We might be fighting it out for top blemish in League One at the consequence, but binding in 1998 there wasn ’ t entirely two divisions between the sides, and in the FA Cup third base round we showed precisely what that think of .
Peter Reid ’ randomness side were gathering momentum following our delegating from the Premier League, and we were besides finding our feet in our newly home as we entered the new year having made our means back into a play-off side after a shaky start .
We found ourselves in 12th position in Nationwide Football League Division One following a 1-1 tie with Nottingham Forest on the 8th November 1997, but a combination of the return of Niall Quinn and the skill of Nicky Summerbee from Manchester City resulted in Sunderland winning six and drawing doubly in the final eight games of the year .
The first fastness of 1998 took us aside from the common league schedule where we began our FA Cup campaign at Third Division Rotherham United. New director Ronnie Moore had taken over at Millmoor after the South Yorkshire club were relegated from Division Two ( League One ) and as the cup-tie approached, they sitting 5th in the one-fourth tier only one point behind the automatic pistol forwarding places.


Soccer - Nationwide League Division One - Nottingham Forest v Sunderland

As the Lads had scored 17 goals in eight games, the travel fans were expecting a good day out and after 15 minutes, it looked like it would be a straightforward procession to the fourth cycle when Kevin Phillips sent early Sunderland goalkeeper Bobby Mimms the wrong way from the spot .
But Rotherham dug-in and went into the break distillery only a finish behind, despite Sunderland ’ s laterality in the game. It took until ten minutes into the second half for Alex Rae to break down the bequeath, surging forward with the ball from the center tune with the Rotherham midfield and defense struggling to track bet on as the former Millwall midfielder broke .
Rae got to within a copulate of yards of the edge of the penalty and, as he thus often did in a red and flannel shirt, played an inch-perfect pas with the outside of his right foot across the face of the finish to find Kevin Phillips in the center of the goalmouth just six yards out, to knock it back from where it came into the corner of the net income to claim his moment of the game .
At this target many of the home fans in attendance may have given up hope, but Darren Garner pulled one back with just over twenty minutes on the clock, to potentially set up one of those grandstand finishes that you regularly see in the early attack of the FA Cup, but fortunately for the travel fans, this wasn ’ t the case .

Soccer - Nationwide League Division One - Nottingham Forest v Sunderland

only four minutes late, Sunderland restored our two goal shock absorber, and it was that homo Kevin Phillips, this fourth dimension completing his hat-trick, his first for Sunderland, and it was probably the easiest finish he scored during his long career.

Lee Clark turned the Rotherham defense mechanism inside out a couple of yards out from the goal production line, just inside the punishment area and created a cubic yard of quad to chip the ball to the back post where Phillips was waiting with a Rotherham defender who attempted to clear the ball, but lone played it off Phillips right on the goaline .
It was at this point that you could say the Rotherham towel was thrown into the surround, but Reid ’ s slope didn ’ t truly care and four minutes after Phillips completed his hat-trick, the former Watford man scored his fourthly, which to this day is inactive a record for the most individual goals in a FA Cup tie away from home plate in the baseball club ’ second history .

Swindon v Sunderland 1

Lee Clark broke down the right again and this time traverse thick into the area close to the penalty spot, but landed a couple of yards behind the Republic of Ireland international, who somehow, with one touch hooked the ball a yard in front of him sol he was facing the goal and with his adjacent equal fired his changeable on goal. Bobby Mimms could only parry his inject into the way of Phillips who slotted home from a couple of yards out .
then with five minutes remaining, it was his fall spouse Niall Quinn getting in on the act to complete the spread-eagle and take Sunderland through to the future round, to face John Aldridge ’ second Tranmere Rovers side, which is a report for another day .

Saturday 3rd January, 1998

FA Cup 3rd Round

Millmoor

Rotherham United 1-5 Sunderland

[Garner 68’ – Phillips (pen) 15’, 55’, 72’, 76’, Quinn 85’]

Sunderland: Perez, Holooway, Craddock, Williams, Gray, Summerbee, Clark, Rae, Johnston, Quinn, Phillips Substitutes not used: Zoetebier, Makin, Ord, Mullin, Smith
Rotherham United: Mimms, Richardson ( Goodwin ), Roscoe, Garner, Knill, Warner, Berry, Scott, White, Glover, Hurst Substitutes not used: Pettinger, Shuttleworth, Monington, Druce
Attendance: 11,500