30 years on: The inside track on the play-off final that saw Sunderland promoted despite defeat

The Black Cats, managed by Denis Smith, squeezed into the second division play-off places in sixth place courtesy of a strong end to the campaign. There, in the semi-finals, they would meet Newcastle United - with a place in the top flight potentially just three games away.

The ‘G Force’ pairing of Marco Gabbiadini and Eric Gates had been terrorising defences all season - and it was the club’s feared attacking duo who ensured it would be Sunderland heading to the Twin Towers.

After a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Roker Park - a game remembered for Paul Hardyman’s late penalty miss and subsequent dismissal for some afters with Newcastle stopper John Burridge - Gabbiadini and Gates did the business at St James’s Park.

The odds were completely against us,” recalls captain Gary Bennett.

“Newcastle fans thought we’d be dominated.

“But as a team we played well and we had the G Force - Gates and Gabbiaidini - who just terrorised defences all season.

“They won us the game.”

Gates struck first, pouncing on John McPhail’s cut-back to stab past Burridge.

There was pandemonium in the open air away end.

“On the night, the first goal was big,” adds midfield general Gordon Armstrong.

“Gatesy got that, and then Gabbers played a one-two with Eric and got the second.”

That second came with just minutes left on the clock, Gabbiadini sliding home in front of the jubilant travelling fans.

But those celebrations were cut short as Newcastle fans spilled onto the pitch from the Gallowgate end, halting play.

They wouldn’t stop Sunderland’s march to Wembley, though, as the Black Cats headed to the capital to take on Swindon on May 28, 1990.

For Bennett, who led the side out in front of a crowd of over 72,000, it was special day for more than one reason.

“People always say I was the first black captain to lead out a league club at Wembley. I’m not sure whether it’s true or not, but leading Sunderland out was a fantastic honour and nobody can take that moment away from me.”

Sunderland were confident of reclaiming a place in the top tier. They had already beaten Swindon during the regular season and were considered favourites in many quarters - but the Robins had other ideas.

Managed by Argentine Ossie Ardilles, Swindon implemented a brand of fluid football that Sunderland couldn’t cope with.

“They completely bamboozled us,” says Armstrong.

“To be fair to them, they should have won more comfortably. If it wasn’t for Tony Norman, they would have."

It was Bennett who ultimately helped beat the imperious Norman, and hand the Robins victory, as he inadvertently deflected Alan McLoughlin’s strike past the Welsh shot-stopper.

It was the least Swindon deserved.

Things could have been different, though. Twice in the early stages did Sunderland come close – first a Gates cross was inches away from being turned home by Gabbiadini, before the same man fired wide from inside the area.

It was soon the Robins who settled into their rhythm, and they began to boss the game.

Steve White twice sent efforts narrowly over the bar from the edge of the area, before seeing his shot from a tight angle trickle along the line before being hacked away to safety by Bennett.

The pressure eventually told with 25 minutes on the clock, with McLaughlin’s strike proving decisive. Indeed, had it not been for stopper Tony Norman – who made a string of spectacular saves to keep out Swindon, and in particular the lively White – Sunderland could have been faced with a bigger margin of defeat.

“We didn’t turn up,” adds Bennett.

“We never got going. They played three at the back and we couldn’t deal with their system.

“We were lucky to be beaten 1-0.”

There were few complaints on the day, with the Black Cats completely overawed.

“They deserved to win,” admits Armstrong.

“But suddenly, everything changed.”

Weeks later, after an extended Football League investigation, Swindon were denied promotion after being found guilty of a number of financial irregularities.

Sunderland, therefore, would take their place in the top flight - not Newcastle, who had finished third that season.

The Black Cats we’re back in the big time, albeit by unconventional means.