Game #3631
Saturday, 7 March 1981
Attendance: 27,278
Won
Division One
1st= (+1)
Sunderland
WWWWW
Roker Park
Villa climb back to the top of the first division table, level on points with Ipswich as they win for the seventh consecutive League game and eighth time in ten matches with both clubs now seven points clear of their nearest rivals. It isn’t all good news however as Peter Withe faces another suspension after his eighth booking of the season and Ken McNaught is stretchered off at Roker Park with his ankle in a cast after suspected ligament damage.
Sunderland
1-2
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | Tony Morley | 2' | Gordon Cowans | 19' |
KEY MAN
Allan Evans, opened the scoring after 2' to set top of the table Villa on the way to their seventh consecutive League victory, Saturday, 7 March 1981.
RELATED MATCHES
MATCH TIMELINE
2’ Goal, 1-0, Allan Evans, Assist by Tony Morley
19’ Goal, 2-0, Dennis Mortimer, Assist by Gordon Cowans
HT Sunderland 0-2 Aston Villa
68’ Goal, 2-1, (Sunderland), Joe Hinnigan
Sub off, Ken McNaught, Sub on, Colin Gibson
FT Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders, confined to his sick bed, hands over the reigns to Roy MacLaren as Villa win their seventh game in a row to make it twenty one wins, six draws and five defeats in thirty two League matches this season. As a result Villa go level on points with Ipswich at the top of the Division One table.
Aston Villa
Sunderland
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: 1972-73
FIXTURE HISTORY
Previous 5 vs. Sunderland: | 🟨 | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟩 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1980-81 |
Matchday | #36 |
League Match | #32 |
Manager Game | #349 |
Saturday, 7 March 1981
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders (Roy MacLaren, caretaker) |
FT Result | Won |
FT Score | 2-1 |
Last 5 Games | WWWWW |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Unknown
CARDS
Villa
None
Sunderland
None
TEAM NEWS
Ron Saunders names the same line up for a fourth successive match.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 26.21 |
Oldest Player |
GK Jimmy Rimmer | 33.09 |
Youngest Player |
F Gary Shaw | 19.30 |
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
MANAGER
Aston Villa
GK Jimmy Rimmer |
RB Kenny Swain |
RB Gary Williams |
CB Allan Evans |
CB Ken McNaught |
M Des Bremner |
M Gordon Cowans |
W Tony Morley |
M Dennis Mortimer |
CF Peter Withe |
F Gary Shaw |
Sunderland
Siddall, Chisholm, Hinnigan (g), Elliott, Hindmarch, Bolton, Arnott, Bowyer (Cooke), Ritchie, Rowell, Cummins. Manager: Ken Knighton.
SUBSTITUTES
M Colin Gibson for CB Ken McNaught |
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
None
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME
MATCHDAY QUOTES
“That's the most intense spell of pressure 23 have been under this season.
“I personally have never experienced an atmosphere like that, with the fervour of the crowd really carrying the Sunderland team forward.
"At half time I told the players not to be complacent and to think that it was still 0-0.
“We were expecting a bit of a Sunderland come back but nothing that strong.
"It needed every ounce of professionalism and character that Ron Saunders has built into Aston Villa in the last five years to withstand that bout of pressure."
Roy MacLaren.
*Newcastle Journal*
Monday, 9 March 1981