On This Day (9 May 1999): The Lads Are Officially Crowned Division One Champions!

What a fantastic day and what a fantastic memory! After just missing out on promotion in 1997/1998, Sunderland got the job done in emphatic style, beating Birmingham City 2-1 at the Stadium of Light in the last game of the 1998/1999 season, and earning promotion as Nationwide Division One champions. At the time, it was the biggest gate seen at the stadium and it was also a record-breaking points tally for a season — the Lads reaching an enormous 105 with the biggest difference from the previous campaign being in defence.

We did score five more goals but the new-look rearguard, completed with the signing of goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and giant central defender Paul Butler, helped to almost halve the number of goals we let in, from fifty to just twenty eight. Promotion and the title had already been secured so this was party day at the Stadium of Light, enjoyed by a bumper 41,634 — a record at the time, coming before the ground extension a couple of seasons later. Victory completed a most wonderful season and a fantastic day, but barely had the gunpowder smoke left people’s eyes and nostrils (part of a great match day build-up) than Birmingham came out all guns blazing.

Sorensen was tested early on as Blues striker Lee Bradbury fired a shot across goal in the second minute, followed by a strike from Paul Furlong that also tested the Dane. However, backed by a huge Wearside crowd that was creating a festival atmosphere and chanting every song in their repertoire, Sunderland soon started to find their stride. Allan Johnston put in a couple of great crosses for each of Phillips and Quinn — the latter with a looping header that beat Brum keeper Kevin Poole — to land on the top of the net.

In a frenetic start, Birmingham had the Lads on the back foot again in the seventh minute when Michael Johnson brought a fine save out of Sorensen, only for Jon McCarthy to fire the ball back in and hit the post, before it was hacked away. The lively Johnson was in action a minute later, this time tracking back to deny a Phillips breakaway strike, and back came the Blues again, when Bryan Hughes curled a lovely shot just wide in the tenth minute. Something had to give amid such a pulsating start and the twelfth minute, a Nicky Summerbee free kick came close, before Niall Quinn went through on goal, only for his effort to flash wide.