1991–92 Sunderland A.F.C. season
# 1991–92 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 1991–92 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Season summary

In the 1991–92 season, Sunderland subsequently struggled in the Second Division. However, in that season, the Black Cats embarked on a run leading to the FA Cup final, where they lost 2–0 to Liverpool, They had previously beaten Chelsea in a quarter-final replay. Smith had quit as manager during the season, and was replaced by his assistant Malcolm Crosby.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 16 | Barnsley | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 59 |
| 17 | Bristol City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 55 | 71 | −16 | 54 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 53 |
| 19 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 53 |
| 20 | Newcastle United | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 66 | 84 | −18 | 52 |

## Results

Sunderland's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 August 1991 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 20,509 | Armstrong |
| 20 August 1991 | Barnsley | A | 3–0 | 12,454 | Owers, Armstrong, Pascoe |
| 24 August 1991 | Millwall | A | 1–4 | 10,016 | Owers (pen) |
| 31 August 1991 | Oxford United | H | 2–0 | 16,151 | Gabbiadini, Armstrong |
| 3 September 1991 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 9,621 | |
| 7 September 1991 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 | 17,043 | Atkinson |
| 14 September 1991 | Swindon Town | A | 3–5 | 11,417 | Owers, Gabbiadini, Armstrong |
| 17 September 1991 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–1 | 5,807 | Owers (pen), Gabbiadini (3) |
| 21 September 1991 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–2 | 16,535 | Pascoe |
| 28 September 1991 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | 19,424 | Brady |
| 5 October 1991 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 4–2 | 15,119 | Beagrie, Rush (2), Armstrong |
| 12 October 1991 | Cambridge United | A | 0–3 | 7,857 | |
| 19 October 1991 | Port Vale | A | 3–3 | 7,525 | Brady (2), Ball |
| 26 October 1991 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–1 | 14,746 | Bennett |
| 2 November 1991 | Watford | H | 3–1 | 12,790 | Byrne (2), Armstrong |
| 5 November 1991 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 9,768 | Armstrong |
| 9 November 1991 | Bristol City | A | 0–1 | 10,570 | |
| 17 November 1991 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 29,224 | Davenport |
| 23 November 1991 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–1 | 6,007 | |
| 30 November 1991 | Southend United | H | 1–2 | 13,575 | Byrne |
| 7 December 1991 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 11,922 | |
| 14 December 1991 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | 15,094 | Goodman |
| 21 December 1991 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 14,432 | Awford (own goal) |
| 26 December 1991 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–1 | 13,658 | |
| 28 December 1991 | Oxford United | A | 0–3 | 6,140 | |
| 1 January 1992 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 16,107 | Armstrong, Goodman |
| 11 January 1992 | Millwall | H | 6–2 | 16,533 | Hardyman, Byrne, Goodman (3), Davenport |
| 18 January 1992 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 15,384 | Goodman, Byrne |
| 1 February 1992 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 19,488 | Armstrong |
| 8 February 1992 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–2 | 6,318 | Byrne |
| 11 February 1992 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–1 | 18,060 | Hardyman |
| 22 February 1992 | Southend United | A | 0–2 | 7,473 | |
| 29 February 1992 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 20,106 | Byrne (pen) |
| 14 March 1992 | Watford | A | 0–1 | 8,091 | |
| 21 March 1992 | Bristol City | H | 1–3 | 18,933 | Atkinson |
| 29 March 1992 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 30,306 | |
| 8 April 1992 | Leicester City | A | 2–3 | 16,533 | Bennett, Goodman |
| 11 April 1992 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 21,326 | Bennett |
| 14 April 1992 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–0 | 22,131 | Goodman (2), Rush |
| 16 April 1992 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–1 | 23,813 | |
| 18 April 1992 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–2 | 8,864 | |
| 20 April 1992 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 25,098 | Davenport |
| 25 April 1992 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–2 | 9,851 | Goodman, Rogan |
| 27 April 1992 | Swindon Town | H | 0–0 | 16,716 | |
| 29 April 1992 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–2 | 15,079 | Armstrong, Davenport |
| 2 May 1992 | Cambridge United | H | 2–2 | 19,042 | Goodman, Rush |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 4 January 1992 | Port Vale | H | 3–0 | 15,564 | Atkinson, Davenport, Byrne |
| R4 | 5 February 1992 | Oxford United | A | 3–2 | 9,968 | Byrne, Hardyman, Atkinson |
| R5 | 15 February 1992 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 25,475 | Byrne |
| R5R | 26 February 1992 | West Ham United | A | 3–2 | 25,830 | Byrne (2), Rush |
| QF | 9 March 1992 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 33,498 | Byrne |
| QFR | 18 March 1992 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | 26,039 | Davenport, Amstrong |
| SF | 5 April 1992 | Norwich City | N | 1–0 | 40,102 | Byrne |
| F | 9 May 1992 | Liverpool | N | 0–2 | 79,544 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R2 First Leg | 24 September 1991 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–2 | 8,161 | Hauser |
| R2 Second Leg | 9 October 1991 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–4 (lost 1–6 on agg) | 11,177 | |

## Players

### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | GK | ENG | Tim Carter |
| — | GK | WAL | Tony Norman |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Bennett |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Hardyman |
| — | DF | ENG | John Kay |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Ord |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Sampson |
| — | DF | ENG | Anthony Smith |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Williams |
| — | DF | NIR | Anton Rogan |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Armstrong |
| — | MF | ENG | Brian Atkinson |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Ball |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Beagrie (on loan from Everton) |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Bracewell |
| — | MF | ENG | Tony Cullen |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Davenport |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Gaughan |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Gray |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Owers |
| — | MF | WAL | Colin Pascoe |
| — | MF | IRL | Kieron Brady |
| — | MF | IRL | Brian Mooney |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Brodie |
| — | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini |
| — | FW | ENG | Don Goodman |
| — | FW | ENG | Warren Hawke |
| — | FW | ENG | David Rush |
| — | FW | ENG | Craig Russell |
| — | FW | IRL | John Byrne |
| — | FW | GER | Thomas Hauser |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | DF | NGA | Reuben Agboola (to Swansea City) |
