The start of the 1980s was a time of great promise at Roker Park, yet the second half of the decade was to see Sunderland slide into oblivion. Promoted in 1980 and with a promising squad full of youthful talent being cultivated in the years that followed, it seemed for a while as if the sky was the limit, until sadly a disastrous 1985 saw the foundations being wiped away.
With managers Alan Durban and Len Ashurst both moved on by Tom Cowie, the owner turned to Lawrie McMenemy to provide an expensively put together solution only to see the collapse gather pace, and when Bradford City arrived on Wearside they found their opponents to be in a bad way. Winless since the visit of another West Yorkshire club two months earlier, when Leeds United were brushed aside, Sunderland looked to be well short of what Division Two required despite starting the campaign as a promotion favourite following their relegation from the top-flight.
Gordon Armstrong gets in the thick of it. Earlier image shows Tony Ford whipping in a cross on debut.
Gordon Armstrong gets in the thick of it. Earlier image shows Tony Ford whipping in a cross on debut.
The Bantams meanwhile had come into the second tier from the opposite direction after winning the Division Three title and when the two sides met on New Years Day 1986 they had ran out comfortable winners. Since then the Lads had been further weakened by the departure of one of their star men, Nick Pickering, whose hattrick had sealed the points against Leeds before he was whisked away by Coventry City, and whilst McMenemy had since been able to secure a couple of additions one was the cut price Steve Hetzke and the others were only on loan.
Back from a short term injury and playing in goal was Luton Town’s Andy Dibble, while on the bench for the first time was Tony Ford – a deadline day temporary arrival from Grimsby Town two days earlier. He had to wait until the second half to be introduced but waiting on the bench did not make pretty viewing, with the visitors dominating before the break. Dibble was kept busy throughout, with his own men causing him just as many issues as the opposition with a string of unforced errors.
Headers from Eric Gates did see Sunderland go close on a couple of occasions, the second of which ended with a goal line clearance by Peter Jackson, yet Bradford could have just as easily scored themselves despite the early withdrawal of Don Goodman, who had been an injury doubt beforehand and was replaced by Ian Ormondroyd in the first ten minutes. They looked just as threatening after changing ends too and found themselves breaking the deadlock shortly before the hour, but while nobody could argue that Bradford didn’t deserve the advantage, the nature of the goal was hotly disputed.
A through ball from Ormondroyd sent Mark Ellis clear and despite strong appeals for offside the officials let him find the target. The scorer then came within a whisker of a second just four minutes later, when his vicious drive was parried by Dibble. But then came the game-changer for Sunderland as Paul Lemon was taken off for Ford. Quickly winning a corner, the new boy brought things level when Gordon Armstrong’s inswinger was flicked on to him by Hetzke and sat up perfectly for a low drive beyond Peter Lichfield.
Eric Gates has a go.
Eric Gates has a go.
Not only did he get the equaliser, but Ford’s presence injected some life into the Sunderland attack and he could have instigated a winner had a blatant trip on him by Tony Clegg in the penalty box been spotted. Not for the first time the Lads were ruing the decision making of the referee, and then right at the death another slice of misfortune occurred as Lichfield fumbled a Ford cross before grabbing the ball back before anybody could pounce.
A third 1-1 draw in a row for Sunderland, the other two both coming on Humberside as trips to Hull City and Grimsby, where Ford had featured against McMenemy’s team, finished all square, were certainly better than nothing, but it left the Rokerites just one place above the relegation zone. There was still a lot to do if a double relegation was to be avoided, and the era felt as if it would continue to go from bad to worse.
Saturday 29 March 1986
Canon League Division Two
Sunderland 1 (Ford 72’)
Bradford City 1 (Ellis 56’)
Sunderland: Dibble; Burley, Hetzke, Elliott, Kennedy; Gayle, Armstrong, Venison, Gray; Lemon (Ford 62’), Gates.
Roker Park, attendance 14,870