On This Day (1st May 1970): Sunderland Beat Lazio At Roker Park

TL;DR

On May 1, 1970, Sunderland defeated Lazio 3-1 at Roker Park in the Anglo-Italian Cup. The match featured goals from Bobby Kerr, Denis Tueart, and an own goal by Giuseppe Papadopulo.

Key points

Sunderland won 3-1 against Lazio at Roker Park
Match featured goals from Kerr, Tueart, and an own goal
Competition aimed to include teams not in European tournaments
Low attendance and interest plagued the competition
Anglo-Italian Cup was abandoned in 1973

Mentioned in this story

Bobby KerrJim MontgomeryDenis TueartGiuseppe Papadopulo

SunderlandLazioFiorentinaAtalanta

Sunderland captain Bobby Kerr (r) and goalkeeper Jim Montgomery (l) run out before the match (Photo by S&G/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images A brainchild of one of Europe’s original super agents, Gigi Peronace, the Anglo-Italian cup was a competition set up in the early seventies that pitted English and Italian teams who didn’t qualify for European competitions to play against each other. The idea for this competition came after Third Division Swindon Town were refused entry by UEFA into the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, having won the League Cup. Angered by the injustice of this, Peronace set up this competition in protest at the snobbery shown by UEFA. A fairly simple format was adopted. There were three groups of four teams, two of which came from England and the other two from Italy. Each team played those from the other country twice, once at home and once away. On this day, Sunderland took on Lazio for the first time in the competition at Roker Park in front of a small crowd of 3,764. Featuring soon-to-be-famous names on Wearside such as Jim Montgomery, Bobby Kerr, and Denis Tueart, the lads won 3-1 with goals from Kerr, Tueart, and an own goal from Giuseppe Papadopulo.

Despite being one of Sunderland’s first entrances into a first-rate European competition, the appetite for the competition was extremely low, and in all honesty, the competition was treated as a pre-season competition, where the lack of interest in it was paralysing its potential progress. A bigger crowd of almost 6,000 turned out for the second game, where a 2-2 draw with followed at Roker Park, putting the Black Cats in a good position to qualify as they headed to Italy to play Lazio and Fiorentina. Unfortunately, the Italian’s got the better of us over there, winning 2-1 and 3-0 respectively on their own patch to send us packing our bags and out of the competition. Sunderland would be invited back at the end of the 1971/72 season, this time grouped with , , and Leicester City, but the competition became unsustainable due to a lack of interest in it, along with the safety fears for fans due to violence at some of the games. It was abandoned in 1973 with representatives for it citing fixture congestion as the main reason for its cancellation.

Q&A

What was the significance of Sunderland's win against Lazio on May 1, 1970?

Sunderland's 3-1 victory marked their first encounter with Lazio in the Anglo-Italian Cup, showcasing their early participation in European competitions.

Who scored the goals for Sunderland in the match against Lazio?

The goals for Sunderland were scored by Bobby Kerr, Denis Tueart, and an own goal by Giuseppe Papadopulo.

Why was the Anglo-Italian Cup discontinued after 1973?

The Anglo-Italian Cup was abandoned due to a lack of interest, safety concerns for fans, and fixture congestion.