Ian Porterfield in the 32nd minute.
A player and a time symbolic with both Sunderland and the FA Cup – English football’s greatest cup competition. Sunderland ‘the underdogs’ were in the lead against the mighty Leeds United, a lead they held to register one of the most prestigious upsets in the entire history of the competition as the city by the sea claimed its second FA Cup triumph.
That historic win under the shadows of the two towers of the old Wembley Stadium in 1973 may not have been possible had it not been for the use of replays. Three times on route to the final Sunderland required a replay – twice bringing teams back to Roker Park.
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One of those came in the fifth round against Manchester City – largely regarded as one of the great nights under the lights on Wearside with over 50,000 packed inside the faithful old ground. A stunner from Vic Halom and a double from Billy Hughes were enough to stage an upset and see off the first division side after a 2-2 draw at Maine Road in the initial tie. Better was yet to come, having also progressed through replays in the previous two rounds against Reading and Notts County.
Without those replays, Sunderland may not have gone on to upstage Leeds in the final. They may not have even made it that far. The undeniable Bob Stokoe would, perhaps, not be emblemised in stone outside of the Stadium of Light amid his historic race across the pitch.
But if that replay with Man City was memorable, Sunderland’s exploits 19 years later in a quarter-final replay with Chelsea in 1992 are etched even deeper into the hearts of supporters, a night where the Roker Roar rekindled its burning presence. Sunderland were in the quarter-final by virtue of another replay after banking a notable 3-2 win over West Ham United following a 1-1 draw on Wearside. John Byrne, synonymous with the 1992 FA Cup for Sunderland having scored in every round apart from the eventual final, earned an unlikely replay against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge to bring the Londoners back to the North East.
This may not have been the might of Chelsea that would come in the new millennium with their oligarch riches, but it was a squad packed with A-listers as far as division two Sunderland were concerned; from Tony Cascarino to hardman Vinnie Jones, Dave Beasant to Dennis Wise, Andy Townsend and the great Kerry Dixon all assembled by Sunderland’s goalscoring hero from 1973, Porterfield, who was in the opposition dugout on his return to Roker Park. They are stories only written by the FA Cup and by virtue, again, of replays.
‘They won’t like it up here.’ A phrase many would cling to when a side from the deep south came to this part of the region, particularly on one of those infamously chilly nights by the North Sea. And it appeared to be working as Malcolm Crosby’s Sunderland took the lead through Peter Davenport. Once more, the unthinkable becoming thinkable.
Much like in the replay with City, Sunderland threw anything and everything at it; there were goal line clearances, inspired goalkeeping and even the woodwork came to their rescue before Wise levelled. Suddenly, the dream felt like it was over. But Sunderland had another ace up their sleeve to mark what remains another of the great nights on Wearside as Gordon Armstrong towered the most remarkable header into the far corner from a Brian Atkinson corner with just two minutes remaining to send Sunderland into the semi-final.
It's a goal a certain generation of Sunderland fans will resonate with, just like the previous generation resonates with Halom and Hughes. A city built on industry, with both results the epitome of that.
Those moments aren’t possible without FA Cup replays. Even last season’s enjoyment of bringing Premier League Fulham back to the Stadium of Light to continue the then feel-good factor around the club, for the modern generation, is another example of how there remains so much on offer with replays – notwithstanding the crucial financial rewards of the competition and replays that benefit clubs further down the football pyramid.
In light of the FA’s decision to abolish replays next season, many clubs in the EFL, led by Tranmere Rovers’ powerful statement, have taken a stance by expressing their discontent at what feels like another piece of football’s heritage being displaced.
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These are just two moments in Sunderland’s history which have been shaped by the FA Cup, both of which came by the use of replays. Take that away and you are taking away the potential memories for generations upon generations of fans – where ‘the underdogs’ can in fact take the lead and upset the apple cart of the so-called established order in the upper echelons of the game.
The FA Cup may be a little bit of a sore subject for Sunderland currently, given it has been tarnished in black and white on account of the club’s own doing against Newcastle United back in January, but the history of the competition lives by replays and tradition. Some of Sunderland’s proudest moments in this competition have come via replays. Taking them away just feels like another piece of football’s soul being cast aside in what is an ever growing financially fabricated phenomenon.
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