On May 16, 1990, Sunderland faced Newcastle United in the Division Two playoffs semi-finals, overcoming a scoreless draw in the first leg to reach Wembley. The match was marked by intense atmosphere and memorable moments for fans.
What a night on Tyneside!
We all have some special memories of supporting this club. Some games stand out as never to be forgotten and this was one of them as we met The Visitors (formerly known as Newcastle United) in the semi-finals of the Division Two playoffs ā and how the powers that be mustāve rejoiced when the fixture wasnāt played as a Wembley final showcase!
Our chance to take control had slipped through our hands during the home leg at Roker Park.
The game ended in a scoreless draw, with Paul Hardyman having his last-minute penalty saved and also being sent off. I was in the Clock Stand and to this day, Iād say the atmosphere was the most hostile that Iāve ever experienced. I couldnāt get a ticket for the return leg but I do remember vividly where I was, as my ear was glued to the radio.
Eric Gates
So the highly tense game was set up: an evening fixture at St Jamesā Park.
I must admit to feeling a little sick as I really didnāt see us coming out of this one with a result. The famous āG-Forceā of Marco Gabbiadini and Eric Gates had other ideas, yet it turned out to not only be a wonderful and memorable win for the Lads, but also one of the most disgraceful and shameful episodes in the English game.
Denis Smithās prediction that his young side would continue their great away form turned out to be accurate. The Mags boasted the best home record in the division, but we had the best away record and something was going to give!
Early on, a quick throw in from John Kay found Gary Owers, and after combining passes with Gabbiadini, he found Gates, who crashed the ball home in the thirteenth minute. Sunderland then enjoyed the better of the game. Young Warren Hawke had been brought in for the suspended Hardyman, and he stuck admirably to his task in only his second appearance.
Sunderland played Newcastle United in the semi-finals of the Division Two playoffs, managing to reach Wembley despite a scoreless draw in the first leg.
Paul Hardyman missed a last-minute penalty during the first leg of the match at Roker Park.
The atmosphere was described as the most hostile ever experienced by fans, particularly during the first leg at Roker Park.
Sunderland reached Wembley after the semi-final playoff against Newcastle United, overcoming the challenges faced in the first leg.
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Mark McGhee hit the outside of the post early on, beating Tony Norman, but on the whole, their dangerous strike force of McGhee and Mick Quinn was well marshalled by Gary Bennett and John MacPhail.
To coin a famous Jim Smith phrase: āIn all honesty, Sunderland deserved to win the gameā, as the Lads defended magnificently, holding Newcastle at bay as for parts of the match and towards the end, they pounded at the Sunderland goal.
We had to ride our luck at times but we held firm until the final stages of the game before hitting them on the break with a sweetly taken twenty third goal of the season by Gabbiadini less than five minutes from the final whistle. Despite all the pressure and the importance of the game, this was by far the best meeting of the four that the two teams had played in against each other this season.
However, it was to the shame of the mindless minority of home fans that couldnāt take defeat graciously that the referee couldnāt actually blow the full time whistle for another twenty two minutes ā George Courtney taking the players off the field as hordes of so-called Mags fans invaded the pitch.
It was obviously a ploy and a well-organised plan to get the game abandoned, yet the hooligans that took part gave the country something thatāll be remembered far more strongly than the pain of losing a semi-final to your rivals, coming only a year after the Hillsborough disaster.
Marco Gabbiadini
It was later revealed that Durham-born Courtney had gone into the dressing rooms and told the players that no matter how long it took, the match would be completed that night.
Moronic behaviour wasnāt going to affect that and as the thin blue line of police were spread out on the centre circle and the mindless idiots began to realise that they werenāt going to be successful, the pitch was eventually cleared.
The Sunderland fans were praised for their behaviour; of course, they had no interest in joining the hooligans on the pitch, nor in being goaded by them.
The scenes at the end were of unbridled joy. Every time a game like this comes along, itās easy to think that these moments canāt get better ā and maybe they canāt. Maybe the bad experiences we suffer only serve to highlight the delight of the good times.
The pain, then, is part of the happiness now. Thatās the deal.
May 16 1990
Second Division playoffs, semi-final second leg
St Jamesā Park
Newcastle United 0
Sunderland 2 (Gabbiadini, Gates)
Sunderland: Norman, Kay, Bennett; MacPhail, Agboola, Owers; Armstrong, Bracewell; Hawke, Gates, Gabbiadini
Subs: Brady, Hauser