CITY 0 SUNDERLAND 4
League Division 1
20th August 1980
Attendance 33,271
Scorers Hawley(46, 53 & 90), Cummins(11)
Ref Malcolm Scott
City Corrigan, Reid, Stepanovic, Booth, Power, Caton, Henry, Daley, Sugrue, Tueart, Reeves – sub Palmer(unused)
Sunderland Turner, Whitworth, Bolton, Allardyce, Elliott, Hindmarch, Chisholm, Buckley, Hawley, Brown, Cummins – sub used Robson(89)
FROM AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE CITY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 1996
“Mr Allison clearly faces another difficult season,” was the opinion of one scribe after the opening-day defeat at Southampton in 1980. ‘
… One of the final straws was our first home game, which brought Sunderland to Maine Road. Surely, not even in their wildest Broon Ale-fuelled dreams could the band of Roker supporters who travelled south have expected that a 4-0 win was on the cards.
The press verdict? “City were given a lesson by a team of willing workers who were strong in defence and knew how to snap up chances.”
The player the Blues back-four never got to grips with was a striker called John Hawley an ex-Leeds United player who terrified our defence, I use the word loosely, throughout the second half.
Encouraged by an 11th minute goal from his team-mate Stan Cummins, John ran rampant after the break unfettered by the attentions, another loose word, of Tommy Booth and Dragoslav Stepanovic
That old creaky favourite (when not played by Arsenal) the offside trap failed utterly to allow Cummins to step in and establish a lead and the scene was set for an early-season debacle.
Steppy ensured that Sunderland could make further progress by chopping down Shaun Elliott after Nicky Reid had allowed the Sunderland player to float past him. Hawley’s first was the resultant penalty. ln the 52nd minute, Hawley scored his second, a drive from just inside the box which hit the net despite Steppy’s best attempts to make up for the penalty award.
In the final minute Hawley’s hat trick was completed as he drifted past Steppy, who else? and Tommy Booth to tuck the ball away.
That early-season form? “l am a bit concerned about it,” was Allison’s comment. Only a bit, Malcolm?
