'I walked 23 miles to get European Cup Winners Cup tickets to watch Sunderland in 1973'
‘Just being a kid at the time, I expected it to be a sell-out so I walked from Bishop Auckland and slept on the bench at Roker Park’
A Black Cats fan has relived the day he walked more than 23 miles from Bishop Auckland to Sunderland to get tickets for European football in 1973.
Paul Dobson has revealed the lengths he went to just to be able to grab his place to watch SAFC in action in the European Cup Winners Cup 53 years ago.
Sunderland were playing Vasas Budapest in the first round of the European competition and the home leg at Roker Park was looming.
But Paul lived in Bishop Auckland at the time and feared he might miss out in the rush for tickets.
He remembered: “Just being a kid at the time, I expected it to be a sell-out so I walked from Bishop Auckland and slept on the bench at Roker Park.
“Nobody else turned up to queue so we got our tickets and got a lift home.”
Paul, who is now part of the editorial team on the award-winning A Love Supreme fanzine, also remembered trying to follow Sunderland’s first ever competitive game in Europe.
It was an away match at Vasas Budapest and Paul was glued to the radio as he tried to listen to the action.
“We were listening in my mate’s bedroom on a very crackly radio, especially when Dennis Tueart went through and got the second one. He went round the whole defence apparently.”
Sunderland won that game in Hungary 2-0 with goals from Tueart and Billy Hughes.
They won the return leg at Roker Park 1-0 and progressed to the next round where they beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 at home with goals from Bobby Kerr and Micky Horswill. But Sunderland lost the second leg 2-0 to go out of the competition.
Now Paul is waiting with baited breath, like all Sunderland fans, for European football to return to Wearside.
He said: “It is a great chance to do it. We are going to get more than four games this time. It is guaranteed, so it is a great chance for an adventure.
“My passport is in date so we will see where we get to.”
Sunderland find out who their opponents will be in the league phase of the Europa League, when the draw takes place this Friday.
In the meantime, we would love to hear from other fans who remember Sunderland’s European adventure in 1973.
Tell us if you went to the away matches at Vasas Budapest or Sporting Lisbon. Or maybe you were at Roker Park for the home legs of the two rounds.
Tell us more by emailing [email protected]