Over the last 112 years, Sunderland have played Plymouth 35 times and have picked up 20 wins, 5 draws, and 10 defeats. These are some of the most noteworthy games…
SUNDERLAND 4-0 PLYMOUTH - DIVISION 2 - 1960
Argyle were currently under a managerial duo at the time, Neil Dougall and George Taylor. Meanwhile, Sunderland were under Alan Brown. The Lads started aggressively and Ian Lawther made it 1-0 in under five minutes. After that, Alan O’Neill stole the show and bagged his first right before half time. O’Neill scored again in the 51st minute, and the Black Cats were in the ascendancy. There wasn’t much of a response from Plymouth and O’Neill completed his hat trick in the 82nd minute. It was a very convincing win for Sunderland.
PLYMOUTH 3-0 SUNDERLAND - DIVISION 2 - 1990
On the 3rd of March, Denis Smith’s Lads travelled to Home park to take on Dave Kemp’s Pilgrims. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a stellar performance from Sunderland. Tommy Tynan made it 1-0 in the 35th minute, and that was soon followed by a Sean McCarthy goal right before half time. It was a very poor first half performance from the Lads. The second half wasn’t much better, and Tynan bagged his second in the 74h minute. The game ended 3-0 and it was a very big win for Plymouth.
SUNDERLAND 5-1 PLYMOUTH - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2005
The Lads absolutely obliterated Plymouth in this game. Mick McCarthy’s side were hosting Bobby Williamson’s Argyle at home. Things started quite slowly and all was square at the half hour mark, but Dean Whitehead broke the deadlock one minute later. Arca bagged the second, then Marcus Stewart converted a penalty to make it 3-0. A great end to the first half for the Lads. Steve Caldwell ended all hope of a Plymouth comeback in the 75th minute, but Scott Taylor gave the travelling fans something to celebrate in the 88th minute. Sean Thornton scored the fourth right at the end of the game, so Sunderland won 5-1.
SUNDERLAND 2-1 PLYMOUTH - LEAGUE ONE - 2021
This was a crucial win in Sunderland’s push for promotion, if we lost this game we would have finished seventh. We started quickly and Dan Neil converted what was a very well practised set piece routine. Nathan Broadhead then bagged the second in the 13th minute, and we were flying. But, Plymouth did gradually make their way back into the game. Dan Scarr scored a header in the second half, but that wasn’t enough to get anything against Lee Johnson’s side.
PLYMOUTH 2-0 SUNDERLAND - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2023
Perhaps this won't be memorable in years to come, but it happened last season and is the last time we made that long journey. We were in good form but Morgan Whittaker's stunner and Finn Azaz's curler made it a comprehensive win for them at Home Park. We did have plenty of chances - Trai Hume also hit the woodwork - but a toothless performance up front, mixed with some top class goals from the Pilgrims, meant it just wasn't to be.
SUNDERLAND 3-1 PLYMOUTH - CHAMPIONSHIP - 2024
This was actually probably our best performance under Michael Beale. We went 1-0 down in the first half to a frankly pathetic goal - a long through ball split our defence open on the counter attack, and Ryan Hardie had all the time in the world to go around Patterson, tease Hume, let Patto recover and then chip it effortlessly over the keeper. He nearly made it two just minutes later with an audatious lob from the halfway line! We equalised in the second half with a well-thought-out free kick routine through Pierre Ekwah before Jack Clarke skinned Bali Mumba on the left wing and cut inside for a trademark Clarke goal. Jobe was subbed onto the pitch on 65, and instantly drove forward and curled in a beauty with his first touches to seal the 3-1 win. This would make it back-to-back home wins for Sunderland but, sadly this was as good as it would get for Beale. He was sacked nine days later after two consecutive depressing defeats.
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