On This Day (3rd Dec 1960): McPheat Magic As Sunderland Stun Title-Bound Ipswich

Alan Sleeman writing in the Sunday Sun declared “The heat is on at Roker. And I’ll wager this – the next team that leaves Roker with a point will be wearing asbestos outfits! For believe me Alan Brown’s boys were in blistering form”.

Ipswich arrived fourth in the league and staking a serious claim for promotion with future England manager Alf Ramsey master-minding their campaign. The East Anglians had a forward line that would trouble the best defences, with two very lively wingers and twin strikers in Ray Crawford and Ted Phillips who would score seventy (70) goals between them in this season.

Ipswich would go on to be worthy champions, but were no match for Sunderland that day as the home defence eventually got to grips with the visitors’ attacking threats, setting the platform for a thrilling performance and victory.

The early stages of this game would not have led you to believe that there would be any other outcome than a victory for the visitors. The two visiting wingers Jimmy Leadbetter and Roy Stephenson were raiding with impudent gallousness down their flanks and giving Cec Irwin and Colin Nelson a rare old roasting. Prompted by the evergreen Doug Millward the two wide-men provided a stream of crosses for danger-men Crawford and Phillips to drive at. It looked like it was going to be a long afternoon!

Sunderland got a foothold as Jim McNab started to nullify Millward with what Alan Sleeman described as “tiger-tackling”. Nelson and Irwin likewise started getting the better of the two visiting wide-men as tackles and interceptions began to hit their mark with hard work and sheer bloody-mindedness in the face of the early onslaught.

Charlie Hurley and Stan Anderson, displaying all the skill and class that would make them England internationals, began to have their impact on the game with a steady flow of quality passes out of defence to an eager front five.

On the right of Sunderland’s attack, Harry Hooper showed some blistering turns of speed that inside-right Amby Fogarty linked well with. Both had very good goal-bound shots that Bailey in the Ipswich goal did well to stop.

As the game went on, overworked but in-form Bailey would make several fine saves to keep the score down as the home team threatened to run riot.

On the opposite flank for Sunderland Jack Overfield had probably his best game so far for the team. He had cost £11,500 from Leeds United in August 1960 but had not justified this fee before this game. At inside-left, the prodigious talent of youngster Willie McPheat put in a man-of-the-match performance with a sparkling display of creativity and goal-threat. The lanky Scot would soon be attracting international selectors over the border with displays such as this!

McPheat scored two classy goals in the second half and by all accounts should have had his hat-trick as a scrambled touch from him saw the ball cross the line, but the referee was unsighted. That the game saw half-time with no scoring was down to the Ipswich keeper, who produced a string of good saves from Hooper, Fogarty, Anderson, Lawther, and McPheat.

Shortly after the second half resumed, Fogarty took a quick free-kick to McPheat. The youngster strode forward and, holding off not one but two defenders, he buried a low left-foot drive from twenty yards into the Ipswich goal.

Six minutes later he did it again. From roughly twenty-five yards out he struck a venomous right-foot shot that rebounded straight back to him. He did not stand on ceremony, blasting the ball with his left foot which flew past Bailey and billowed the net for his second goal of the game. It was a remarkable bit of two-footedness from the big inside-forward that justified Alan Brown’s view that he had a real gem on the books!

The second goal took any fight left out of the visitors and it was only the excellent Bailey that prevented any further scoring as Sunderland turned up the heat on Ipswich.

This game served notice that Sunderland were getting to grips with the Second Division and that better times lay ahead.

The win moved us up to ninth in the table and we would finish the season in sixth position. Ramsey led Ipswich deservedly to the title and promotion, but they were no match for the Lads on this day.

Colin Nelson’s contribution in this game seems typical of his career with Sunderland.

Born in East Boldon in 1938 he was a product of Washington Grammar School and a very successful Usworth Juniors football team.

Then Sunderland manager Bill Murray first offered Nelson an apprenticeship after a trial. He though had his mind set on becoming a pharmacist and decided to stick with his studies.

In 1958 he had another trial and manager Alan Brown once again offered terms. The youngster wanted to complete his pharmacist training and a part-time contract was agreed.

He made his debut in October 1958, coming in for the experienced Jack Hedley in a 4-1 loss at Bristol City, but played well enough to keep his place in the team for the rest of that season as he made thirty appearances and scored a goal at Scunthorpe on Boxing Day.

He played thirty-seven games in 1959/60 and appeared in every league and cup game in the 1960/61 campaign.

Having played himself into the right-back position, he had competition almost immediately in the shape of a sixteen-year-old young pretender, Cecil Irwin.

Up until 1964 Colin Nelson remarkably remained on a part-time contract as he completed his pharmacy training. There are a number of accounts of fans bumping into him as he journeyed on the bus from his studies in Newcastle on a Saturday lunchtime, alighting at the Grange pub and walking to the ground, with his boots apparently in his briefcase!

A local lad, very popular with the fans for his consistent, unfussy displays at full-back, he made one hundred and sixty-eight appearances for Sunderland between 1958 and 1964.

In 1964 he decided to go full-time, with the Lads at long last back in the First Division.

His last game for Sunderland was his only game in the top tier. In November 1964 he came in for Cec Irwin at right-back in a League Cup tie at Coventry and a thrilling 3-2 victory against Burnley at Roker Park in front of almost 36,000 fans. He played well as Sunderland won only their second game of that campaign.

In March 1965 he transferred to Mansfield Town and played thirty-eight times with distinction for the Stags in the 1965/66 season.

Colin Nelson retired aged twenty-eight years old and moved back to the North-East to concentrate on his career as a pharmacist.

A very good cricketer he played for many years in the Durham league for Boldon. He remained a popular character with supporters long after he finished playing and is fondly remembered by all who saw him play.

Division Two | Date – 03.12.1960 | Venue – Roker Park | Attendance – 21,251

Sunderland 2 – 0 Ipswich (Goalscorers – McPheat 54 & 60 mins)

Sunderland – Wakeham; Nelson; Irwin; Anderson; Hurley; McNab; Hooper; Fogarty; Lawther; McPheat; Overfield. Ipswich – Bailey; Carberry; Malcolm; Pickett; Nelson; Elsworthy; Stephenson; Millward; Crawford; Phillips; Leadbetter.