On This Day – 5th March
Stan Collymore made the headlines for all of the right reasons on this day in 2000.
Collymore’s career at Leicester had begun with controversy. His behaviour had got him into hot water on a trip to La Manga in Spain, more of which can be read here.
Collymore had been signed from Aston Villa on a free transfer and had a point to prove after his career had hit a bit of a slump in recent times.
He owed a lot to manager Martin O’Neill who stuck by him after his behaviour in Spain a few weeks before.
His would have the antics in Spain was soon forgotten as he bagged a hat-trick on his debut against Sunderland. Collymore scored the first, third and fourth of Leicester’s five goals in a dominant display.
Sunderland side weren’t the easiest of opponents, having surprised many with their start to life in the Premiership following promotion the previous season.
The Black Cats had reached the dizzying heights of third position by Christmas. A worrying slump had started from Boxing Day as they had lost five and drawn three of the previous eight games.
Leicester had won the League Cup Final the previous Sunday, beating Tranmere Rovers of the First Division 2-1 at Wembley.
The debutant hit a fantastic half-volley to open the scoring against Sunderland, hitting the ball hard into the top corner of the net.
Leicester’s second goal was scored on the break after Neil Lennon won the ball in the centre circle. He fed the ball through to Emile Heskey who took a couple of touches before guiding the ball under Thomas Sorensen.
Prolific Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips scored on 53 minutes to give halve the scores. Collymore scored his second and Leicester’s third on the hour mark before Niall Quinn netted for the visitors in the 75th minute.
Collymore completed his hat-trick with a scuffed tap-in from six yards to dash Sunderland’s hopes of getting back in the game. His new team-mate Scott Oakes then finished off the rout with a deflected free-kick in the last seconds of the game.
Sadly for Leicester fans, all was to change in a very short period of time after this match. Collymore would break his leg and only score two more goals for the club and Emile Heskey signed for Liverpool in a big-money move.
Martin O’Neill, the manager who brought Collymore to Filbert Street, would leave to become the new Celtic manager.
This match that promised so much would sadly be a false dawn. Who would have known then that sixteen years later Leicester City would win the Premier League title, plying their trade in a swanky new stadium?
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