MALCOLM Crosby has revealed that arguably the most dramatic moment of Sunderland’s 1992 FA Cup run - Gordon Armstrong’s towering header at Roker Park to send the club into the semi-finals of the competition - astonished him more than anyone else in the ground.
That’s because the Sunderland boss had watched the routine practiced dozens of times on the training ground and was convinced it would never come off in a match situation!
Armstrong’s last-minute winner in the FA Cup quarter-final - when the midfielder rose majestically to head Brian Atkinson’s corner past the despairing dive of Chelsea keeper Dave Beasant - was the goal of a lifetime.
For Sunderland fans lucky enough to be in the 26,000 crowd, it was an unforgettable moment still talked about today - the old ground exploding in celebrations and joy which had to be seen to be believed.
Crosby, who will be at the Stadium of Light next Friday to meet fans and talk about his cup-run memories, said: “It was a wonderful goal and it was all about the two of them - Atky and Gordon.
“It was all about them practicing and practising and practising after training.”
The former coach laughs: “They used to do that corner all the time, again and again, and again, and I would always say to them: ‘What are you two doing?
“You will never score from that!
“A header from the 18-yard line, no chance!
“But they had the courage at that time, at that stage in the game to do that.
“ It was all down to them.
“It was just as they did it on the training ground, and it came off at a vital moment in a massive game.
“When it went in, it was just a ‘Wow’ moment - especially for me!
“It was a truly, truly great goal.”
Crosby certainly wasn’t immune to the fervour and the fever of the fans who celebrated both the goal and the victory minutes afterwards, on an amazing run which took the club all the way to an FA Cup final.
“Old stadiums always seemed better than the modern ones when they were full for night games,” he says.
“And to win a match like that, under the lights at Roker Park, it was just fantastic, it really was.”
Crosby will be at a book launch along with former Sunderland manager Peter Reid later this month and tickets can be available from here.
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