Page 48 - 368603 LP250721 AWY AWY AWY Book (238pp A5)

“Sunderland realize that they’re almost here to make up the numbers.” To be fair he did add that we had some good players, highlighting Colin Suggett, who did have a great game that afternoon. I was disappointed by Suggett in the end as I never thought he fulfilled his initial potential for us. A year later we sold him to West Brom for a club record fee of £100,000, which seemed a massive sum at the time.
We started the game brightly and were soon one-up after a good pass from Harris found Stuckey and his cross from the right took a deflection and was driven in at the near post by Suggett. We continued to press and scored our second when Porterfield moved forward down the centre and passed to Suggett on the right wing, whose cross was met by a powerful header from Mulhall. I was at my uncle Alf’s house in Blyth on the following afternoon and as we watched that second goal go in either he or my Dad said, “I didn’t know Sunderland could play football like that.” I have to say it was a bit of a surprise to me too. I suppose it was a typical last game of the season, what-have-we-got-to-lose? situation. In the second-half United pulled one back with a great goal from George Best but it ended 2-1 and United’s hearts were broken. They didn’t have to wait long for some consolation though, as eighteen days later they became the first English club to lift the European Cup with that memorable 4-1 win over Benfica at Wembley.
As for Hartlepool, they managed to stay in the old Division Three for only one season and plunged back down
40