WHAT were you doing when Ian Porterfield scored?

It's a key question for thousands of Sunderland football club supporters, who remember the moment Porterfield scored the goal that clinched the 1973 FA Cup Final as one of the greatest football moments of all time.

And one SAFC-crazy fan, who was himself undergoing a pretty momentous experience as the ball hit the net - his birth - could be about to take part in a television documentary about that famous day.

Ian Elliot's parents, Ernie and Ann, named him Ian after midwives confirmed he was born in the city at the 32nd minute of the game, the minute when Porterfield scored against the then mighty Leeds United. Sunderland went on to hold on - partly thanks to an incredible save by goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery - and won the match.

And from that moment on Ian's destiny has seemed to be irrevocably linked to that of his favourite football club.

Ian Porterfield knocked on the door of the family home a few days after the story of Ian's birth was reported in the newspapers and asked if he could become his godfather - a request the family accepted.

He didn't see him again until the 1980s when Tyne Tees Television asked the family to take part in a TV programme, celebrating the life of 1973 Sunderland manager Bobby Stokoe. And, of course, Ian Porterfield was sitting right behind him.

Then, about two years ago, Ian made friends with a young woman named Porterfield. To Ian's profound disbelief, it was the 1973 hero's daughter and he was in touch with the family once again.

Throw in the fact that the Elliots once lived on the same street as former Sunderland goalkeeper Chris Turner, who used to coach him and his mates and take them to football matches as children, and it starts to get just a little bit spooky.

But for Ian Elliot, who now works at Nissan's Washington car factory, it has all become old hat over the years.

"I used to brag about it all the time when I was a football-daft kid," said the Sunderland season ticket holder, who still lives in the city.

"But you do get a little sick of it after a while and I don't know if I'll take part in the new documentary."