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Sunderland’s home game against Bury on Boxing Day 1962 proved to be one of the most pivotal moments in British football history, so seismic was the aftermath. Star forward Brian Clough received a horrible injury in a collision with goalkeeper Chris Harker that left his playing career in tatters but forced him to remould himself into a managerial pioneer and become one of the most successful, and talked about, characters in the sport, and so the Shakers’ next visit to Roker was never going to be able to compete.
Bury were back on Wearside a little over two years later though, and whilst the match is not as well remembered as that fateful day in 1962, their return was not without significance for the Lads were once again on the promotion trail. There were a couple of links back to the Clough incident too as Harker was still in nets and in front of him was Bob Stokoe, who initially downplayed the accident but would in time have his own managerial glory, with Sunderland no less, and the circumstances and selections made for an intriguing afternoon for the Black Cat faithful.
One man that wouldn’t be taking in the latest chapter however was boss Alan Brown, who was accompanied by at least one club director on a scouting mission to an unknown destination. Thought to be the second such trip in a week, press both north and south of the border had been put on alert and were keeping an eye out for the Sunderland representatives, and whilst they went undetected the general consensus was that they were on the hunt for a striker – Clough’s boots still proving difficult to fill completely even though others had done a remarkable job in his wake.
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Nick Sharkey had been the chief beneficiary of Clough’s misfortune and had done well to carve out a name for himself in his own right. He was to have the final say in a rematch that was much more entertaining in pure footballing terms than the previous Roker meet up, although it was Johnny Crossan that started things off with an early goal after Jimmy McNab had picked up a loose ball. McNab, who was enjoying an impressive run of form at the time, quickly moved possession onto Martin Harvey and he split the defence in half with a brilliantly weighted pass that Crossan was able to tuck away.
Bury responded well to the set back and dominated the next twenty minutes, during which they equalised through the unmarked George Jones. They were unable though to go any further and instead let Sunderland back in, George Herd smashing the ball into the net from close range following Sharkey and George Mulhall’s smart build up work. Crossan then extended the lead with a fantastic solo goal shortly after the break that saw him weave past a number of tackles before rounding Harker, and Sharkey finished things off late on when he headed in a Brian Usher cross.
Victory meant the Lads were just starting to put together an unbeaten run that would cement their place in the top two en route to a first ever promotion for the club, so maybe the consequences of this fixture were almost as important as late 1962 after all!
Saturday 11 January 1964
Football League Division Two
Sunderland 4 (Crossan 4’, 50’, Herd 34’, Sharkey 80’)
Bury 1 (Jones 13’)
Sunderland: Montgomery; Irwin, Ashurst; Harvey, Hurley, McNab; Usher, Herd, Sharkey, Crossan, Mulhall.
Roker Park, attendance 36 962
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