On This Day (3rd December 1988): John MacPhail enters the drawing competition!
Yesterday at 01:00 AM
Sunderland had something of a reputation as draw specialists in the late 1980s, and the visit of Watford to Roker Park saw the trend continue for Denis Smith's men
Sometimes a hard-fought or unexpected draw can be just what a team needs, whereas on other occasions they tell us little and are used as evidence by both the 'happy clappers' and the doom-mongers that they're right to be optimistic or pessimistic in equal measure.
Over the years, there have been fierce debates during the reigns of Mick Buxton, Gus Poyet and Jack Ross regarding the merit of a point within the wider context of the direction of the team.
Of course, our current team has just undergone a run of draws that divided opinion, leaving no real consensus as to whether the side should be credited for being 'hard to beat' or criticised for lacking the edge needed to turn one point into three.
This was also a regular topic of conversation in 1988/1989, when a 1-1 scoreline became a recurring theme under then-manager Denis Smith.
By this point in the campaign, there had been six such instances already- three of which had come in the last four league matches.
People could at least agree that they were more satisfactory than the heavy loss at Brighton and Hove Albion that ended the sequence, but anybody predicting the outcome of the next game, at home to Watford thirty six years ago today, had another omen to factor in: that last time the team had played on 3 December was against Ipswich Town in 1983, when…you guessed it, the clash finished a goal apiece.
Eric Gates, who'd given the Tractor Boys the lead in that fixture, was named on the bench by Smith, having recovered from a dead leg ahead of the Hornets' visit.
Billy Whitehurst also passed a late fitness test following a bout of flu but despite his chaotic presence, this was at points a drab affair. Sunderland-born Gary Porter, who when returning home in the coming years would so often be ruefully viewed as 'the one that got away', looked promising as the visitors shaded matters, yet goalmouth action was often at a premium.
Colin Pascoe tried his luck from twenty five yards in the fortieth minute, and whilst this was the first time the hosts had even managed to get a shot on target, it required nothing more than a routine save from Tony Coton.
As if that wasn't frustrating enough, by the time the first half had ended, Steve Harrison's side were ahead courtesy of Tim Sherwood, who got to the ball a fraction ahead of Reuben Agboola and forced it home from a corner.
Things did liven up thereafter as Smith encouraged a rally, and even though the resulting equaliser felt justified given the chances being created, it admittedly came in controversial circumstances, with John MacPhail stroking home a spot kick after Kenny Jackett had been harshly penalised for a push as he and Pascoe battled to reach a long ball through the middle.
Watford then had their own claims for penalty waved away as Dave Bamber fell in the area, and shortly afterwards, the big forward was denied a goal from a wonderful long-range strike by a flying Iain Hesford stop.
However, it wasn't to be Bamber's last involvement, and with just over ten minutes left, he was rightly adjudged to have been guilty of handball when Gordon Armstrong attempted to go past him in the box.
The incident was much more clear cut that the two previous penalty shouts, yet MacPhail was unable to take advantage as Coton got down to his left to produce a fine save.
The keeper, who'd also saved a penalty against Sunderland on his senior debut for Birmingham City at the start of the decade, would later move to the club but due to injuries was unable to show what he was truly capable of in a Sunderland shirt.
Usually so good from the spot, even MacPhail had been unable to end the run of stalemates as the Lads chalked up their sixth home draw so far.
In isolation, finishing all square with the current Division Two leaders was no bad thing, and with the benefit of hindsight, the number of occasions on which things ended honours even for the squad that season- seventeen including cup games- summed things up well for a group establishing itself in the second tier.
The pattern of frequent draws also continued in 1989/1990, with nineteen across all competitions, albeit these proved invaluable in an ultimately successful promotion chase as they were often from matches that would've otherwise been lost, and went alongside a more visible cutting edge in other games – as Watford themselves found out.
Saturday 3 December 1988
Barclays League Division Two
Roker Park
Attendance: 16,330
Sunderland 1 (MacPhail (pen) 60')
Watford 1 (Sherwood 43')
Sunderland: Hesford, Gray, Bennett; MacPhail, Agboola, Owers; Doyle, Armstrong, Gabbiadini; Whitehurst, Pascoe
Subs Not Used: Ord, Gates
