Sunderland retain rare, little-known trophy beating Norwich City 1-0

Sunderland picked up all three points in their Championship game against Norwich City on Sunday, but they won even more than that.

They say that no trophies are handed out at the beginning of the season, and even by mid March there aren't too many pieces of silverware that have been handed over.

Of course, Manchester United picked up the Carabao Cup a couple of weeks ago, winning their first trophy is nearly six years by beating Newcastle United.

Harry Kane knows he won't be picking up any silverware again this season, after Tottenham Hotspur dropped out of the FA Cup and Champions League in the space of about a week.

Perhaps Kane could take up rugby union, where you can win just one game and end up lifting one of sports oldest trophies, like Scotland beating England in the Six Nations to defend their Calcutta Cup.

Actually the forward just needs to drop down a division and either sign for Sunderland or rejoin Norwich, who he played a whole five games for on loan in 2012.

On Sunday, the two Championship sides faced each other, with the Black Cats winning 1-0, thanks to Abdoullah Ba's first half strike.

As well as boosting their play-off chances, and denting Norwich's, Sunderland also walked away with the Friendship Trophy, created out of football's most wholesome rivalry.

THESE ARE THE GAMES YOU DREAM OF PLAYING IN AS A KID! pic.twitter.com/enXTCRQspL

— The72 - We Love the #EFL (@_The72) March 12, 2023

The two sides created the trophy following their 1985 League Cup final, with the Canaries winning 1-0, whilst opposing fans stayed behind to applaud the victors after the match.

Groups of supporters swapped scarves following the match, that took place at a time where there was often lots of tension between opposing fans.

The side from the north east then beat their friends from east anglia in an FA Cup semi-final game in 1992, with Norwich returning the respect by staying to applaud the victors.

They decide who wins the trophy based on the aggregate scores over the two games in a season, with both games ending 1-0 in the current campaign.

However, the teams use Ryder Cup rules, meaning that defending champions from 2017/18 season, Sunderland, kept the trophy.

Sunderland's Luke O'Nien appeared to take the 'friendship' rivalry a little too seriously, when he appeared to aim a quick kiss on his opponent.

Sunderland's Luke O'Nien with a cheeky kiss for his opponent today... 😘😂 pic.twitter.com/9QkB1NLf7u

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 12, 2023

The loss means that David Wagner's side remain in seventh place in the Championship, one place off the play-offs, five points below Millwall.

Tony Mowbray side ended a run of three losses in-a-row, earning all three points to jump to 10th in the table and are five points off the top six.

Elsewhere, league leaders Burnley released a statement to confirm that they have been handed a transfer embargo by the Football League.