Sunderland’s 1962/1963 Division Two charge started with a bang, with the Lads winning convincingly against near neighbours and fellow promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough in front of a bumper Roker Park crowd.
Alan Brown’s team had come within a fraction of going up at the end of the previous campaign and were eager to shake off any hangovers in a physical game played in blazing sunshine.
Visiting defender Ray Yeoman, who in later years would work at Sunderland as a coach, had an ongoing battle with Willie McPheat on the wing whilst in the centre, Boro forward Alan Peacock – just back from England duty at the FIFA World Cup in Chile – was well marshalled by Charlie Hurley.
The personal duels added an extra layer of intrigue for those watching on, and as is expected on the opening day, no quarter was given by either side.
The close marking and a series of well-timed tackles meant it was hard for the more creative players to shine, but when chances were forged, they usually came from Sunderland.
Brown was widely believed to have been in talks with Aberdeen over a move for George Mulhall in midweek, but with nothing being confirmed yet, there was space at outside left for Norman Clarke to make his competitive debut for the Lads against Middlesbrough, with the ‘Ballymena Boy’ making a telling contribution in the build up to the opener.
Crossing for Brian Clough, who initially struggled to control the ball, he then saw the former Boro man’s ‘striker’s instinct’ kicking in with a blasted finish.
Although hard fought, the match was played fairly, bar a spell either side of the hour mark in which the Teessiders lost their cool and ultimately lost the points.
Tempers flared when Bryan Orritt was accused of elbowing George Herd in the face and whilst it was not seen by any of the officials, both sets of players were left unhappy about the situation, resulting in a spate of niggly fouls.
Herd, who passed away earlier this month, was a constant thorn in the side of opposing teams that would regularly look to kick him out of the game.
However, it rarely worked as the effervescent international wore down his markers over the course of the 90 minutes and would be able to outpace them in the closing minutes, yet on this occasion, his reward came sooner when the set piece was float
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