Matchday Memories: On This Day 1982 – Sexton’s Sky Blues Stick Six Past Sunderland!
On this day (27th April) in 1982, as CCFC had five games left to play (four in May), and in this first game of the quintet our opponents Sunderland were hit for SIX at Highfield Road.
The Sky Blues’ finishing was deadly and they could have had nine! This was an amazing scoreline considering neither team had managed to score in the fixture at Roker Park back in early October!
Dave Sexton‘s Sky Blues ran riot as 11,282 watched CCFPA member Gary Gillespie get the opener after 23 minutes in what became the Sky Blues biggest win since 1963!
Association member Garry Thompson got a brace with a goal in each half (36 and 54 minutes) and fairly recent CCFPA recruit, centre forward Mark Hateley also ‘did the double’ (75 and 88 minutes). The Sky Blues Gerry Francis, who ran the game, got a deserved goal after 69 minutes sandwiched between Garry and Mark’s efforts.
The Rokerites Stan Cummins got their consolation five minutes before the break. The referee was Mr Roger Milford.
Full details of the two teams are displayed in the graphic (right). We are pleased to say that eight out of the eleven Sky Blues players that day went on to join this Association. The exceptions are the late Les Sealey, Steve Whitton and Gerry Francis.
The Sky Blues finished fourteenth in Division One in 1981-82 whilst the Mackems just survived in nineteenth spot only a place (but two points above the drop). The doomed trio was Leeds United, CCFC’s near neighbours Wolverhampton Wanderers and bottom club Middlesbrough.
Liverpool took the title by four points from runners up Ipswich Town.
Thanks to former CCFPA committee member Dean Nelson for the news, graphics and team pics!
