On This Day – 7th April
Second Division Sunderland beat Arsenal 2-1 to secure a place in the FA Cup Final on this day in 1973.
They took the lead on 19 minutes with a tap in from Vic Halom. Sunderland’s Micky Horswill hit a long ball over the top of the Arsenal defence, returning a long ball downfield from Arsenal keeper Bob Wilson.
Arsenal’s centre-back Jeff Blockley had an easy backpass to make to Wilson but underhit it. Vic Halom nudged the ball past an on-rushing Wilson and tapped the ball into an empty net.
Billy Hughes doubled Sunderland’s lead with a looping header after 64 minutes after a long throw-in from the right. Dennis Tuert nodded the ball on and Hughes headed over Bob Wilson into the far corner.
Charlie George scored for Arsenal with six minutes to go but Sunderland held on. They would go on to win 1-0 in the Final, beating Leeds United.
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