To the consternation of the football world and Tyneside in particular Newcastle were beaten by Sunderland at St James Park by the sensational score of 9 goals to 1. This ranks as the heaviest defeat suffered by any team since the league began and it was certainly the most humiliating that has ever been inflicted on Newcastle in their career. United entered the arena fresh from their victory over Nottingham Forest and must have been further inspired by also having overcome Notts County, conquerors of Sunderland the previous week.

The action was so spirited and fleet footed that the greasy surface obviously did not handicap to the players to any extent. To the practised athletes eye there was a striking disparity in the stature and weight of the opposing teams. These are admirable qualities in a titanic struggle in which players are encouraged to conquer by sheer force of athletic prowess. The old maxim that “good big uns” are always better than “good little uns” was once more proved true. Sunderland were inches taller and pounds heavier than Newcastle

In addition to this advantage they were faster and their heavy weight combined with their better speed soon told the inevitable tale on Newcastle’s lighter men. Yet it was gratifying to note the courage and skill shown by Whitsun in repelling such well developed and experienced players as Bridgett and Holley who tip the scales at 12 stones 13lbs and 12 stones 2 lbs respectively. As Whitsun is only 9 stones 11lbs it was no wonder he cracked under the heavy charging of his adversaries. And the moment Whitsun capitulated United’s entire combination fell to pieces like the proverbial pack of cards.

The stability that had marked United’s defence in the 1st half inexplicably disappeared for Pudan was no match for such resolute opposition. He had neither the speed nor the strength to hold Mordue and Hogg while his kicking lacked length and direction. Despite their physical disabilities Newcastle took an equal share of the honours until the injury that crippled Whitsun in the 55th minute. He was a virtual passenger during the spell when 4 Sunderland goals were scored and he ultimately retired.

Liddell stood up to a severe gruelling gallantly as nearly all the heavy defensive work fell on the shoulders of Whitsun, Veitch and Willis. This trio did everything that was possible to halt Sunderland in order to counterbalance the shortcomings in weight and pace of their team. The efforts of Duncan and Higgins did not suggest that they are of the same calibre as Rutherford and Howie. Shepherd, Wilson and Gosnell showed excellent form but they could not get past the ubiquitous Roker full backs.

Lawrence deserves sympathy at his galling experience between the sticks of a routed team. To be beaten 9 times in one game is a fearful blot on the reputation of a custodian of such repute. Sunderland performance was robust but mainly sportsmanlike in character. They made the best use of their natural advantage in height and weight and the fouls they committed were primarily due to the terrific speed at which their attacks moved. There were however a few notable exceptions when Liddell and Shepherd were injured. 

Shepherd was to the fore in the early stages and foiled Brown in midfield to create an opening for Duncan. He raced away on the right to whip in a centre that Gosnell just failed to get his head to. But the first time Sunderland attacked after 9 minutes saw the Newcastle defence swept aside. Lawrence rushed out but was beaten in a race for the ball by Hogg who fired into the empty net to the accompaniment of a tremendous roar of enthusiasm from the vast crowd.

Good work by Veitch and Shepherd created an opening for the centre forward but his tremendous drive sailed wide. A minute later and Lawrence was saving brilliantly from Holley while Brown ingloriously volleyed wide when Bridgett found him in a good position. Liddell came within an ace of scoring with a bouncing ball that took Roose by surprise and then roughness began to intrude unpleasantly in what was promising to be a magnificent exhibition of football under difficult conditions.

Things got vicious and matters had by no means reached their climax when the referee cautioned Thomson for his treatment of Shepherd.  The warning had an excellent effect on Thomson for he played a brilliant and perfectly gentlemanly game in the subsequent stages. Liddell needed attention after Milton had used his weight unsparingly and Brown lost no time in retaliation on Veitch after he was bowled over in midfield. Gosnell continued to do useful work and corner after corner was forced as a result of the wingers efforts. Yet Foster, Milton and Thomson were always equal to the efforts of the dashing Shepherd. He raced onto a pass from Wilson and after beating Milton forced Roose to move smartly to clear. Willis was doing useful work in attack and defence and just for a while the Sunderland defence seemed to teeter towards the same type of collapse that so sensationally affected the Newcastle defence in the 2nd half. Daykin handled hot headedly a couple of yards outside the penalty area but Willis drove the free kick straight at Roose.

Sunderland swept forward again and Hogg masterfully created an opening for but then hesitated and passed out to Bridgett who found Lawrence waiting. Hogg had only himself to blame his failure right in front of the United goal after he had beaten Pudan clean as a whistle. He took too long to steady himself and Willis gave him no quarter. Then came the Shepherd-Thomson incident that left Shepherd with a damaged thigh. With the centre forward limping Newcastle seemed as far away as ever from an equaliser. The smart little moves of Duncan and Higgins usually ended nowhere and an unusual number of hard knocks were beginning to tell on an already shaky United halfback line. Rather than an equaliser, further success for Sunderland seemed likely. Yet the unexpected happened when Thomson in turning to meet a threat from Higgins handled. Despite the circumstances of the incident which suggested the doubtful nature of the offence it was penalised to the full extent.

Shepherd scored with the penalty kick a couple of minutes before the interval and Sunderland’s lead evaporated at a time when they seemed more likely to increase it. It had been a really sparkling 1st half, full of pace, incident and  spirit with the traditions of the fixture likely to be enhanced by a game that was also pleasing from a purely football point of view. The crowd expected a battle royal in the 2nd half and were hardly prepared for the extraordinary events that brought disillusionment.

A brilliant centre saw Duncan battling away at the foot of the upright for an equaliser and only the pluck and brilliance of Roose kept him out. There was still room for optimism as Willis had a powerful drive charged down and it was not until a few minutes later when Sunderland recommenced battering away at the Newcastle door that the plight of the Tynesiders became evident. Their defence was hopelessly beaten, the wing halves were being outpaced and with Whitsun limping badly after being hurt in a melee Pudan was overburdened with work.

Sheer weakness in the United defence brought Sunderland’s 3rd goal. Mordue easily avoided a weak tackle and centred from the touchline to give Hogg an easy chance that he took comfortably. Newcastle were facing certain defeat but disaster was to follow. In the 62nd minute Holley got between the full backs to score easily and 5 minutes later he raced in again and scored a glorious goal that made the defence look worse than they really were. After 69 minutes Bridgett ran past the disorganised and distressed Whitsun to drive another goal into the net.

At this stage Whitsun realised he was beyond service to his side and returned to the dressing room. Veitch went to full back and the halfback line lost what little backbone it had. Mordue again beat Pudan to go on himself and score after 73 minutes and 4 minutes later Hogg netted his 3rd and Sunderlands 8th goal. The effect this 8 goal burst in the 2nd half had on the Sunderland section of the crowd can better be imagined than described.  The depressed Newcastle followers could hardly bring themselves to think on the enormity of the defeat inflicted upon their favourites. Duncan was hurt and carried off a few minutes from the close as Sunderland jubilantly wound up a splendid days work with another goal from Bridgett. It was their biggest ever league win against their local rivals, who sustained a beating the like of which one has never seen and will probably never see again.

Newcastle United: Lawrence, Whitsun, Pudan, Liddell, Veitch, Willis, Duncan, Higgins, Shepherd (pen), Wilson, and Gosnell
Sunderland: Roose, Foster, Milton, Daykin, Thomson, Low, Mordue, Hogg (3), Brown, Holley (3), Bridgett (2)

Referee: Mr. A E Farrant, Bristol                             Attendance: 56,000

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Observations

Still the biggest away victory in the top division in Football League history, the win was even more remarkable as Newcastle were league champions that season winning the title by 7 points from Everton, conceding only 41 goals all season. Sunderland ended up 3rd.

People of ten wonder to this day what was the catalyst for such a huge defeat for Newcastle and it appears that 2 factors were at play here:

The Sunderland side were much bigger than the Newcastle side on that day. They bossed Newcastle from start to finish and in the end physical superiority told.

Secondly Newcastle in effect played a weakened side. It was mooted that for the Nottingham Forest game prior to the Sunderland match Newcastle had a run of injuries. The reserve players who were drafted in did so well that they kept them in for the Sunderland match.