

Saturday 25 January 1986 — FA Cup 4^th round

Sunderland 0 Manchester United 0

Sunderland: Bolder; Burley, Corner, Agboola, Kennedy; Atkinson, Pickering, Venison, Proctor; Wallace (Gayle 62’), Swindlehurst.   

Roker Park, attendance 35,484