March 24, 1985: Sunderland lose to Norwich City in Milk Cup final at Wembley

Football was a far more level playing field in the mid-1980s than today and it wasn't uncommon for supposedly average sides to reach and even win Wembley finals.
From Sunderland's point of view, the 1984-85 campaign was also a step into the unknown.
Roker playing legend Len Ashurst, fresh from saving the club from relegation from the top flight in May 1984, embarked on his first and ultimately only pre-season in charge by completely revamping his squad.
Out went striking favourite Gary Rowell to Norwich City with midfield general Paul Bracewell also leaving after just a year at Roker Park to join Everton.
Among Ashurst's recruits were Chelsea winger Clive Walker and a promising young centre half from Cardiff called Gary Bennett.
The early signs were positive.

Bennett, later to become a Sunderland legend a la Ashurst and Rowell, began repaying his £65,000 bargain fee almost immediately with the first goal in Sunderland's opening day 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Walker too soon settled and scored a hat-trick in the club's 3-2 November home win over Manchester United.
While Sunderland rose to seventh before Christmas, their continued progress in the Milk Cup coincided with a slow decline in their league form.

Ashurst's side could never be accused of getting to Wembley the quick or easy way.
After narrowly defeating Division Two side Crystal Palace 2-1 on aggregate in the second round, Sunderland needed replays to dispose of both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.
A third Division One rival, Watford, were then beaten 1-0 on their own Vicarage Road ground in the quarter-finals by the injury-hit visitors.
Cue a memorable two-legged semi-final tie with top-flight newcomers Chelsea.
Two Colin West penalties secured a healthy 2-0 first-leg lead on a night marred by violence outside Roker Park.
The trouble alas spilled on to the pitch during the Stamford Bridge return after Walker's double gave Sunderland a commanding 4-1 aggregate lead.
With Chelsea needing an unlikely four goals for victory, Walker broke away to send an inch-perfect cross over a home fan's head - do not adjust your glasses - for West to nod the third.
A late home consolation counted for little as Sunderland triumphed 5-2 overall.
Wembley beckoned for the first time since Porterfield, Montgomery, Stokoe and all that 12 years earlier.

Sunderland were eventually granted 34,500 tickets for the 100,000 sell-out final.
The club's 8,000 season-ticket holders were first in line with the remaining allocation mainly distributed via a voucher draw.
With the vouchers divided into blocks of letters, holders learned their fate when keen Roker fan and Olympic runner Steve Cram picked out the winners during the half-time interval of Sunderland's March 12 home draw with Watford.
On the pitch, Sunderland ironically beat their opponents 3-1 at Norwich just eight days before the Sunday final.
One fringe player's performance in particular is widely said to have adversely affected Ashurst's Wembley selection.
More on that later.

Sunderland started and ended the first half in control.
Striker David Hodgson nearly scored with a snap shot from 30 yards after less than a minute and Norwich defender Denis Van Wijk crudely felled Walker as he broke clear just inside the Canaries's half before half time.
The distance from goal may have counted in his favour. In today's game, the full back would probably have seen red.

Norwich largely dominated the second half after quickly scoring the game's only goal on 47 minutes.
Teenage centre half David Corner, a Sunderland lad himself who had replaced suspended regular Shaun Elliott, was dispossessed by John Deehan on the edge of the Black Cats's goal line before Asa Hartford's shot was deflected into his own net by Gordon Chisholm.

Immediate. Barry Venison, impressing at right back, stormed downfield to draw a handball from that pesky Van Wijk.
Up stepped Walker - with semi-final penalty king West controversially dropped - to hit the outside of the post.
As the Echo commented the following day: "If there was a moment in which the cup was lost, this was it."
After that, with future Sunderland manager Steve Bruce dominating diminutive striker Ian Wallace, the red and whites created little and Norwich emerged deserved winners.

While there was sympathy for local lad Corner and Walker, who had enjoyed a decent season, Ashurst was criticised in quarters for playing Wallace ahead of the more imposing West.
Wallace, however, had scored twice in the Wembley warm up eight days earlier and the manager himself said afterwards: "It was a hard decision to leave out Colin West.
"But I wanted us to get the ball forward on the ground with Wallace up against their two big defenders.
"But we just didn't give him the service."
What's that about hindsight?

Sunderland won just one of their remaining matches and were relegated in 21st place with Ashurst promptly departing.
Even more galling was that West joined Watford for £150,000 after his cup final snub and scored the goals which kept his new side up.
Norwich, meanwhile, would also join Sunderland in Division Two after a calamitous collapse of their own.
Nor would they qualify for the UEFA Cup after English teams were banned from all European competitions when 39 people died as Liverpool fans clashed with Juventus supporters at the European Cup final in Brussels.
Suddenly, losing a cup final and getting relegated were not actually that important.

The final was widely labelled "The Friendly Final" and "The People's Final" after the mutual respect shown by both sets of supporters towards each other.
Many Sunderland fans had also given up the opportunity to watch seminal 1980s indie band The Smiths at Newcastle City Hall so that they could travel to London.
Sunday night's encore by lead singer Morrissey and co aptly included hit single Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now.

Sunderland: Turner, Venison, Pickering, Bennett, Chisholm, Corner, Daniel, Wallace, Hodson, Berry, Walker. Sub: Gayle.
Norwich: Woods, Haylock, Van Wijk, Bruce, Mendham, Watson, Barham, Channon, Deehan, Hartford, Donowa. Sub: Devine.