[3][4] Blue House Field hosted its first competitive football game on December 11, 1880, when Sunderland faced Burnopfield in the Northumberland and Durham Challenge Cup, a precursor to the Durham Challenge Cup and the only opportunity for football teams in the North East to play competitive games at that time.
[3][4] The following season, Blue House Field hosted a handful of friendlies, but no competitive games, as Sunderland had been eliminated from the challenge cup while playing away to Sedgefield.
The annual rent of £10 was proving onerous for the fledgling club, so it moved away from Blue House Field to find a cheaper home.
The relative success of the club led to Blue House Field being expanded, with a cycle track and a grandstand added.
League membership brought with it both national prestige and local crowds, which dealt a huge blow to Albion's long-term ambitions of becoming the town's main team.
In that season, Blue House Field also hosted FA Cup football, as Albion reached the last 16, drawing at home to Nottingham Forest F.C.
Facing financial difficulty, Albion elected not to play in the Alliance (with its relatively long-distance travel), instead choosing to focus on the more local Northern Football League.
Albion welcomed their Football League rivals for a friendly match, the fourth and final meeting between the clubs, and the first not to be played at Newcastle Road.