Sunderland 1973 captain Bobby Kerr talks about the day he lifted the FA Cup

But the SAFC captain in 1973 told the Sunderland Echo: “I was back on my feet in pretty quick time.”

We caught up with the battling midfielder as we continued our reflection on one of the most famous days in Black Cats history.

"It was exciting,” said Bobby. “Now, you can look at it in a lot better way than we did when we were getting off the coach, going in to Wembley and getting on the pitch.”

‘Once we got in the dressing room, it was fine’

It was nerve-wracking but Bobby added: “Once we got into the dressing room, it was fine. We talked about football and got all that sorted out.”

Ninety minutes of pulsating action followed before Sunderland collected the trophy. They had beaten Leeds United in true giant killing style.

As to the match itself, he said: “I remember it but I was quite happy to see the end of it.”

The tension of the match grew to a crescendo as the final seconds ticked away.

‘I asked how long ref. He said ‘you’ve won it’

Bobby said: “I was standing close to the referee and I said ‘how long ref’. He said to me ‘you’ve won’ and he blew the whistle.

"From then onwards, it has never changed,” said Bobby as he reflected on the sheer enormity and emotion of Sunderland’s achievement.

"People are still talking about it 50 years later. They are still rabbiting on about it!”

Then came the moment when Bobby Kerr led the players up the Wembley steps to lift the Cup.

‘I fell and slipped down the Wembley steps’

"It was magic getting it. You walk along and it was a wooden-built walkway where you collected the trophy.

"But then you turn to go back down, you are on stairs and it was concrete.

"You will see me disappearing because I fell and slipped down the step – but I got up quick enough! You could hear the banging of the cup hitting the concrete.”

You can catch up on Bobby’s interview – as well as the memories of many other fans in the Echo’s new film tribute to 1973 called Reliving The Fairytale.