Friendly Kennington Oval
Sunderland 3 Campbell (2) Smith
London Casuals 1
Sunderland: Kirtley, Porteous, Oliver, Stevenson, Auld, Gibson, Harvey, Smith, Campbell, Hannah D, McLaughlan
We believe that this was Sunderland’s first-ever game in London.
Rather than a group of Burberry-clad spotty youths, the London Casuals were one of the country’s leading amateur sides, and an invitation to play a friendly at one of their larger regular grounds showed that our reputation was growing.
Plus, we were a big enough draw to guarantee a good gate (you didn’t believe that amateur sides never bothered about the folding stuff, did you?).
League Cup Upton Park
Sunderland 1 (0) Gabbiadini 74
West Ham 2 (1) Kelly 43 Dickens 59
Sunderland: Hesford, Gray, Agboola, Ord, MacPhail, Doyle (Lemon), Owers, Armstrong, Gates, Gabbiadini, Pascoe (Ogilvie)
Attendance: 10,558
By the time Marco scored, we were already 5-0 down on aggregate over the two legs.
Gary Ogilvie made his first-team debut when he came on for Pascoe, the first of three appearances for us; all as substitute, all away from home, never on the winning side...
League Cup Selhurst Park
Sunderland 2 (0) Dichio 67, Ball 120
Wimbledon 3 (0) Cort 69, 104, 111
Sunderland: Marriott, Makin, Gray, Roy (McCann), Williams, Butler P, Summerbee, Rae (Ball), Dichio, Fredgaard, Oster (Reddy) (subs not used: Sorensen, Duke)
Attendance: 5,061
Right, so we’re third in the Premier League, six wins on the trot, and a winning team is coming together.
A League Cup tie midweek shouldn’t be too much of a problem, as it’s been ten days since our last League game and the next one is the following Monday night. So, would you keep the first team together, or change a winning side?
Yes, six changes from the team that humped Bradford City 4-0, and we went out to a hat-trick from mag-to-be Carl Cort (small consolation that we may have inadvertently increased his transfer fee).
This wasn’t the infamous Ben Thatcher assault game, incidentally; that was the League game next January.
Michael Reddy made his first-team debut on this night.