Sunderland's equaliser involved a clever bit of strategy by Tommy McInally. During the game, several times when the ball went into the crowd, the referee asked for another ball and played on, only to stop the game when the original ball returned, often when a good move was occurring. The ball once more went into the crowd near the end of the game, a new one was introduced and Sunderland were on the attack looking for the equaliser when the original ball was lobbed onto the field. McInally quickly picked it up and stood with his back to the referee to prevent him seeing the second ball, as play continued and Halliday went through to equalise.