On This Day (8 Jan 1966): Moore and Elliott stake a claim in Old Trafford cracker!

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With a raft of stars injured, Sunderland looked like lambs to the Red Devils' slaughter, but it didn't pan out that way, as Kelvin Beattie delves into the archives

Our second season back in Division One, with Ian McColl at the helm, hadn't quite gone to plan.

Our home form had led to a couple of shocking defeats, the most recent being a 1-5 hammering from West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day. We'd given our illustrious opponents on this day a good game at Roker Park in December in a 3-2 defeat, but had played them with our full squad, comprising the likes of Charlie Hurley, Jim Baxter, and Neil Martin.

We were coming off a 2-0 home win against Newcastle, with goals from George Herd and John O'Hare, but the squad had been decimated by illness and injury and our thirteen fit senior players had all travelled to Old Trafford, with Hurley, Baxter, Martin and John Parke noticeable absentees.

The defence was forced into a major reshuffle, with Jimmy McNab at centre half, Tantobie's Dave Elliott at half back and Cec Irwin at right back.

Nick Sharkey was fit again and took a place on the bench, with Mike Hellawell coming in on the right wing, and the team that took the field had eight players who'd come up through our youth system.

For Manchester United, there were no such difficulties.

The return of Bobby Charlton to the line up following a midweek training injury with England was an unexpected bonus for United, but not such good news for us. John Aston replaced Terry Connelly on the left wing, giving the Red Devils great pace down both flanks, with George Best named on the right wing.

With the crowd approaching 40,000 and United pushing for the title, the majority expected a comfortable United victory. Writing in The Journal, Alf Greenly noted that 'Sunderland had bought a number of fans who were all in good voice'.

Herd and Irwin combined well to relieve some early United pressure, as Aston looked to make a quick impression, but Herd found himself forced back into mainly defensive duties for most of the half as the Red Devils looked to turn the screw.

David Herd then combined brilliantly with Best to put him in on goal, but Jimmy Montgomery was out in a flash to just beat him to the ball.

Montgomery had been in fine form since returning from his ankle break in early October 1965 and would have a fine match, with two very special saves in the first half that prevented Best from scoring a hat trick inside fifteen minutes.

As it was, he couldn't prevent Best from finishing off a very good move, started by full back Tony Dunne on eight minutes as he raided down the right flank. Leaving Len Ashurst in no-mans-land, he played a delightful one-two with Best, who flashed a shot past Monty that nestled in the corner of the net for United to take the lead.

Sunderland were being pinned back and under a lot of pressure, but McNab appeared to be relishing the challenge, with Harvey and Elliott joining him in having very fine first half performances.

The United fans howled for penalties on no less than three occasions in the first half.

One of these looked a good shout, as McNab appeared to scoop the ball away with his hand, but with the referee in very close attendance, no award was made. The other two penalty shouts saw the referee unmoved at what Greenly called 'histrionics' as Herd then Denis Law were adjudged to have dived!

Law and Best were lucky to go unpunished by the referee as both raised their fists in retaliation for strong but fair challenges on them, from Elliott (on Law) and then Moore (on Best). Nobby Stiles also left a characteristic foot in on Montgomery, which referee Denis Corbett, despite having a good view, chose to ignore.

Having resisted almost incessant pressure for most of the first half, Sunderland broke out and almost snatched an equaliser not once but twice, just before half time.

Herd's vicious shot was deflected by United goalkeeper Harry Gregg and then eventually cleared by Law. Almost immediately, strapping young centre forward Gary Moore blasted a shot goalwards that Gregg saved at full stretch.

Sedgefield-born Moore went on to have a very good ninety minutes, displaying stamina, strength and skill against a very experienced United defence.

Whilst in the main it had been one-way traffic in the first half, Sunderland got to grips with Aston and Best in the second half, and also managed to get Hellawell and Mulhall into the game.

It was a much more even second half, with the Lads coming close to an equaliser a couple of times before eventually tying up the game, and when the goal did come, it was a cracker.

On sixty two minutes, Herd carried the ball well out of defence and found Moore in acres of space on the right wing. He charged forward and fired a wicked low cross into the box that Bill Foulkes could only balloon up into the air.

Moore hadn't stopped running and despite being sandwiched between two United defenders, he managed to get his head to the ball, steering it to the far post where O'Hare reacted instantly, diving full length to deflect the ball past Gregg.

A ding dong game ensued after the equaliser, with both teams holding sway for periods and going close. Sunderland produced a performance that was full of energy and enthusiasm, 'playing their hearts out to earn a point', as Greenly would write in The Journal.

Moore, Herd and O'Hare played very well in attack; McNab and Elliott played excellently throughout, with Elliott unwilling to be intimidated by the mercurial talent of Law. Montgomery also deserves a special mention for some fine saves and quick work coming off his line.

The result left United in fourth position with leaders Liverpool eight points in front of them, whilst Sunderland moved up a place to fifteenth.

Sadly, our season wouldn't get that much better and after a five-game losing run during February, we would finish a disappointing nineteenth in Division One, three points above the drop zone!

Moore who played so well this day, would only make a total of fourteen appearances for Sunderland, scoring two goals over a five-year period.

He did go on to have a more than useful career in the lower divisions, particularly with Southend United, for whom he scored forty-six goals in one hundred and sixty four games. He also scored for Chester City in the League Cup semi-final against Aston Villa in 1975, before retiring through injury in 1978.

Elliott like Moore, certainly staked a claim for a regular start in this game, but he played left half, the preferred position of Baxter.

He would play thirty five games over a three-year period from his debut in February 1964, before transferring to Newcastle and then fairly quickly on to Southend United, where he played with Moore, appearing in one hundred and ninety games for the Shrimpers.

Division One

8 January 1966

Old Trafford

Attendance: 39,162

Manchester United 1 (Best 8')

Sunderland 1 (O'Hare 62')

Manchester United: Gregg, Dunne, Cantwell; Crerand, Foulkes, Stiles; Best, Law, Charlton; D. Herd, Aston

Sub: Sadler

Sunderland: Montgomery, Irwin, Ashurst; Harvey, McNab, Elliott; Hellawell, G. Herd, Moore; O'Hare, Mulhall

Sub: Sharkey