Sunderland 1973: Your memories of the day Roker Park roared and Manchester City fell to Stokoe's heroes

Sunderland earned an FA Cup 5th round replay against Manchester City in 1973 and Roker Park was ready.

More than 50,00 fans watched as Sunderland took the game to their opponents, a team which had the likes of Rodney Marsh, Francis Lee, Colin Bell and Joe Corrigan in it.

We wanted your memories and scores of you got in touch with the Sunderland Echo.

Paddy Mallan was 17 at the time and on leave from the Royal Navy for four days.

‘The noise was incredible’

"What a night,” he said. “I was with my Grandad who got us seats in the Clock Stand. This was luxury as we normally stood at the Roker End.“Not only was the match memorable, but the noise was incredible. More so because I had never ever heard any co-ordinated chanting or singing from the Clock Stand.”

"But on that night the whole stand was rocking. With it being a wooden stand I genuinely thought it was going to collapse with the synchronised stamping and clapping.“What a memorable night. I was also fortunate to be at Wembley for the final through the 800 additional green ‘K’ stubs that were made available. I had to stand outside Roker Park for 20 hours to buy my £1 ticket.”

‘Vic Halom thumped the ball from the right hand corner of the penalty box’

Derek Dixon said the atmosphere was ‘electric’.

‘The only distinct memory of the evening, watching from our usual spot in the Roker End, was seeing Vic Halom thumping the ball from the right hand corner of the penalty box into the net. The rest is a blur, probably due to the atmosphere generated in the crowd and the raptures because of a convincing performance.’

Edwin Grenfell described the night beautifully.

‘Both sides of the ground seemed to be visibly moving’

"I remember the home match, in the Fulwell End, the noise truly was incredible. Both sides of the ground seemed to be visibly moving in and out, like a set of bellows pumping up the volume.”

We shared the post on our Wearside Echoes nostalgia page on Facebook. More than 3,000 people saw it and Stan Craig, who was at the match, said it was ‘unforgettable’.

We have had a phenomenal response to requests for memories of 1973.

‘Best game I have ever attended’

Since the start of the year, you have shared all of this;

Jim Wales said the City replay was "the best game I have ever attended”.

‘Great goals, non-stop action, a fantastic atmosphere and the right result. Although City was a top team at the time we fully deserved to beat them. Now I began to think of Wembley’.

George Ford amassed 40 pages of scrapbook memories, all about 1973.

Reflecting on Wembley, he said: “It felt like the whole of Sunderland was there and as if we all knew each other. All smiling and cheering.

Simon Moss remembered the ‘crush for tickets’ from fans wanting to grab their spot for the 5th round replay.

He recalled the misty night when ‘we watched the H-bombs (Halom and Hughes) destroy City’.

Next up, we want memories of the 6th round against Luton Town. Get in touch by emailing [email protected]