Sunderland travel to Leeds United in midweek, preview via Finlay Anderson.
Key wins in promotion battles, a rare highlight under Lawrie McMenemy and goalkeeper howlers - meetings between Sunderland and Leeds have often proved to be pivotal contests.
As Régis Le Bris’ side head to Elland Road on Tuesday night, we look at five memorable meetings between the Black Cats and the Whites.
Sunderland 2-0 Leeds United – December 28, 1963
Only two days after drawing 1-1 with Leeds in the reverse league meeting, over 55,000 fans packed into Roker Park as the Black Cats beat the then-Second Division league leaders in a late-Christmas treat. Alan Brown’s side’s form had faltered in the weeks leading up to the contest, with just one win in five matches following a run of only one defeat in 11 games. But the Black Cats rediscovered their winning touch.
George Herd and Nick Sharkey struck in the first half to claim a vital victory in a run that saw Brown’s side win eight consecutive matches on their way to promotion to the First Division.
Leeds United 0-1 Sunderland – May 5, 1973
Sunderland’s most memorable match in their 147-year history provided one of the all-time great FA Cup giant-killings.
After seeing off Notts County, Reading, Manchester City, Luton and Arsenal on their way to the final, Second Division Sunderland faced the challenge of Leeds, one of English football’s most dominant sides at the time, in the showpiece Wembley event. And it was a day for the underdogs – Ian Porterfield’s 32nd-minute strike, combined with Jimmy Montgomery’s remarkable double save that will be forever etched into the competition's history, sealed the Black Cats’ second FA Cup triumph.
Sunderland 4-2 Leeds United – January 11, 1986
McMenemy’s two-year stint on Wearside will be forever remembered for the wrong reasons; yet a rare highlight came against the Whites. A sense of anticipation created by McMenemy’s arrival in the summer had begun to dissipate with only eight wins from 25 Second Division matches ahead of Leeds’ visit to Roker Park.
However, despite having gone four matches without a win against Leeds, Nick Pickering’s hat-trick and Ian Wallace’s second-half strike sealed a stunning win at Roker Park.
Leeds United 0-3 Sunderland – September 13, 2006
On their way to a title-winning promotion to the Premier League, a statement win in the infancy of Roy Keane’s tenure came at Elland Road. After Niall Quinn stepped down as manager following four consecutive league defeats at the start of the season, Keane’s spell on Wearside began with a win away to Derby and the Black Cats headed to Yorkshire to face Kevin Blackwell’s side, who had lost the previous season’s play-off final.
Despite those unpromising circumstances, goals from Liam Miller, Graham Kavanagh and Stephen Elliot sealed a big win on the road that provided an early indication of the Black Cats’ potential.
Sunderland 2-2 Leeds United – October 4, 2024
In one of the most bizarre moments in Championship history, Illan Meslier’s injury-time howler will be forever remembered on Wearside. In a high-stakes early-season Championship top-of-the-table clash, Chris Rigg swept home the rebound to Dennis Cirkin’s blocked shot before goals from Joël Piroe and Junior Firpo looked to have secured the points for Leeds.
Yet, in the dying embers of the contest, Alan Browne got a goalbound but seemingly innocuous connection on Anthony Patterson’s free kick which somehow slipped through the legs of Meslier – sparking wild celebrations at the Stadium of Light.
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