Sunderland v Burnley, 18 December 2004
| Score | 2-1 to Sunderland |
| Referee | Dermot Gallagher |
| Competition | League Championship |
| Venue | Stadium of Light |
| Attendance | 27,102 |
View Sunderland v Burnley head to head
Goals:
| Julio Arca | 35 |
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| Michael Bridges | 52 |
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Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper
Thomas Myhre
Defender/Right back
Stephen Wright
Defender
Gary Breen
Defender
George McCartney
Defender/Centre back
Neill Collins
Defender/Midfielder
Julio Arca
Midfielder
Liam Lawrence
Midfielder
Carl Robinson
Midfielder
Dean Whitehead
Forward
Michael Bridges
Forward
Chris Brown
Substitutions:
| Marcus Stewart for Chris Brown | 73 |
| Stephen Elliott for Michael Bridges | 73 |
| Jeff Whitley for Julio Arca | 82 |
Cards:
Comments:
League position: 3rd Unused substitutes: Ben Alnwick and Matthew Piper Most sources credited Sunderland's winning goal to Liam Lawrence. However, the following from the match report on Sunderland's official web site, confirms Michael Bridges as the scorer: "Michael Bridges claimed the winner as promotion-chasing Sunderland closed the gap on the top two. "The winning goal, Bridges' second strike of the season, came in the 52nd minute and there was confusion surrounding who got it. "Liam Lawrence's cross looked to skid through a crowd of players before creeping in at the far post. Bridges was in the six-yard box when it happened and it emerged afterwards that he got a touch. "After scoring one goal in the last four years, there was no way the former Leeds striker was going to give it away!"1 Burnley
Goals:
| Graham Branch | 36 |
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Starting lineup:
Brian Jensen
Goalkeeper
Gary Cahill
Defender
Michael Duff
Defender
John McGreal
Defender
Graham Branch
Defender/Forward
Mo Camara
Defender/Left back
Micah Hyde
Midfielder
James O'Connor
Midfielder
Jean-Louis Valois
Midfielder
Robbie Blake
Forward
Ian Thomas-Moore
Forward
Substitutions:
| Lee Roche for Jean-Louis Valois | 51 |
| Richard Chaplow for Graham Branch | 73 |
Cards:
| Michael Duff | 44 | Y |
| Micah Hyde | 69 | Y |
Comments:
League position: 3rd Unused substitutes: Ben Alnwick and Matthew Piper Most sources credited Sunderland's winning goal to Liam Lawrence. However, the following from the match report on Sunderland's official web site, confirms Michael Bridges as the scorer: "Michael Bridges claimed the winner as promotion-chasing Sunderland closed the gap on the top two. "The winning goal, Bridges' second strike of the season, came in the 52nd minute and there was confusion surrounding who got it. "Liam Lawrence's cross looked to skid through a crowd of players before creeping in at the far post. Bridges was in the six-yard box when it happened and it emerged afterwards that he got a touch. "After scoring one goal in the last four years, there was no way the former Leeds striker was going to give it away!"Comments:
League position: 12th Unused substitutes: Matthew O'Neill, Joel Pilkington and Amadou Sanokho