On This Day (1st May 1974): Sunderland spoil the Hatters' parade!

01/05/2024 07:00

With Luton promoted and looking to party at Kenilworth Road in their last game of the season, this should have been a dead rubber — it was anything but as Sunderland served notice for the following season.

Sunderland went into this season (1973/74) as just about everyone's favourites for promotion following their thrilling FA Cup win and excellent form in the league for two-thirds of the previous season.

The cup-winning side only played together twice that season as an injury to Richie Pitt in the corresponding home defeat against Luton proved career-ending. Before the end of the season, Dennis Tueart and Mickey Horswill had left for Man City.

There were some surprise packages in Division Two this season as Orient, Blackpool, Luton, and Carlisle battled with Sunderland, Forest, and Jack Charlton's run-away leaders Middlesbrough for promotion.

Sunderland came into this game following two victories at Aston Villa and at home to Blackpool. The damage to our promotion campaign was done and had been conducted over a disastrous Easter programme which started so well in a thrilling 2-1 home victory against Carlisle in front of a near 35,000 crowd at Roker Park. The next day we dropped the baton at home to Bristol City, as we did everything but score in a 1-2 reverse.

Following the Bristol reverse, I was one of many fans who packed into Brunton Park for the return against our "uppity" neighbors in the West a couple of days later. This was a tight but good game, spoiled by a very debatable penalty decision that saw the points go to Carlisle. The foul looked well outside the box in real-time. Had that game ended 0-0, we would have been promoted in front of Carlisle, where is VAR when you really need it?

For our very last game of this campaign, manager Bob Stokoe bought Jackie Ashurst into midfield for the suspended Ian Porterfield in the only change to the team that had beaten Blackpool at Roker Park the previous weekend.

Sunderland formed a guard of honor as the Division One-bound Hatters took the field; it must have been a bit of a choker for the players having gone so close themselves, but it might have served as motivation for what was to come!

Kenilworth Road was jammed to its rafters as 20,000+ fans squeezed in for a promotion party. But things did not quite pan out as the Hatters fans hoped.

Within three minutes, Billy Hughes controlled a long kick from Jimmy Montgomery and blitzed a rising right-foot drive just inside the far post for Sunderland to take an early but deserved lead.

The game see-sawed back and forth as both teams seemed intent on attack. On eighteen minutes, despite the close attention of Dick Malone, Jimmy Husband got his head to a John Ryan cross planting it just out of Monty's reach to level the game.

A well-worked move saw captain for the night Vic Halom crack a great shot from the edge of the box that rebounded to safety off Hatters keeper Horn's shins, with him not knowing too much about it.

On twenty-six minutes, Tony Towers, (who had joined the club for a £125,000 in March from Man City as Horswill and Tueart went the other way) met a Bobby Kerr corner at the edge of the box and struck a venomous drive that lifted the net pegs to put us two - one up.

Once again, Luton came back on thirty-one minutes, as Alan West (who had almost joined Sunderland from Burnley in 1973, a deal which fell through on medical grounds), sent over a cross that Peter Anderson volleyed into the roof of our net to level the game at two-two.

Back came Sunderland, two minutes after conceding with a brilliantly worked goal that saw Hughes and Halom exchange passes to set up Jackie Ashurst lurking just outside the box. The lanky youngster never needed an invitation to shoot as he struck a powerful left-foot shot that moved neither up nor down as it smashed into the net.

It might have been tempting for Luton to try to get into half-time without any more damage being done, but to their credit, they came back again and just before the break, Alan West again sent in a teasing cross that Barry Butlin just got his head to, deflecting it past Monty's outstretched hand.

What a first half of football, three-three, and to be fair, every one of Sunderland's goals had been quality.

The second half was a much tighter affair, with Luton setting the pace initially. Monty' had to make saves from Hindson and Husband and Butlin headed just wide when it might have been easier to score.

Sunderland came back again as Hughes had another rising drive just tipped over the bar by Horn on seventy-two minutes.

Then on seventy-eight minutes, a well-worked passage of play saw Bobby Kerr driving in from the right wing and dispatching a hard low cross into the Luton six-yard box. Arriving with pace and force, Vic Halom side-footed in from close range to put us four-three up on the night.

Luton tried to come back again and forced a fantastic reflex save out of Monty' before the referee blew for full-time.

The result did not spoil the party for the Hatters fans who spilled onto the pitch in celebration of their promotion. But Sunderland had served notice that come 1974/75 they would be back and ready for another tilt at promotion.

Division Two — 01/05/1974 — Luton 3 - 4 Sunderland

Luton: Horn, John Ryan, Thomson, Anderson, Faulkner, Garner, Jim Ryan, Husband, Butlin, West, Hudson. Sunderland: Montgomery, Malone, Guthrie, Watson, Belfitt, Longhorn, Ashurst, Towers, Kerr, Hughes, Halom. Sub: Bolton

Scorers - Hughes 3 mins, Husband 18 mins, Towers 26 mins, Anderson 31 mins, Ashurst 33 mins, Butlin 41 mins, Halom 78 mins. Attendance: 20,285