 It was not until Bob Stokoe took over in November 1972 that Watson began to play at centre back and it paid off with Sunderland reaching the 1973 FA Cup Final where they beat First Division Leeds United 1–0.Watson was singled out for praise from Stokoe after the match for keeping Leeds's strike pairing of Allan Clarke and Mick Jones quiet.Following Sunderland's cup success the expectation was now for the club to gain promotion but they missed out by two points in both 1973–74 and 1974–75.