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Bob Stokoe, manager of Sunderland FC, Cup Finalists. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images
With the Sunderland team on course for promotion to Division One in the league, FA Cup fever was building amongst fans as memories of 1973 were flooding back to them on the eve of reaching the quarter-final stage against Crystal Palace.
Stokoe’s team had been somewhat fortunate with the draws they got up until this point in the cup where they overcame Oldham and Hull City respectively in the third and fourth round before the fifth round became a little more tricky as Stoke City arrived at Roker Park.
This game finished 0–0 meaning that a replay was needed four days later to decide which of the teams would make the quarter-final. According to news articles from around the time of the game in 1976, some fans queued up from 4am to ensure they got their hands on a ticket for the away game at Stoke.
“The queues stretched for hundreds of yards at all selling points and they included whole families, and women with babies in arms.”
At 9am, 1000 extra tickets were returned from Stoke for away fans and according to one witness, ‘the scenes at the ground were like the last 30 minutes before the kick-off of a big game, such was the excitement and eagerness to be part of what could have been another memorable cup run.’
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The fans who got tickets would have felt justified for their patience as we secured a 1–2 victory through goals from Mel Holden and Bryan Robson helped us on our way.
If the FA Cup fever was building for the Stoke game, it was nearing pandemonium for the quarter-final as 50,850 fans turned up at Roker Park for the quarter-final game. Described as ‘tense and vociferous’ by one Crystal Palace-leaning journalist, the article describes how Sunderland dominated proceedings against a Palace side who were actually in Division Three at this time.
Another report suggested that we threw the kitchen sink at the away side but chances were going astray as Ian Evans – who would later become Mick McCarthy’s assistant at Sunderland – put in a magnificent display.
Fourteen minutes from time, Peter Taylor picked up the ball at the halfway line and toyed and teased with Joe Bolton and Bobby Moncur in the Sunderland defence before putting in a dangerous cross which found Alan Whittle who took one touch to control the ball – and another to hammer it into the back of the net.
Roker Park was silenced and it was the away side who would hold on for a famous victory against the champions of this competition only three years previous. As Palace fans left Roker that day, they were in a delirious mood singing “Roker roar is no more – Palace showed them how to score!” which further emphasised the magnitude of their victory.
It was back to the league for Stokoe’s men who initially appeared to hit a wobble after this defeat as they went three without a win before regaining their composure and beating Bristol City to the Division Two title.
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