League Division One · Matchday 31

Sunderland v Manchester United

5–2

Saturday 4th March 1939 · Roker Park · Att: 11,078

Manchester United lost 2–5 to Sunderland at Roker Park on Saturday 4th March 1939 in the League Division One. Jack Rowley (73') and Thomas Manley (82') scored for United.

Timeline

Running score

Kick Off
18' Jack Griffiths OG 1–0
Half Time
64' Bill Robinson 2–0
66' Bill Robinson 3–0
68' Bill Robinson 4–0
73' Jack Rowley 4–1
82' Thomas Manley 4–2
84' Bill Robinson 5–2
Full Time 5–2

Match Facts

Starting XI

Player

1 Norman Tapken

2 Hubert Redwood

3 John "Jack" Griffiths 18'

7 Jack Rowley 73'

11 Thomas Manley 82'

Substitutes

Substitutes were not permitted

Managers

MUFC

Walter Crickmer

Manchester United

OPP

Johnny Cochrane

Sunderland

United vs Sunderland History

Meeting 48 of 147

147

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

254

Goals For

208

Goals Against

All-time record, from the first meeting on Saturday 4th March 1893. After this match United had played Sunderland 48 times: 20W 7D 21L.

1 Jan 1937 W 2–1 D1 21 Apr 1937 D 1–1 D1 29 Oct 1938 L 0–1 D1

4 Mar 1939 L 2–5 This match

26 Oct 1946 L 0–3 D1 1 Mar 1947 D 1–1 D1 18 Oct 1947 L 0–1 D1

All-time	P	W	D	L	F	A	Win%
Home	73	43	18	12	150	77	58.9
Away	73	23	20	30	99	130	31.5
Neutral	1	1	0	0	5	1	100.0

All 147 meetings with Sunderland →

Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →