New to Division Two in 1958-59, Sunderland struggled following their first ever relegation. A defeat at Stoke City on the opening day of the subsequent season gave little suggestion that things were on the way up either, and yet supporters still flocked to Roker Park for a Wednesday evening follow up hopeful of an improvement against Aston Villa, who were themselves getting used to the second tier having just been demoted themselves.
With Don Kichenbrand suffering with badly blistered feet Ian Lawther had been put on standby prior to kick-off but in the end, Alan Brown was able to stick with the same eleven that had played in the Potteries. Villa meanwhile made a late selection decision too, with Johnny Neal coming in at short notice for the injured Jock Winton, who failed a fitness test in the minutes leading up to the teams being announced.
Neal, who had recently arrived from Swindon Town, was familiar with his surroundings at least. Born in Seaham Harbour, he had moved to Silksworth as a child and at the start of his career had offered a part-time deal by Sunderland, only for him to turn it down on the advice of his father, who felt he should instead honour a gentleman’s agreement that had already been made with Hull City boss Raich Carter to join the Tigers.
The presence of a local lad didn’t make the game any less intense though, and the visitors were not afraid to get stuck in. There were several robust tackles and challenges flying about, so much so that two Sunderland players were sent for X-rays immediately after the match – and the prognosis was not good. A cracked bone in his right hand meant goalkeeper Peter Wakeham was expected to be out for up to six weeks, with a similar lay off anticipated for Reg Pearce, who suffered further insult to injury when the copy typer for the following day’s Sunderland Echo & Shipping Gazette erroneously referred to him as Reg Pearson!
Pearce’s fibula was fractured just 15 minutes in, and Argus, when he was being copied correctly, was far from impressed by a ‘savage’ Villa and the lack of punishment from the officials. Sunderland’s compensation came however in the form of a hard-fought victory, and for Pearce, he got to celebrate the joy (through gritted teeth) of scoring the winner after being forced to play through the pain barrier. His mobility reducing as the minutes went by, he had to be shifted to various positions and crack on as best he could, and when he found himself on the edge of the box with a minute of the first half remaining, he had little choice but to swing his boot at a half-cleared ball.
More action from the game, as seen in the Echo the following evening…
The chance had been created when Colin Grainger collected possession and pumped a high ball into the area; Kichenbrand challenged Peter Sims, and with the Villa keeper unable to punch cleanly Pearce was able to return it through a crowded penalty area and inside the post. Having put his side 1-0 up the Liverpool born player, originally selected to play left-half, then missed ten minutes of play whilst he stayed in the changing rooms for extended treatment following the break, and having been patched up and sent back out he continued to soldier on as best he could.
Given the physical bombardment the Lads had to show real resilience. Bolstered by Pearce’s determination, Stan Anderson and Colin Nelson made sure the side would not be pushed around, whilst Ernie Taylor and John Goodchild did a fine job of sharing the half-back duties created by Brown’s enforced positional shuffling – Taylor in fact being credited by Argus as having given his best performance since moving to his hometown club the previous year. The fans meanwhile appreciated the courage being shown throughout the team, and were particularly supportive of Kichenbrand, who despite his own discomfort made things difficult for the visiting defence.
Better finishing from his colleagues would have given Kichenbrand an assist or two for his troubles, but whilst the winning margin was not any greater there could be few complaints given the mettle on show. Anderson had also joined the walking wounded in the second half having taken a knock, and in the closing stages Wakeham, who was steady beforehand, seemed more ginger in his movements once he’d damaged his hand. Although still extremely brave the keeper’s abilities were clearly hampered, and he was grateful to see Nelson make a late goal line block with his chest.
Had that gone in an equaliser would have been hard to take; Sunderland deserved credit for the way they tried to respond to the roughhousing and their win felt like just deserts given the tactics seen. Sadly though, it provided only temporary joy; forced to make do without Wakeham and Pearce for a spell, and with the latter only managing a couple more games altogether before he moved on, Sunderland’s second tier struggles continued for a good while. Aston Villa meanwhile got to grips with things much sooner and finished 1959-60 as Division Two champions, so maybe their approach did work in the long term after all.
Wednesday 26 August 1959
Football League Division Two
Sunderland 1 (Pearce 44’)
Aston Villa 0
Sunderland: Wakeham; Nelson, Ashurst; Anderson, Hurley, Pearce; Fraser, Goodchild, Kichenbrand, Taylor, Grainger.
Roker Park, attendance 29,860
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