On This Day (13th February 2021): Charlie Wyke scores four headers against Doncaster!
02/13/2025 02:00 AM
One of Sunderland's most prolific strikers of the modern era headed four past Doncaster in one game to secure the points for The Lads at the Stadium of Light!
In an empty, eerie and icy Stadium of Light, Charlie Wyke completed something that has surely rarely happened to anyone as a Sunderland player when he scored four headers against Doncaster Rovers.
With Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in charge of the club and Lee Johnson in charge of the team, there were green shoots of improvement on Wearside where Wyke was continuing to hit the back of the net, aided by the returning Aiden McGeady who had been cut adrift by former manager Phil Parkinson.
Johnson's intent on playing attacking football suited the team and fans who were still watching from their homes due to the pandemic could feel more excited about the prospects of the team in comparison to the previous regime.
Doncaster right back Brad Halliday must have had nightmares about this game as from the very outset McGeady was running riot with his trickery, crossing and close control. It didn't take long for the first goal to arrive either with the first arriving in the seventh minute when McGeady's corner arrived in the area for Wyke to nod down and find Ellery Balcombe's bottom right corner.
Five minutes later it was two. This time McGeady got beyond his marker to cross for Wyke to again head in, and with 31 minutes on the clock the same combination produced the third.
This time McGeady cut back, did a little trick and centred for former Bradford striker Wyke to claim his 20th goal of the campaign.
Sunderland were utterly dominant and the chances of more goals were very likely. In fact, it could have been more before half time even with McGeady and Lynden Gooch having chances to add to the lead before the break.
The half time whistle appeared to take the rhythm out of the team's game with the second half performance a little more disjointed and error-ridden. In a moment of misfortune for Lee Burge, he helped Taylor Richards' effort that hit the post over the line seven minutes after the break when it ricocheted off him and in.
Hopes of a Doncaster comeback were swiftly dissipated when Wyke headed in goal number four less than a minute later with the help of the Irish Wizard again. From this point onwards, the game got scrappy and with Johnson making changes the flow was completely lost from Sunderland's play.
This scrappiness resulted in two penalties being awarded to Doncaster though Burge miraculously saved both of them with the second being a horrendous effort from Jason Lokilo.
This win moved Sunderland into the top six for the first time in quite a while and fans had every right to feel excited about the way things were going under their new owner and head coach.
Johnson's style of football was winning many plaudits from the fans but the question still remained as to whether the defensive side of the game would be able to keep going until the end of the season.
