Saints got their first-ever home win as a top-flight club against Sunderland
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Southampton will be hoping to build upon their best start to the football season in more than half a century.
In preparation for the match, the Echo looks back at pictures from when Saints beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Dell on August 31, 1966.
In seven at-home meetings throughout the decade, Sunderland only bettered Saints once. Listed are all of those occasions:
October 15, 1960 – Saints 3 Sunderland 2: Goals from Derek Reeves, George O’Brien and Tommy Mulgrew give Saints victory in the first ever league clash between the two clubs, a second division encounter.
November 18, 1961 – Saints 2 Sunderland 0: George O’Brien and Derek Reeves were on target again against a Sunderland side that finished the season in third place.
September 22, 1962 Saints 2 Sunderland 4: Brian Clough bags a hat-trick for the visitors, with George Kirby twice replying for Saints.
Clough scored 24 goals in the first 24 league games of the season before suffering a knee injury on Boxing Day 1962 which eventually forced him to retire from playing.
April 11 1964 – Saints 0 Sunderland 0: Saints, who scored exactly 100 second division goals that season, fire a rare blank against a Sunderland side who win promotion as runners-up to Leeds.
August 31 1966 – Saints 3 Sunderland 1: Ted Bates’ men collected their first-ever home win as a top-flight club.
In only the fourth game of the season, Saints had already played Sunderland twice after losing their first away game of 1966/67 at Roker Park a week earlier!
George Mulhall put the visitors ahead early in the second half, but Saints hit back through Terry Paine (penalty), John Sydenham and Ron Davies.
November 25 1967 – Saints 3 Sunderland 2: Saints hit back from two goals down to win thanks to Ron Davies’s 83rd minute goal.
Terry Paine had earlier brought Saints back in contention four minutes before half-time, with Mick Channon levelling just after the hour.
March 8, 1969 – Saints 1 Sunderland 0: Ron Davies scores the only goal just before half-time.
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