Sunderland (A)
1975/76 FA Cup
Under the stewardship of Malcolm Allison, Palace had twice slipped down divisions in the preceding three seasons, and began 1975/76 in the Third Division.
They did, however, spark the club’s then longest-ever Cup run with an eye-catching win over recent European Cup finalists Leeds United – who just six months earlier had narrowly lost out to Bayern Munich – at Elland Road.
Next up came Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, who were dispatched in a rollercoaster five-goal thriller, to set up a quarter-final tie against Sunderland away from home.
As you might expect at that stage of the competition, Palace were once more underdogs, facing a Sunderland outfit on course to win the Second Division title – and return to the top-flight – under Bob Stokoe.
But just as they had done in the previous rounds, Palace sprung a classic performance in front of a tense, but vociferous, 50,850-strong crowd amassed inside a freezing Roker Park.
Watch from 3:35 below.
