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The Ultimate Fantasy FA Cup Competition Welcome to the Football England Fantasy FA Cup competition. This is a select invitational event. Football England have chosen 64 of the most famous football teams thoughout the history of the English game and invited them to pit their skills against each other in a fantasy FA Cup competition. The games are played under the laws of the game as they were when the home team was playing so home advantage could prove extremely important. Players can only play for one team but managers can take charge of more than one side. Brian Clough, for instance, has three teams in the competition. Can he finally grab that elusive FA Cup winners medal? The teams chosen to take part in this select event are: Preston North End (1888-89) Quarter Final Draw Manchester United (1967-68) v. Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) Manchester United (1967-68) v. Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) Man United: A.Stepney, S.Brennan, T.Dunne, P.Crerand, B.Foulkes, N.Stiles, G.Best, B.Charlton, D.Law, D.Sadler, J.Aston. sub: B.Kidd. Tottenham: B.Brown, P.Baker, R.Henry, D.Blanchflower, M.Norman, D.Mackay, T.Dyson, J.Greaves, B.Smith, J.White, C.Jones. sub: T.Marchi. att: 68,155 (6,974) This game was wide open from the first minute as Paddy Crerand swept the ball straight out to George Best on the right wing and he waltzed past Ron Henry to start an all out United attack. Dave Mackay came across with a fierce challenge on the Irishman but Best was able to ride this before cutting inside to fire a shot inches wide of the far post. John Aston then showed that he could take on Peter Baker and beat him down the other flank as well and it was Best on the end of his centre with a header that Bill Brown just about managed to scramble behind for a corner. Brown had to make another sharp save when Bobby Charlton sent in a low drive from 25 yards as the Spurs goal continued to come under fierce pressure. Spurs, on the other hand, were struggling to get any joy down the flanks in the early stages and despite the best efforts of Mackay and Danny Blanchflower it was difficult to make headway down the centre of the pitch as Crerand, David Sadler and Nobby Stiles covered with enthusiastic zeal. Blanchflower managed to chip one precise pass over Bill Foulkes onto the head of Bobby Smith but there was no real pace on the ball and Alex Stepney had a comfortable save from the header. When John White was able to glide away from Sadler to float an inviting ball to the far post there was greater danger but despite the fact that Smith and Cliff Jones both flung themselves at the ball along with Stepney and a couple of defenders nobody actually managed to get a touch and the ball drifted just wide of the upright. United were not on the back foot for long. Crerand slid a beautifully weighted ball through for Denis Law who looked a certain scorer with his true low shot but again the ball was marginally off target. Then Charlton rose prodigiously to meet a cross from Best but Brown was equal to the header. Little had been seen of the mercurial Jimmy Greaves and when Blanchflower tried to bring him into the game Stiles went barging in with a challenge that gained him the ball and left his opponent flat out on the turf. The referee allowed play to continue and when Stiles sent the ball forward to Law his first time flick sent Best racing away from Mackay and swerving beyond Brown to roll United into a deserved lead. United, roared on by the vast crowd, poured forward. Charlton thudded a header against the bar from Aston's corner and then saw Brown fling himself to his right to tip away one of his specials from 35 yards. It was becoming a personal mission with Charlton to add his name to the scoresheet and just past the half hour he did so. Receiving the ball in midfield the hotshot decided he should get a little closer to goal before unleashing his next missile and the theory was a sound one. Having exchanged passes with Law he took the ball to the edge of the area before ripping a right footed drive high into the roof of the net with Brown motionless. This was not the first time Spurs had found themselves trailing in this competition but on this occasion they looked in danger of being swamped. Best danced his way into the box again before shooting weakly at Brown and Law was inches away with a glancing header from the Irishman's centre. Action was required from the visitors and Dave Mackay was the type of man to provide it. A couple of forthright challenges stopped Law and Best in their tracks when United tried to come forward again but something was needed further up the pitch to inspire his team. Another pass went in the direction of Greaves but Stiles was there again to snap the ball away from him. United's guard dog only dwelt on the ball for a second to weigh up his options but this delay was long enough. Mackay appeared like a tank to level Stiles completely and suddenly he was leading a Spurs attack. Mackay ignored the run of Smith to play in Jones, cutting in from the left, and his rising drive forced a flying save out of Stepney. When the corner came across United's keeper got no distance on his punch under pressure from Smith and when White knocked the ball back into the goalmouth Greaves flicked out an instinctive boot to deflect the ball past a cluster of defenders into the net. The last few minutes of the half passed without incident but the atmosphere inside Old Trafford had clearly changed with a certain apprehension replacing the earlier euphoric confidence. Were Spurs going to engineer another thrilling comeback? Half Time: Man United 2 Tottenham 1 There was clearly more belief about Tottenham at the start of the second half and they began to gain the upper hand in a game that remained wide open. It was the midfield trio of Blanchflower, Mackay and White who were at the heart of Spurs' improvement as they kept their side moving forward with a series of slick, short passing movements that consistently punched holes in the United defence. In contrast the United attack began to lose its' earlier fluency and teamwork was replaced by individualism. George Best often had the crowd on their feet as he skated away from a couple of challenges only to find another Tottenham player racing in to dispossess him before any real damage could be inflicted, Baker began to get a grip on Aston's dashes along the other flank and the visitors defence covered each other diligently as Denis Law looked to get on the end of Charlton's raking passes.
Newcastle United (1954-55) v. Nottingham Forest (1978-79) Newcastle: R.Simpson, B.Cowell, A.McMichael, J.Scoular, B.Stokoe, T.Casey, L.White, I.Broadis, J.Milburn, G.Hannah, B.Mitchell. Notts For: P.Shilton, V.Anderson, F.Clark, I.Bowyer, L.Lloyd, K.Burns, M.O'Neill, A.Gemmill, T.Francis, T.Woodcock, J.Robertson. att: 63,895 (4,881) Ipswich Town (1980-81) v. Chester City (1985-86) Ipswich: P.Cooper, G.Burley, M.Mills, F.Thijssen, K.Beattie, T.Butcher, J.Wark, A.Muhren, P.Mariner, A.Brazil, E.Gates. sub: S.McCall. Chester: J.Butcher, D.Glenn, M.Lane, A.Holden, B.Coy, G.Abel, J.Kelly, M.Graham, S.Rimmer, M.Speight, D.Murray. sub: P.Houghton. att: 32,000 (4,000) Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953-54) v. Everton (1969-70) Wolves: B.Williams, E.Stuart, B.Shorthouse, B.Slater, B.Wright, E.Clamp, J.Hancocks, P.Broadbent, R.Swinbourne, D.Wilshaw, J.Mullen. Everton: G.West, T.Wright, K.Newton, C.Harvey, B.Labone, H.Kendall, A.Ball, J.Husband, J.Royle, J.Hurst, J.Morrissey. att: 57,366 (8,067)
5th Round replay Everton (1969-70) v. Blackpool (1952-53) Everton: G.West, T.Wright, B.Labone, J.Hurst, K.Newton, A.Ball, H.Kendall, C.Harvey, J.Husband, J.Royle, J.Morrissey. sub: T.Jackson. Blackpool: G.Farm, E.Shimwell, H.Johnston, T.Garrett, E.Fenton, H.Kelly, S.Matthews, E.Taylor, S.Mortensen, J.Mudie, B.Perry. sub: A.Brown. att: 54,804 (3,991) This 5th round replay was the first time Blackpool had played away from Bloomfield Road in the competition so nobody could guess how they would adapt to playing in the future. There was no doubt that Everton would be keen to test the visitors early to see if they had acclimatised. From the kick off Howard Kendall pushed the ball forward to Alan Ball who sidestepped Jackie Mudie and pushed a quick ball out to Jimmy Husband. Husband feinted to go outside his full back before nipping inside Tommy Garrett and there was immediately a huge gap for the winger to run into. Harry Johnston was unsure whether to move across and challenge or stay with his man, Joe Royle, in the middle. Johnston finally decided to go to Husband but was too late. The winger darted clear into the box before drilling a low shot past George Farm to give Everton the lead inside twenty seconds. When Stanley Mortensen tapped the resulting kick off to Ernie Taylor it was the first time a Blackpool player had touched it and before many other people in tangerine had managed one Everton were pressing again. This time Husband did go on the outside to beat Garrett and Johnston was inches away from an own goal as he headed the centre behind for a corner at the near post. Johnny Morrissey went across to whip in a fast inswinger which Farm and Royle leapt for but both missed and when the ball dipped at the far post the diminutive Ball was standing unmarked to head home from five yards out. Two goals down inside three minutes Blackpool badly needed a response but looked incapable of finding one. Ernie Taylor, their main schemer, was being outplayed by the Everton trio of Harvey, Kendall and Ball and consequently Stan Matthews was being starved of possession. Stanley Mortensen remained a willing runner but nobody was able to provide him with any sort of a decent pass. Everton continued to purr and moved forward consistently with measured passing movements and the odd rapid burst from either Husband or Morrissey. Kendall drove just wide from the edge of the box while Royle headed narrowly over the bar from Husband's centre and Farm had to save smartly from Ball, Royle and Morrissey. On 25 minutes Mortensen sent in Blackpool's first worthwhile effort but his stinging drive from 30 yards flashed just past the base of the upright with Gordon West struggling to get across in time. The home side remained in almost total control, however, and John Hurst was desperately unlucky when his towering downward header from Husband's corner rebounded out from the foot of the post. Blackpool were also fortunate when a shot from Ball took a wicked deflection off Ewan Fenton and bounced just wide of the post with Farm completely wrong footed. The Blackpool keeper then caught Royle's weak header comfortably after a clever chip forward by Kendall had taken Johnston out of the game. The pressure had been almost constant but was building to a real crescendo as half time approached. Royle stabbed wide from close range and Husband drilled a cross shot just past the far post cutting in from the right. Then Blackpool somehow survived a huge goalmouth scramble after Farm had dropped Morrissey's corner and both Ball and Royle saw shots blocked on the line before Eddie Shimwell finally booted clear. Three minutes from the interval, however, the pressure told. Kendall strode forward to exchange passes with Husband before lifting his shot beyond the advancing Farm from just inside the area. With Blackpool looking totally dispirited Everton mounted one final attack and when Royle nodded down Tommy Wright's centre Ball was arriving on cue to smack a fierce volley beyond Farm from 20 yards out. A packed Goodison Park rose to acclaim a magnificent first half display from the home team. Half Time: Everton 4 Blackpool 0 Blackpool spent the first few minutes of the second half trying to mount some pressure of their own but were getting nowhere and when Hurst punted a ball out of defence Hugh Kelly and Johnston got themselves into an almighty tangle to leave Royle through on goal. Royle looked to be trying to round Farm but then shot from the angle and the goalkeeper was down in a flash to save. This incident seemed to harden the visitors' resolve and perhaps instill some confidence and their next attack was their most coherent so far. Taylor sidestepped Harvey before feeding Mortensen and moving on for a return which was duly delivered. Taylor looked ready to shoot from the edge of the box but as defenders moved to cover he slipped a clever ball through to Jackie Mudie who was better placed and in space. To the massive frustration of the Blackpool contingent his shot was off target at West's near post, however. Matthews tricked Keith Newton for just about the first time all night but his centre was too high for everyone and when Bill Perry drove in a low cross from the other flank the lunging Mortensen missed it by a shoe size. Then West had to make his first real save of the match when Taylor chipped in a shot from the edge of the box which the keeper only just clawed out as he backpeddled smartly. Everton still had their moments and Farm produced a wonderful save high up to his right when Royle met a fine Morrissey centre squarely with his forehead. At the other end Hurst slipped to leave Mortensen in space but Brian Labone covered superbly to snuff out the danger and the England defender also headed out from underneath his own bar when Fenton moved forward to beat West to a teasing Matthews centre. For all their second half improvement Blackpool remained four goals down and now there was little over 20 minutes to go. Suddenly it was the home side attacking again as Kendall intercepted a pass forward and instantly sent Morrissey racing into the Blackpool half. The winger breezed away from Fenton before squaring to Royle on the penalty spot. Johnston lunged desperately as the striker shaped to pull the trigger and Royle went crashing to the ground. Without a moments hesitation the referee ran forward pointing to the spot and Everton had a penalty. Alan Ball stepped up to hit a crisp shot low to Farm's left but the keeper was down in an instant to parry the ball to safety. The dust had barely settled on that incident when a long ball forward by Garrett skidded under Hurst's foot and this time Mortensen was away before Labone could blink. Having raced to the edge of the box the dynamic forward smashed in a rising drive that West might have smelt but never saw. 4-1. Two minutes later Matthews sauntered away from Newton and, unusually, cut inside. Having sidestepped Kendall and entered the box the winger then went down as he looked to go past Hurst. Again the referee had no qualms about pointing to the spot and Mortensen stepped forward to smash a ferocious drive into the roof of the net with the spectators behind the goal ducking for cover. West neither smelt nor saw that one. 4-2 and game on? A suddenly frantic Ball brought Taylor down just outside the area but this time Mortensen's drive was too high and the fans had to take real evasive action. Then Johnston came up for a corner and met Matthews' centre firmly but West was able to tip the ball over the top. Finally Matthews came infield again to try his luck with a curling shot but the effort was wide of the far post. With four minutes to go Matthews set off on a mazy dribble that took him beyond Harvey and Newton for a centre which evaded the lunging Mortensen and Labone only to bounce beyond West at the far post off an unsupecting Tommy Wright. 4-3. There was a mixture of disbelief and panic around the terraces now with the band of Tangerine clad supporters finally making themselves heard. Johnston pumped the ball forward towards Mortensen but this was meat and drink to Labone who headed away and suddenly the Everton midfield clicked into gear again. Harvey passed to Kendall who passed to Ball who slipped it back to Harvey and when he rolled a pass forward to Kendall he stepped over it and Ball was running clear in the middle of the Blackpool half. Johnston made his decision early this time and moved in to challenge but this simply allowed Ball to knock the ball through to Royle who was clean through on goal. This time the striker took the ball forward a couple of steps before lashing a low drive beyond Farm for the killer goal. In the last minute Morrissey hammered in an angled drive that had the crossbar shaking but the scoring was now finished and, despite Blackpool's unlikely fightback, Everton had a deserved place in the quarter finals and another trip back to the 1950's to take on Wolves. Full Time: Everton 5 Blackpool 3 5th Round Leeds United (1971-72) v Newcastle United (1954-55) Leeds: G.Sprake, P.Reaney, J.Charlton, N.Hunter, T.Cooper, P.Lorimer, B.Bremner, J.Giles, E.Gray, A.Clarke, M.Jones. sub: P.Madeley. Newcastle: R.Simpson, B.Cowell, B.Stokoe, A.McMichael, J.Scoular, T.Casey, L.White, J.Milburn, V.Keeble, G.Hannah, B.Mitchell. sub: I.Broadis. att: 47,968 (11,212) This was just the kind of cup away day the 1950's vintage Geordies lived for. The special train booked to ferry most of their supporters to Leeds was so long that when it pulled into the platform at its' destination 34 carriages had still not cleared the boundary of Newcastle. It was a long walk down the train for the fans in these back carriages and despite a delayed kick off many thousands of black and white clad spectators found that the gates of Elland Road were locked by the time they arrived at the ground. Most of them were too drunk to bother by this time and at least they had the consolation of claiming the best seats for the journey home. Leeds, having rested several players in the previous round, were now back to full strength and obviously anticipating a real test from their opponents. The home side controlled the early stages, however, with some measured passing that kept the ball away from the eager visitors without presenting too much of a threat on their goal. Johnny Giles and Billy Bremner were the men in charge as Leeds switched play from side to side in some style. Peter Lorimer flashed a drive wide from 25 yards and Mick Jones sent a header wide from Eddie Gray's cross but Ronnie Simpson was not called into action until the 12th minute when Bremner's low drive from the edge of the area gave him a routine save. Newcastle finally threatened when Jackie Milburn seized on a loose ball and tore past his nephew Jackie Charlton to fire in a shot that rose just too high and cleared Gary Sprake's crossbar with the keeper flapping. This seemed to give Leeds a wake up call and their play became more incisive. Bremner played in Allan Clarke who rode Bob Stokoe's challenge before skidding a low drive just wide and Simpson was at full stretch to keep out another header from Jones. When Stokoe upended Clarke almost 30 yards from goal Lorimer left the crossbar shaking with his ferocious free kick. Bobby Cowell was the next Newcastle defender forced to bring his man down as Gray cut inside dangerously and this time Giles stepped forward to take the free kick and his curling effort went just the wrong side of the post with Simpson standing watching. Milburn made another burst but saw his shot blocked after once again skinning his lanky relation but this was an isolated interruption to the Leeds pressure. Simpson reacted superbly to tip a close range effort from Clarke over and then managed to get his body in the way of another Lorimer piledriver. Jackie Charlton came forward to make a nuisance of himself at a corner which resulted in a terrific scrammble in which two goalbound efforts were blocked by flailing Newcastle limbs. The pressure had to tell and on 35 minutes Leeds took the lead. Giles chipped a delightful ball over Stokoe and Clarke was onto it, checking back inside Jimmy Scoular before lashing a rising shot beyond Simpson for the opening goal. The goal did nothing to dampen the home sides' attacking intentions. Lorimer sent a wicked low centre across the face of goal that Jones met at full stretch but could only glance wide and when Gray crossed from the other wing the Frank Spencer lookalike centre forward had a far clearer chance but again headed wide of the upright. Oooh Betty! Bremner was sent clear by a clever flick from Clarke but Simpson smothered at his feet as he attempted to go round the keeper and then the Newcastle custodian covered himself in glory with a brave double save to deny Clarke and Lorimer. The half time whistle brought an end to the siege and the visitors, and their subdued supporters, could feel mighty thankful that they were only one goal in arrears. Half Time: Leeds United 1 Newcastle United 0 It had almost looked as though the visitors had been hypnotised by the measured passing of the home side before half time and their performance had been muted in the extreme. Some choice words in the dressing room at the interval had obviously revived them and Scoular and Tommy Casey began the second half in determined mood. Challenges quickly began to fly in and while this did not unduly worry the home side it did break up the flow of their football and chances became fewer. Jones broke away from Stokoe on one occasion to flash a shot wide of the far post but in general Newcastle were keeping the home attack at a safe distance from Simpson who was now mainly employed in collecting a series of hopeful centres. Gradually the visitors began to force their way further up the pitch and by the hour mark Scoular and Casey could be seen in Leeds territory for the first time. This pair had now got a real taste for the action and they were a formidable pair when in the mood. Scoular dumped Bremner onto the seat of his shorts with one bulldozing challenge and when the fiery Scot next took possession Casey flattened him with an even more ferocious tackle. Suddenly the home side looked to be feeling the exertions of their 3rd round marathon with Liverpool. Norman Hunter slipped to allow Vic Keeble his first sight of goal but the shot was too high and then Paul Reaney was grateful for his express pace when he got back to clear a shot from George Hannah off the line after Sprake had got a hand to the ball but couldn't collect. The full back was beginning to have troubles of his own, however, as Bobby Mitchell warmed to his task on the left wing. The winger could not beat his man for pace but his elusive dribbling was confounding Reaney time and again. Suddenly it was Newcastle pouring forward and the Leeds goal under siege. Mitchell sent a low ball across the six yard box that evaded both Milburn and Sprake and when it reached Len White at the far post a goal looked certain but the winger shot feebly into the side netting. Then Keeble produced a weak header from another Mitchell centre and Sprake saved easily. Milburn belted a free kick just wide after being felled by his nephew and headed agonisingly wide from yet another Mitchell cross. Leeds had completely run out of steam and were now hanging on desperately as the visiting hoardes roared their team on from all quarters of Elland Road. Mitchell's next centre looked less dangerous but Sprake managed to completely misjudge the flight and suddenly the ball was loose and the goal vacant. Milburn launched himself at the loose ball but Hunter was able to block. When the ball ran free again, however, Hannah was on hand to slam home the equaliser. Just under twenty minutes remained and the intentions of both teams became clear as they made their substitutions. Newcastle brought on the scheming Ivor Broadis in place of Keeble and sent Milburn to play centre forward whereas Leeds withdrew their attacking spearhead Jones and brought on Paul Madeley to bolster the midfield. The move did nothing to wrest the initiative from the visitors as Broadis immediately began to spray passes around to keep the Leeds defence at full stretch. The speedy running of Milburn was also far more of a problem to Hunter and Charlton than Keeble's more physical approach. Reaney had to cover behind his centre halves to stop Milburn on one occasion and then Sprake got a hand on another effort and turned the ball onto the post. Broadis took time out from feeding others to drift away from Giles and slam in a shot that rebounded from the angle of post and bar as Newcastle continued to threaten a winner. Eddie Gray broke the siege with a solo dribble down the left wing but he was finally crowded out without support on the edge of the box and the visitors were quickly back on the attack. Scoular tried his luck from distance and the nervous Sprake needed two attempts to save properly and then Mitchell cut inside to rap in a cross shot that rebounded back across goal from the inside of the far post with Milburn lunging in unsuccessfully in an attempt to convert. Six minutes remained when Uncle Jack finally got the goal his performance warranted. Broadis slid a perfect ball down the side of Charlton and Milburn veered away from Hunter in one sweet movement before crashing a comprehensive drive past the floundering Sprake. Leeds desperately needed an instant response but this was beyond them. Their earlier trials had left them a spent force and Newcastle swarmed forward in an effort to put the game to bed. The goal was not long in coming. Milburn made a burst from the halfway line before feeding Mitchell who shimmied his way to the goalline before squaring a precise ball between a trio of desperately retreating defenders to present Milburn with the easiest of chances. Oh how the Blaydon Races chimed out into the early evening Leeds sky as almost 12,000 Geordies readied themselves for a long, drunken journey back to the 1950's with the prospect of a quarter final at home to Nottingham Forest to look forward to. Happy days. Full Time: Leeds United 1 Newcastle United 3 4th Round Leeds United (1971-72) v. Preston North End (1888-89) Leeds: G.Sprake, P.Madeley, J.Charlton, N.Hunter, T.Yorath, P.Lorimer, M.Bates, B.Bremner, E.Gray, J.Jordan, A.Clarke. sub: R.Belfitt. Preston: Dr R.Mills-Roberts, B.Howarth, D.Russell, B.Holmes, S.Robertson, J.Graham, J.Gordon, J.Ross, J.Goodall, F.Dewhurst, S.Thomson. sub: G.Drummond. att: 26,502 (2,660) This 4th round tie had been a long time coming with Leeds needing four games to dispose of Liverpool (1981-82) in the previous round. The Preston side of the previous century had made it to Elland Road in good time despite having been on a barge for what seemed like an eternity and having drunk their body weight in alcohol (mainly mild) several times over while waiting to find out who their opponents would be. Leeds probably didn't expect too much trouble from their long shorted opponents and had rested several players ahead of their potential 5th round tie which would have to be squeezed in before the quarter finals took place, not withstanding the possibility of another replay here. Perhaps Leeds were expecting an easy ride because there was a strange lethargy about their early play which encouraged the visitors and soon Preston were knocking the ball around Elland Road pretty much at their ease. Sandy Robertson soon made it clear that he would not allow Allan Clarke much room while his half back partner Johnny Graham set about linking neatly with his forwards. Several times the visitors eased their way forward from deep with clever, short passing moves and when Graham exchanged passes with Fred Dewhurst before playing in Jimmy Ross for a shot that scraped the crossbar on twenty minutes the home fans became audibly restless. "Get a grip on that number six will ya? He's runnin' the show!" bellowed one of the more astute home fans but the men in white were finding it difficult to obey orders. Terry Cooper was also finding life difficult against Jack Gordon who tricked his man before putting over a fine centre for John Goodall but his header flashed just wide of the upright. Next up it was Graham again at the heart of a sweeping Preston move and when he slipped the ball through Jack Charlton's legs Goodall was able to smash his shot past Gary Sprake from eighteen yards to give the visitors a well deserved lead. Eddie Gray centred for Joe Jordan to head goalwards but Dr Robert Mills-Roberts was well placed to field the effort and the half ended with Preston back on the attack. Sam Thomson belted a shot high and wide from a promising position and then Ross sent Gordon clean through on goal with a subtle flick. Sprake advanced but the wingers' shot beat him low down only to flash the wrong side of the post. With half time imminent it was an important reprieve for the home side. Half Time: Leeds United 0 Preston North End 1 After having watched his team slog through four gruelling games with Liverpool and then come out and give such an insipid display in the first half here there can be little doubt that Don Revie would have had some harsh words to say to his players during the interval. The first sign of a more purposeful effort from his team was the sudden sight of Jackie Charlton surging forward down the inside left channel to slide over a dangerous low ball that just clipped the studs of a lunging Joe Jordan as it flashed across the face of goal. Perhaps a more meaningful sign of intent came as Billy Bremner finally got in a telling challenge on Johnny Graham and came away to set up another Leeds attack. With Mick Bates also managing to get into the game for the first time the home side were suddenly calling the tune in midfield. Bremner offered Clarke a half chance and Mills-Roberts had to scramble across his line to save by the foot of his post and then Bates forced his way through two challenges inside the box but, off balance, could not get enough power on his shot to unduly trouble the Preston keeper. Jack Gordon still had the ability to trouble Terry Cooper, however, and when he made his way to the byeline and screwed the ball back into the path of Jimmy Ross the rising drive that followed looked a winner but the ball just flicked off Norman Hunter's head to clear the bar by a fraction. Hunter's next contribution was to ping a ball forward onto Jordan's head and his neat headed flick dropped invitingly for the onrushing Peter Lorimer who slammed in a fierce half volley from 25 yards. The ball was past Mills-Roberts in a flash and as the startled keeper turned his head to check for damage he was just in time to see the ball rebounding from the crossbar, thud into his left leg and bounce back into the net. Further inspired Leeds now went about their task with real gusto. Lorimer whipped over a centre that Jordan guided just the wrong side of the post and Bremner sent in a clever chip from outside the box that Mills-Roberts tipped onto the top of the bar at full stretch. From the corner Charlton soared for a header that smacked against the post before being hacked clear. For a while it looked as though the visitors had weathered the storm and after a spell of possession John Goodall burst away to hammer in a shot that Sprake could not hold but saw bounce wide of the post and behind for a corner. Then Graham fashioned another chance for Ross and this time the Welsh keepers' reactions were electric in getting down to save. After Eddie Gray had produced his one telling dribble which ended with a fierce, but wayward, cross shot Revie decided to withdraw his winger and send on an extra forward in the shape of Rod Belfitt and the move soon had Preston under increased pressure. Cooper got forward to cross and it was Clarke launching himself into a header that Mills-Roberts turned aside in nonchalant fashion. How agile the Preston custodian might be was debatable but there was no questioning his positional sense. Belfitt's first act was to produce a muscular turn and low shot which was goalbound before the intervention of the magnificent Graham, covering back behind his keeper. Ten minutes remained and the unwelcome prospect of another replay was looming large for Leeds. Jordan barged his way through to try and remove the necessity but having created the chance he then wasted it with a ballooned shot and Lorimer was also off target with a header from Cooper's deep cross. With the pressure now intense, however, a goal seemed increasingly likely and with five minutes left it duly arrived. Jordan and Clarke both saw efforts blocked in a goalmouth scrimmage but when the ball then fell for Bremner the Leeds' skipper made no mistake with a crisp low drive. Two minutes later Clarke thumped home an emphatic drive from Belfitt's inviting pass and the tie was done and dusted. This had been a good effort by the team from Victorian times but in the end they returned to their barge a tired and defeated side. They were consoled by the lavish helpings of fish and chips awaiting them on their vessel courtesy of match sponsors Harry Ramsden's and the several crates of beer compliments of some thoughtful contemporary Preston fans who had travelled over to watch the game. It would be a long time back into the past on the journey home before the North End party could afford to buy their own ale, even though they were the original professionals. As for Leeds, they had a few days to recover before playing hosts to the 1954-55 Newcastle United side for a place in the quarter finals. Full Time: Leeds United 3 Preston North End 1
5th Round Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953-54) v. Yeovil Town (1948-49) Wolves: B.Williams, E.Stuart, B.Wright, B.Shorthouse, B.Slater, R.Flowers, J.Hancocks, L.Smith, R.Swinbourne, D.Wilshaw, J.Mullen. Yeovil: S.Hall, A.Hickman, L.Blizzard, R.Davis, B.Keeton, N.Collins, B.Hamilton, A.Stock, E.Bryant, R.Wright, J.Hargreaves. att: 52,559 (2,604) It certainly looked as though the famous Wolves side of the 1950's was enjoying some considerable luck of the draw in this competition. Yeovil had also had their share in the two previous rounds but now travelled a little way into the future for a daunting test. Within minutes the Yeovil goal was under siege. Hancocks and Mullen were quickly in action raiding keenly down either flank and sending a torrent of service into the box. Stan Hall tipped over one header from Roy Swinbourne and then got down well to save a snapshot from the same player. Les Smith, given a start in place of Peter Broadbent, sidefooted wide from penalty spot range and Dennis Wilshaw saw a fierce effort flash wide in a storming opening. On eight minutes the pressure told on the non leaguers as Ron Flowers, also drafted into the side, strode forward to collect Wilshaw's knockdown and bury a low shot past Hall from the edge of the box. Four minutes later and Wilshaw was again the provider, slipping the ball through for Mullen who came racing in from the left to slam a comprehensive cross shot into the far corner. There looked no way back for Yeovil as the gold shirts continued to win every midfield challenge and give their side a complete monopoly on possession. Even Bill Sater was able to step forward almost at will and tested Hall with a drive from just outside the box. The goalkeeper was then grateful to Arthur Hickman for booting off the line to clear Swinbourne's goalbound header. Wilshaw saw another effort cannon back from the angle of post and bar before making no mistake when Flowers put him through the bedraggled defence. Apart from one determined run and shot from Jack Hargreaves which brought a routine save out of Bert Williams it was Wolves who continued to do all the attacking. Smith, Mullen and Swinbourne all went close to increasing the lead before the centre forward Swinbourne finally found the target twice in quick succession leading up to the interval. With half the game still to play there was no chance of a giant killing in this one whatsoever. Half Time: Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 Yeovil Town 0 The Wolves relaxed slightly after the break and to their credit Yeovil showed some decent passing moves when allowed a little more time and space. There would be no consolation goal, however, as Eric Bryant missed the target with his two big opportunities and Williams displayed his razor sharp reflexes to deny good efforts from Ray Wright and Alec Stock. At the other end when Wolves did venture forward they remained a real menace. Hall distinguished himself with flying saves to deny Flowers, Wilshaw and Mullen but was helpless as other efforts from Hancocks, Smith and Swinbourne, for his hat trick, flew past him. The visitors battled gamely to the last whistle and received the plaudits of the crowd but at no stage had they been able to make this game a real contest. Full Time: Wolverhampton Wanderers 8 Yeovil Town 0
Huddersfield Town (1924-25) v. Ipswich Town (1980-81) Huddersfield: T.Taylor, N.Barkas, T.Wilson, S.Wadsworth, R.Goodall, B.watson, T.Richardson, D.Steele, G.Brown, C.Stephenson, B.Smith. Ipswich: P.Cooper, M.Mills, R.Osman, T.Butcher, K.Beattie, F.Thijssen, J.Wark, A.Muhren, E.Gates, P.Mariner, A.Brazil. att: 60,501 (1,804) Cup fever had certainly gripped this part of West Yorkshire, just plain Yorkshire by the time Bobby Robson's Ipswich side rolled into town, and Leeds Road was absolutely heaving. These two teams had perhaps been the most impressive of all in the previous rounds. Huddersfield had scored a magnificent victory away from home against the 1970 Chelsea side in round 3 while this Ipswich side had accounted for the Everton team of 1985 and the Arsenal double winning side of 1971. This was also the third round on the trot that Ipswich had been drawn away from home. There is no doubt that Huddersfield were expecting home advantage to be of huge significance, however. Going back to 1971 was one thing but this was an altogether different challenge for Robson's side. Torrential rain had left the pitch a quagmire and the infamous old case ball would surely prove a problem for these southern softies from the future. As Huddersfield warmed up they were somewhat taken aback to find the Ipswich team trot out in old fashioned heavy duty shirts, baggy shorts and the formidable boots of the period. The visitors were evidently well prepared for the job in hand, the experience many of the squad had gained from starring in the film Escape to Victory proving invaluable as an historical reference point, and John Wark had even gone so far as to slick back his hair and trim his 'tache to make him feel the part. Bobby Robson had been shuffling his pack to accomodate the fearsomely talented Kevin Beattie throughout this competition and this time George Burley was the man to make way with Mick Mills moving over to right back and Beattie slotting in on the left. This gave the Ipswich side a decidedly powerful look and the visitors started with evident confidence. Eric Gates conjured a memorable spot of ball juggling to escape Roy Goodall and Ned Barkas but Paul Mariner's shot was too close to Ted Taylor who got down well to save. Next to show slick footwork was Alan Brazil who turned away from Bill Watson sweetly before sending a low drive a foot the wrong side of the post. Mariner's next effort came from Arnold Muhren's corner but his header glanced the bar before disappearing into the vast crowd behind the goal. Huddersfield lifted the spirits of the home crowd with a patient build up through the midfield which was orchestrated by Goodall and also involved David Steele, Ted Richardson and George Brown before Clem Stephenson was offered a shooting chance which he slammed straight at Paul Cooper. Ipswich remained generally in control with their more direct passing towards the front three which took the heavy pitch out of the equation. Mariner fought for the balls up the middle but Gates and Brazil were a bigger threat breaking into spaces down the channels, especially with the Dutch duo of Muhren and Thijssen picking out their runs with instinctive ease. Gates tried his luck from the angle of the penalty area and forced Taylor into a leaping save before clipping a smart ball to the back post from a similar position which Wark could only head into the side netting at full stretch. Then Beattie made his first surge forward from full back which ended with him slamming over a centre at waist height that several people lunged at but without true conviction. Perhaps the tank had hit his cross just a little bit too hard. Wark forced Taylor into another smart save with a downward header from Thijssen's centre before the game became somewhat bogged down in midfield and Huddersfield emerged from the battle to finish the half the stronger. Richardson gave Brown his first real opportunity with a superb centre that left Russell Osman completely stranded but the centre forward was a yard wide with his header and then Stephenson created a great chance for Steele but the more defensively minded inside forward wanted too much time and Beattie roared in to shut down the danger. With half time looming Cooper was at full stretch to keep out a cross shot from Richardson but when the ball was lifted forward Mariner's flick saw Gates and Brazil racing away in a two on two situation. Gates was the man in possession and he held the ball long enough to allow Wark to get up in support but having created the overlap he then decided to go himself and saw his shot fizz wide of the upright to his teammates' despair. Half Time: Huddersfield Town 0 Ipswich Town 0 At the start of the second half the home side looked more assured than at any time before the break. Barkas and Sam Wadsworth began to get a lot tighter to Brazil and Gates and with Tom Wilson mastering Mariner in the air little was seen of the Ipswich attack. Moreover, Clem Stephenson and Billy Smith began probing the right hand side of the visitors' defence and began to make headway. Smith centred narrowly beyond the straining George Brown and then stung the fingertips of Paul Cooper with a rasping drive. Stephenson also provided Roy Goodall with a rare scoring opportunity but the wing half dragged his shot across goal and wide. This more positive start roused the home crowd and the atmosphere became intensely expectant as the visitors from the future began to struggle on the sapping surface. Stephenson was at the heart of everything and looking ever inch an earlier, English version of Arnold Muhren with his left footed passing but he also showed himself to be energetic in his running on and off the ball. He glided one sublime ball over the Ipswich defence for Brown at the far post but the volley, although fierce, was wayward and then forced himself into a shooting position only to find Cooper leaping to the task of turning the ball over. One position where the home side were not enjoying any success was their right flank where Beattie was in command over Ted Richardson. When Goodall looked to feed the winger the Ipswich full back roared into the challenge and came away with clean possession and space to run into. Beattie did not hesitate and was quickly well beyond the halfway line and still unchallenged. Barkas had to come across to cover the run and although the home defence adjusted to keep all the forwards covered Beattie's deep cross escaped everyone except Wark, steaming up in support, and his header had the net bulging high above Taylor's clutching fingers. The crowd was stunned and it took the home side some time to recover but after Taylor had made a good save to deny a curling Muhren effort Huddersfield began to regain their earlier impetus. Billy Smith ignored another flying lunge from Mick Mills to clip over a tempting centre but George Brown was having a day when he simply could not buy a finish and Cooper was out quickly and bravely to take the ball off David Steele's feet as he looked to reach another cute ball from Stephenson. It was becoming a crusade with Stephenson to drag his side level and the fact that the goalscorer Wark was now detailed to shadow him had little effect. Stephenson ran at Wark and forced him right back into his own box before sidestepping his challenge to crash in a low drive that rebounded from the inside of the post and was somehow missed by Brown as it flashed back across the box. Then when the hapless centre forward finally made telling contact with a through ball from the schemer the shot slammed against the crossbar. Billy Smith was also being spoonfed by Stephenson and provided a stream of inviting centres but Osman, Butcher and Beattie were not to be found wanting in the air very often. Brown got his head to one under challenge but the ball looped over the bar and when another dropped nicely onto Steele's head his effort was sent limply wide of the far post. Stephenson tried a snap shot from outside the box which Cooper gathered low to his left and then exchanged passes with Bill Watson to try his luck from closer range but this time the keeper was springing high to keep the ball out. When Steele then passed to Stephenson just outside the box it looked a waste as the player was hemmed in by three defenders. Suddenly the ball had been transferred through the throng, however, and Brown was in clear possession just inside the box. There was no time for Cooper to narrow the angle and although Beattie came charging across he was never going to be able to prevent the shot which whistled towards the top corner but over and beyond it. Frans Thijssen managed to relieve the pressure with a sweet ball over Barkas which had Gates cutting into the box from the left of goal but whether he intended to shoot or cross for Brazil it was impossible to tell as the ball skidded to safety along the six yard line. Back came the Terriers and Richardson managed to escape Beattie long enough to supply a deep cross which Smith brought down on his chest at the far post rather than head first time and Osman was able to block the ensuing shot with a brave lunge. Smith then returned the compliment with a wicked centre that arched and dipped away from Cooper and was begging to be finished underneath the angle but Beattie rose dramatically above Brown and Richardson to head to safety. Stephenson was offered a shooting chance from a free kick after Butcher was harshly penalised for climbing over Brown but the attempt flashed narrowly wide of Cooper's left hand post with the keeper stationary. In the next assault a shot from Brown was blocked by Butcher but the deflection sent the ball high into the box and when Cooper came but failed to collect a huge scramble ensued in the mud with bodies piling in from both sides. Steele saw a shot charged down and Smith went flying under challenge but no penalty was forthcoming and Mills eventually booted clear. Then a series of corners had the visitors under even more severe pressure and from the fourth they had Mariner to thank for being in the right place to head Brown's effort behind from underneath the bar. As the ball was hastily ferried back to Billy Smith to send over another corner the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game. This action seemed to take everyone by surprise. In the heat of this most arduous of battles even the visitors had apparently been unaware of how close they had been to victory. When the realisation sank in they were too tired to do anything but shake hands and commiserate with their vanquished opponents and salute the sporting crowd which, swallowing their own disappointment, proceeded to cheer both teams from the field. This had, perhaps, not been the classic hoped for but it had certainly been gripping and maybe an epic. There is probably a difference. Whatever the merits of the game there could be no doubting the merits of the victory. Could anybody stop this Ipswich side? Full Time: Huddersfield Town 0 Ipswich Town 1
Newcastle United (1995-96) v. Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) Newcastle: S.Hislop, W.Barton, S.Howey, P.Albert, J.Beresford, K.Gillespie, R.Lee, L.Clark, D.Ginola, L.Ferdinand, F.Asprilla. subs: P.Srnicek, S.Watson, D.Peacock, S.Sellars, P.Kitson. Tottenham: B.Brown, P.Baker, M.Norman, R.Henry, D.Mackay, D.Blanchflower, T.Dyson, J.White, B.Smith, J.Greaves, C.Jones. subs: J.Hollowbread, M.Hopkins, T.Marchi, T.Medwin, L.Allen. att: 36,588 (1,993) Of the many great sides in this competition these were perhaps the two most attack minded of all and a veritable feast might reasonably be anticipated as they went head to head. Unfortunately St James' Park was at just about its' lowest ever capacity at this time as the ground could easily have been filled three times over such was the demand. As it was it was a good day for the publicans of Geordieland as long as they had stocked up with a months worth of Newcastle Brown. There was plenty being supped as the rest of the Geordie nation settled down to watch the game live on the tele. Newcastle were eager to make a statement of intent and David Ginola skipped away from Peter Baker all too easily and was perilously close to the angle with his dipping cross shot and then Les Ferdinand brought a fine save out of Bill Brown from Keith Gillespie's centre. Tottenham had shown themselves to be vulnerable at the back in the two previous rounds but Dave Mackay showed that he was up for the contest the next time Ginola came inside Baker with a juddering challenge that relieved the Frenchman of the ball and most of his wind. From that moment on Ginola concentrated on taking his full back on the outside and Tottenham had scored an important moral victory. Spurs were, surprisingly, not clicking in attack and it took a solo effort from Cliff Jones to test Shaka Hislop for the first time but the big keeper was equal to the wingers' shot on the run and he also claimed two centres ahead of the bustling Bobby Smith. With twenty minutes played Brown came to claim a similar centre at the other end only to be left astonished as Ferdinand rose high above him to send a towering header into the unguarded goal. Still Tottenham could not click and the home side continued to come forward as the visitors' attacking moves quickly broke down. Rob Lee was just wide from the edge of the box after Ferdinand chested down into his path and then Faustino Asprilla sent an impudent back heeler, executed in mid air, sliding just by the upright. Phillipe Albert also brought Brown into action with a decent effort from thirty yards. Finally Danny Blanchflower managed to link with John White before giving Smith a shooting chance which was lashed too high and then Mackay bulldozed forward to shoot low and Hislop had to get down smartly to keep his goal intact. Having weathered this little spell of Tottenham pressure Newcastle ended the half hunting another goal with Ginola and Asprilla narrowly off target and Ferdinand forcing one effort past Brown in a goalmouth skirmish only to find Mackay back on the line to boot clear. As the half time whistle sounded the only thing to worry the Geordie faithful was that they only led by the one goal. Half Time: Newcastle United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 A more positive attitude might well have been expected from the visitors after half time and inside two minutes Blanchflower had split the Newcastle defence wide open and given Smith the chance to stride forward and shoot past Hislop for the equaliser. Within a minute, however, Asprilla had wriggled away from Ron Henry and Blanchflower to dig out a cross that saw Ferdinand head home with another prodigious leap. These quickfire goals did not light the touchpaper for a stirring second half, however. The home side now became more cagey, having surrendered the lead once they seemed nervous about doing so again. Steve Watson was brought on for Gillespie in a bid to become more solid but Kevin Keegan might have been better off withdrawing the enigmatic Ginola who was becoming less of an influence by the minute. This encouraged Tottenham to attack and having given up the initiative Newcastle would find it impossible to wrest it back. Smith headed narrowly over from Terry Dyson's centre and then John White, a growing influence, clipped a fine ball through for Jones who hammered a low drive into the side netting at Hislop's near post. Little to nothing had been seen of Jimmy Greaves but when White slipped another ball down the side of Steve Howey the finisher supreme stroked the ball beyond Hislop without fuss. There was more fuss about his protests when he realised a linesmans' flag was raised to disallow the effort, however. Greaves's next chance was more difficult as he had to arch backwards to get a header onto Dyson's centre but with a sharp turn of the neck he managed to guide his effort over Hislop only for the woodwork to deny him. There was little respite for the Newcastle defence now and Dave Mackay was the next to threaten with a determined run into the box that was only halted at the expense of a corner by Howey's last ditch tackle. Keegan now withdrew the anonymous Lee Clark and brought on Darren Peacock. Albert moved into midfield to accomodate the replacement as Newcastle became ever more negative. Cliff Jones slid in to meet a low ball across the box from White but saw his effort slide back across goal and wide of the far post and Greaves was frustrated by a splendid save from Hislop after spinning to get his shot away inside the box. Les Ferdinand slammed a shot narrowly over the bar from thirty yards but this was about as close to the Spurs goal as Newcastle could now get. Ten minutes remained and Blanchflower carved out another chance and this time it was White being denied by a sprawling Hislop. From Dyson's corner kick the unlikely figure of Maurice Norman appeared in the box and his strong header ripped into the top corner with the keeper helpless. At this stage Newcastle would gladly have taken a replay at White Hart Lane but two minutes later Mackay stormed into the box to meet White's lobbed pass and having taken a perfect touch on his chest he rammed his shot beyond an exposed Hislop. Keegan tried to redress the balance of his side by sending on Scott Sellars for Albert and the sub fashioned one half chance for Asprilla but from the angle the Columbians' shot flashed wide and with the game massively stretched White was able to release Greaves clean through the middle for a chance which he finished in comprehensive fashion. Despite the six goals this game had never quite lived up to expectations and the home supporters left frustrated and somewhat perplexed at the negative changes made by their manager during the course of the disastrous second half. Full Time: Newcastle United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 4
Nottingham Forest (1978-79) v. Manchester United (1956-57) Notts Forest: P.Shilton, V.Anderson, L.Lloyd, K.Burns, F.Clark, M.O'Neill, A.Gemmill, I.Bowyer, J.Robertson, T.Francis, T.Woodcock. sub: G.Birtles. Man United: R.Wood, G.Bent, M.Jones, R.Byrne, E.Colman, D.Edwards, J.Berry, L.Whelan, T.Taylor, D.Viollet, D.Pegg. sub: J.Blanchflower. att: 49,000 (7,000) These two sides had both impressed in the earlier rounds and now went head to head at a packed to capacity City Ground to see who would take a quarter final place. Whoever won through would become one of the favourites to take this ultimate footballing prize. Brian Clough had made his side more compact after their easy victory over Middlesbrough in round 4, evidently expecting a tougher test against the famous Busby Babes. There was no thought on Busby's part of changing tactics and his young side headed into the future for the first time in the competition happy to stick to the formation they knew best. It was the vibrant United side that showed up to advantage in the early stages. David Pegg tricked Viv Anderson before crossing for Tommy Taylor to head fractionally over and then Johnny Berry raced beyond Frank Clark on the other flank to drill in a low cross that just escaped the lunging Denis Viollet in front of goal. Forest retaliated with Archie Gemmill bursting forward to exchange passes with Tony Woodcock on the edge of the box but a perfectly timed challenge from Duncan Edwards cleared the danger as Gemmill was about to shoot. Edwards was soon showing his ability at the other end with a storming run and low shot that Peter Shilton only just shovelled round the post. From the corner Taylor rose mightily to head goalwards but Clark was in position to clear off the line. The game was very open in these early stages but the assurance of United had Forest looking to close up the midfield and stem the visitors' rhythm. With Trevor Francis drifting out to the right to allow Martin O'Neill inside to bolster the centre this did begin to stifle some of the United attacking threat and Shilton remained untroubled as a couple of hopeful shots from distance cleared his bar. Having increased their share of possession Forest began to test the United defence more consistently and, as usual, John Robertson was the main focus of their attacking ideas. The tubby winger was up against a reserve full back in Geoff Bent and quickly looked a real danger. Twice Robertson went outside his man to centre dangerous balls, Francis heading wide at the near post and Woodcock hooking a volley over at the far, before cutting inside to test Ray Wood with a stinging drive. When Robertson came inside his man again and shot low towards Wood's near post the keeper could not hold the effort and Woodcock was there in a flash to lift the loose ball high into the roof of the net. United tried to respond but Forest now looked solid. Eddie Colman slipped an enticing pass through for Taylor who slammed in a rising drive having escaped Larry Lloyd but Shilton was equal to the task and flicked the ball to safety. With the game increasingly a midfield battle Gemmill suddenly skipped away from Edwards before sending Woodcock completely clear of the United defence. The strikers' crisp low shot sped past the advancing Wood in a blur but also flew past the outside of the post and United went in at the break only one behind. Half Time: Nottingham Forest 1 Manchester United 0 United came out and went about their task in the only way they knew how, all out attack. It became impossible for Forest to keep their opponents contained in a midfield battle but while they now had to defend more desperately opportunities became increasingly frequent on the break. Taylor was proving a real handful for Lloyd and scraped the crossbar with a soaring header from Berry's centre before unleashing a thunderbolt of a shot from Colman's pass that thudded into Shilton's midrift and stayed there. When Colman then chipped a teasing ball over Lloyd's head Taylor managed to flick a header over the advancing Shilton only to see the ball drop onto the roof of the net. In response Francis combined with Woodcock to create an opening and when Wood could again only parry the resulting shot an almighty scramble ensued in the United goalmouth which saw three shots charged down before Edwards booted the ball clean into the River Trent to relieve the pressure. Denis Viollet had been mainly quiet but suddenly ghosted to the near post to meet Pegg's fine low centre and the United players and supporters alike were aclaiming a goal until Shilton somehow jacknifed to claw the ball to safety. Edwards then sent Pegg racing through on goal with a towering header and the winger managed to sidestep Shilton but could then only screw his shot across the face of goal from a narrow angle. Liam Whelan was the next to threaten after playing a one two with Berry but Shilton was down smartly to his right to gather the attempted cross shot. Another Forest counter attack then had the United defence stretched. Mark Jones made a last gasp tackle to deny Woodcock but the ball rolled loose to Ian Bowyer whose first time drive deflected high into the air off Edwards and when it dropped Francis launched into a spectacular overhead attempt that cleared the crossbar by inches with Wood completely out of position. More and more United players were joining in the attack. Roger Byrne raced forward from left back before drilling a diagonal ball to the far post which found the head of the diving Whelan but Shilton was there once again to pull off a dramatic diving save. Then Kenny Burns put his body on the line to block a rasping drive from Edwards that looked destined for the net. Robertson got the better of Bent once again to provide Francis with a clear chance but the striker was wide of the mark and this miss almost proved costly as United went straight to the other end for Colman to jink away from Burns and Bowyer and then chip Shilton from the angle only to see his effort come back off the bar. Edwards then caused panic in the Forest box with a surging run that took him deep into the area and saw Lloyd, Burns and Shilton challenge him together in a bid to end his charge. The ball broke loose towards a host of white shirted United attackers but somehow evaded them all and Clark was able to hoof clear. The punt forward looked to be Jones' but Francis got in front of the defender to claim possession with his chest and an instant ball forward found Robertson running at a totally exposed Bent. The winger dropped his right shoulder then his left and with his defender completely off balance finally cut inside in decisive fashion. Wood came out but found himself sitting on the seat of his pants as well after another feint and Robertson was able to roll the ball home into the unguarded net. Eight minutes remained and United continued to press forward but there was no way back. Shilton denied Taylor once again with a plunging save and then displayed his reflexes to keep out a deflected shot from Whelan to complete a consumate goalkeeping display. As might have been expected this had been a fantastic game between two superb footballing sides and United could feel truly hard done by to find a goalkeeper in such inspired mood. As could also have been anticipated, however, this magnificent young team took defeat in a wonderfully sporting manner. It was Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, however, who remained in the hunt for this most coveted of titles. Full Time: Nottingham Forest 2 Manchester United 0
Blackpool (1952-53) v. Everton (1969-70) Blackpool: G.Farm, E.Shimwell, H.Johnston, T.Garrett, E.Fenton, H.Kelly, S.Matthews, E.Taylor, S.Mortensen, J.Mudie, B.Perry. Everton: G.West, T.Wright, B.Labone, R.Kenyon, K.Newton, A.Ball, H.Kendall, C.Harvey, J.Husband, J.Royle, J.Morrissey. att: 36,805 (11,503) Blackpool were happy to be drawn at home for the third time in succession in this competition and were certainly fancying their chances against anyone at Bloomfield Road. This tie with the Everton side of 1970 threatened to be more challenging than their previous two games, however. This did not represent such a big step back in time or distance for a side that had travelled to play Corinthians in the 1800's in the 3rd round and Everton also had the backing of a massive following from Merseyside for this tie. Bloomfield Road was packed to almost ridiculous proportions and the huge terrace behind the goal at one end seemed to be a swarming mass of blue. Encouraged the visitors started brightly with Alan Ball lively on his return to his old stomping ground. Ball shot narrowly over and then slotted a pass through for Joe Royle to shoot on the run. The shot was firm but too close to George Farm who tipped the ball over. The pattern of play was altered completely the first time Stanley Matthews was brought into the game, however. Matthews sauntered up to Keith Newton, apparently with little intent, but in the blinking of an eye the winger was gone and pulling the ball across goal from the byeline. Gordon West dived out bravely to gather the ball ahead of Stan Mortensen but warning had been served. For ten minutes Matthews plagued his full back with a series of jinking runs to the goalline and even when Colin Harvey and Johnny Morrissey began dropping back to support their colleague in distress Matthews still found he could pick his way to the byeline almost at will. Mortensen blazed over with one great chance but was also desperately unlucky to see West claw out a snap shot at the near post and then Brian Labone slide back to clear a glancing header off the line. Bill Perry was narrowly wide with one shot and West had to be alert to deny Jackie Mudie as Matthews continued to wreak havoc along the right. The next pass out to the winger was more hopeful and Newton spotted his chance, launching a furious challenge that sent the ball clear of the startled Matthews. The ball dropped nicely for Howard Kendall who instantly spotted a gap in the Blackpool defence and sent Jimmy Husband racing through it. George Farm came out but could do nothing as Husband slipped his low shot past his left foot and into the net. This goal had come ridiculously against the run of play but that fact did not unduly bother the massed ranks of Evertonians celebrating wildly on the vast open terrace. Blackpool simply renewed their attacking efforts and Everton were soon defending deeply again. Three, four even five men would drift out to the right to confront Matthews who would still look dangerous but Blackpool were struggling to disturb the Everton defence in any other areas. Brian Labone was having a majestic game against the dynamic Mortensen, Kendall was making things difficult for the chief schemer Ernie Taylor and nothing at all was being gained out of Tommy Wright. Mortensen wriggled away from Labone to squeeze in a low shot that West did well to smother but it was symtomatic of Blackpool's plight that Matthews then felt the need to dribble inside and try his luck himself, the ball flying wide of the far angle. Hugh Kelly, recalled to the Blackpool ranks, came forward to try his luck but the save was comfortable and Labone was in the perfect place to clear when West came to collect another Matthews centre only to find the ball escaping his grasp ten yards from goal. Right on half time Alan Ball led another swift Everton counter and with the Blackpool defence backing off to cover the runners the red haired midfielder was able to carry the ball to the edge of the box before slamming in a drive that glanced the crossbar on its way over. Half Time: Blackpool 0 Everton 1 Everton were now attacking the end at which their supporters were mainly gathered but the action was almost exclusively at the other as Blackpool continued to look for an equaliser. Mortensen managed to burst clear of Labone for the first time and his spanking drive looked a winner only to flash by the post and do some damage to a slowly reacting fan behind the goal. Morty's next shooting opportunity came from a free kick and this time it was Tommy Wright reeling under the impact as the ball thudded into his rib cage. It was several minutes before Wright could stand to his full height again. Matthews remained the main source of danger although Everton appeared to be building a human fence around the winger to prevent any supply reaching him. Ernie Taylor could unpick most defensive locks, however, and with the effects of last nights' beer perhaps wearing off the impish Blackpool playmaker began finding his colleague at will. Twice Matthews burrowed his way deep into the Everton box but was unable to locate a colleague with his cut backs. Then he sent a low ball skidding right across the six yard box and Mudie made contact at full stretch only to see the ball glance the outside of the post. Blackpool had not threatened from any of their corners but when Perry drilled one in from the left Ewan Fenton rose highest to plant a header towards the top corner. Labone reached it under the bar but could only send the ball back into the box. Mortensen raced forward to head goalwards again and this time Roger Kenyon leapt on the line to prevent a certain goal. At last the visitors maanged to break the siege with Morrissey making a break down the left to cross for Royle who should have done better, unchallenged, than head wide of the far post and then Ball linked well with Husband to get into the box but Farm was down quickly to take the ball off his toe as he looked to sidestep the keeper. The last twenty minutes saw Blackpool camped in the Everton half searching desperately for the equaliser. Still the ball refused to drop to anyone in tangerine inside the box, however, and despite many scrambles ten minutes passed without Gordon West being called into action. Then Everton's task was made more difficult when Colin Harvey emerged from a challenge with Mortensen with a deadleg and was left a passenger for the final minutes. Matthews went past Newton, Kendall and Kenyon in scintilating style only for Labone to intercept his cross yet again with Mortensen pulling the trigger. Ernie Taylor then tried his luck from outside the box and West was at full stretch to turn the ball behind. With three minutes remaining Mortensen tried to turn Labone deep inside the box and went flying as the defender thrust out a leg to challenge. There were loud claims for a penalty but these were completely ignored by the referee as West dived out to gather. Still Blackpool pressed and Perry got away from Wright for the first time all afternoon to try his luck and West had to be at his best to turn the ball behind underneath the angle at his near post. When Kenyon hoofed the resulting corner clear it seemed as though Everton were home and dry but there was still one last chance for Matthews to run at the defence when Taylor once again threaded the eye of a needle with his distribution. Matthews went by Morrissey with ease and ran at Newton who backed off right into his own box, apparently unwilling to risk a challenge. Matthews looked to go onto his right foot and stumbled to the floor. It still appeared as though Newton had simply stood his ground but this time the referee saw something amiss and pointed to the spot. There were vociferous Everton protests but these were to no avail and when the dust had settled Mortensen stepped forward to drill his shot into the bottom corner and send the tie back to Goodison Park for a replay. Although the penalty award seemed generous in the extreme there was no doubt that Blackpool had merited at least a draw over the course of the game. Full Time: Blackpool 1 Everton 1
Manchester United (1967-68) v. Arsenal (1988-89) Man United: A.Stepney, S.Brennan, B.Foulkes, N.Stiles, T.Dunne, G.Best, P.Crerand, B.Charlton, J.Aston, D.Law, B.Kidd. sub: D.Sadler. Arsenal: J.Lukic, L.Dixon, S.Bould, T.Adams, N.Winterburn, D.Rocastle, M.Thomas, K.Richardson, P.Davis, P.Merson, A.Smith. sub: B.Marwood. att: 64,377 (2,259) This was the first major test for both these sides. United had been pushed hard at Wrexham in the previous round only to win through in a late blaze of glory. Arsenal had been given perhaps the two easiest ties of any side in the competition thus far. As Arsenal were going back in time they obviously knew plenty about the United side they were to encounter. They were also taking some baggage with them. This was the first Arsenal team to truly become enemies with the Old Trafford club and most of the bad blood had been caused by their left back Nigel Winterburn. Winterburn was evidently keen to extend his grievance with the Red Devils back into the 1960's and at the earliest opportunity launched an ugly challenge on George Best that had the United star flat out on the turf. The anger of the home players and supporters was very clear and the atmosphere was immediately one the Gunners were accustomed to. What the visitors might not have been prepared for, however, was the response of this particular United side. There was more leeway allowed for physical contact in 1968 and the home side were not shy in "putting it about". Paddy Crerand was just one of the United players annoyed at the challenge on Best and, not knowing who Arsenal's star player might be, simply took the earliest opportunity of exacting revenge on anyone. Paul Merson was the unlucky man who was first in his vicinity and ended up nursing a badly grazed thigh. Nobby Stiles was looking for Winterburn and having ventured into his area came across Paul Davis in possession instead. Stiles' boot was raised above knee height as he went into the challenge but the referee saw nothing amiss as the ball ran loose and Davis hit the deck. The ball ran towards Winterburn who had begun by voicing his displeasure at the apparent foul but suddenly found himself having to go into a challenge with Stiles himself. Stiles went in lower but possibly harder and Winterburn found himself joining his colleague on the Old Trafford turf. This time the ref saw fit to give a free kick. Tony Adams was keen to redress the balance in what was quickly becoming a war but after a couple of unsuccessful hacks at United players he found himself grounded and dazed also after copping a stray and unidentified elbow off the ball, the owner of which was actually Denis Law. If this physical battering wasn't enough the visitors soon found that their opponents could play a bit as well. John Aston flew past Lee Dixon to whip in a dangerous centre and Best was quickly making Winterburn pay for his earlier aggression in a more acceptable way. Best was happy to beat his full back two and three times over before finally leaving him behind as punishment for the foul he had taken. Time and again he stopped to take his man on again rather than look to create danger. The crowd was loving this but little threat had been put on the Arsenal goal until Bobby Charlton suddenly latched onto a loose ball in midfield, strode forward ten yards and belted in the opener high to the keepers' right. Reminded that there should be a point to the trickery Best then waltzed past Winterburn before cutting in for goal and by the time he was slipping the ball past John Lukic for the second goal Adams and Steve Bould were both also marooned on the Old Trafford grass. Lukic made his first real save to beat out a powerful shot from Brian Kidd but in the next attack Law left him completely helpless with a shot of much less power but absolute precision. Suddenly, after half an hour, Arsenal found themselves three down and their opponents looked in no mood to relax. Stiles piled into a midfield melee and emerged with the ball and when he fed Charlton another thunderbolt left Lukic grasping thin air only to flash just over. Best chipped a delicious ball onto Kidd's head but the effort flicked just wide of the far post and then Aston crossed from the other flank and Best came charging in to head goalwards and was only denied by a desperate save underneath his bar by Lukic. With half time seconds away Aston raced away from Dixon again and although Lukic was able to keep out another Kidd header the ball dropped to Law whose instant shot on the half turn fizzed into the bottom corner through a sea of Arsenal legs. It was a totally demoralised looking set of visitors who trudged somewhat gingerly from the pitch moments later. Half Time: Manchester United 4 Arsenal 0 For a quarter of an hour after the interval it looked as though United were prepared to rest on their laurels but the mood was suddenly shattered when Best got in one more spot of revenge on Winterburn with a fierce tackle that left his man writhing in agony and unable to continue. Brian Marwood came on as a replacement with Michael Thomas given the thankless task of marking the Irishman. This setback actually inspired Arsenal to produce their best spell and Alex Stepney had to save from Alan Smith and David Rocastle while Adams came forward for a corner and scraped the bar with his header. The mistake the Gunners made was to actually convert one of their chances, Merson drilling home after Stepney had made a hash of collecting a hopeful effort from Marwood. Stung into action United retaliated in determined mood. Charlton carved open the defence only for Law to lift his shot wastefully over and then Aston sliced clean through the Arsenal rearguard to smack a low shot against the far post. When Adams was penalised for climbing on Law thirty yards from goal the Arsenal defence stopped to contest the decision and were punished by Crerand who stepped forward to chip a sly ball to the far post where Law had somehow ghosted to head home. Best was finding Thomas just as easy to fox as he had Winterburn and entertained himself in a variety of ways at the makeshift defenders' expense. On one occasion the winger cut inside having beaten his man and looked set to repeat his individual goal of the first half. Having sidestepped Lukic, however, Best declined shooting from a narrow angle and began beating opponents he had gone past already only in the opposite direction as he headed away from goal. Having reached the edge of the box, however, Best suddenly back heeled the ball through to Stiles who found himself completely clear and unmarked ten yards out. Stiles had Old Trafford roaring with laughter as he ballooned his shot way over with Lukic stranded. Brian Kidd, having an awful time in front of goal, spurned two more clear chances but was at least involved as United completed the scoring five minutes from time, heading on for Law to swerve away from Adams to score at the second attempt after Lukic had managed to block his first effort. So this made it 23 goals in 3 games in the competition for this United side and Arsenal's last remaining representatives bowed out with their tails very much between their legs and taunted by the cries of "Bertie Mee said to Matt Busby" ringing around Old Trafford. Full Time: Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1
Manchester City (1967-68) v. Chester City (1985-86) Man City: H.Dowd, T.Book, M.Doyle, G.Heslop, G.Pardoe, A.Oakes, C.Bell, T.Coleman, M.Summerbee, F.Lee, N.Young. sub: J.Crossan. Chester: J.Butcher, D.Glenn, B.Coy, W.Gage, M.Lane, J.Kelly, G.Abel, M.Speight, M.Graham, S.Rimmer, D.Murray. sub: G.Bennett. att: 47,148 (8,367) The competitions' most notable giant killers headed back in time for a local derby at Maine Road. This was City's first home tie in the competition and the first game in easy distance for Chester's travelling fans and with both sets of supporters out in force and there was a lively atmosphere. Chester sprang a couple of surprises as boss Harry McNally continued to shuffle his pack. Graham Abel was moved into midfield and joined by the experienced Mick Speight, probably with more than one eye on keeping tabs on the energetic Colin Bell. Would this be another master stroke or a game too far for McNally? The early stages suggested Chester's manager had got it right again. City took the intiative and pressed forward but the Chester defence was diligent and there was no room to breath in the midfield. Then when Chester attacked Dave Murray confirmed his growing reputation with a magnificent volleyed pass which sent Milton Graham sprinting down the left. Graham fed the ball inside to Stuart Rimmer who had Murray supporting and completely unmarked in the centre. Rimmer shot himself only to see Harry Dowd get down well to save at his near post. The youngster Murray looked ready to land a blow on his colleague for not passing and had to be dragged away, eyes bulging and moustache twitching, by John Kelly. Finally City began to make some half chances. Franny Lee launched himself into a header from Tony Book's cross but the ball flew straight at John Butcher and the keeper was also able to drop on an effort by Neil Young from a narrow angle. Bell was being shadowed everywhere by Abel and unable to significantly impose himself on the game. There was space for Tony Coleman, however, and he managed to create openings for Lee and Mike Summerbee. Lee was under pressure and could only shoot tamely at Butcher but Summerbee had no excuse for blazing over when clear of his marker. Chester were not just sitting back, however. Kelly broke from midfield to send in a dipping drive from 30 yards that had Dowd arching backwards to no avail only for the ball to shave the top of the bar. Then Rimmer sped away from Mike Doyle to shoot narrowly wide of the far post from the right hand side of the box. With City becoming increasingly frustrated it looked as though the first half was going to end goalwards until the home side won a corner with the game entering added on time. Summerbee whipped the ball across and Lee went flying to the ground as he looked to get on the end of it. The referee pointed to the spot to send the Chester players and supporters alike into a frenzy. It looked a clear cut case of "Lee Won Pen" but as the official pulled Dave Murray to one side and booked him while Lee was lifted gingerly from the field for treatment it began to look as though the ref might have got it right. Closer scrutiny did reveal the forwards' fist making effective contact with his tubby opponents' ribcage. With Lee patently unable to take the spot kick Mike Summerbee stepped forward to send Butcher the wrong way but it was Chester celebrating as the ball rolled wide of the left hand post. Half Time: Manchester City 0 Chester City 0 Chester had defended with great organisation as well as spirit and approached the second half confident that they could continue to frustrate the home side. Within seconds of the restart they were given added incentive to keep things tight as they struck at the other end to take a shock lead. The move started with another piece of Dave Murray magic. Martin Lane drilled a fierce ball into his chest from the left back position and Murray somehow flicked the ball some thirty yards down the left flank with his torso to send Milton Graham racing away. Graham centred low on the run and although the ball escaped the lunging Rimmer John Kelly was arriving beyond the far post to bury a fine shot into the roof of the net beyond the diving Dowd. Oh my God! Bedlam. It's not often Chester have taken over the ground of one of the countries' giants but here was one. Their wildly cedlebrating fans seemed to be everywhere and the song they spontaneously began chanting showed who their hero was. "David Murray's magic The young idol raised a clenched fist towards the bulk of the Chester fans dancing on the Kippax and the watching Franny Lee involuntarily winched again at the sight of that spade like appendage. Heaven forbid thst this character should ever get involved in any fisticuffs with Norman Hunter. City came back but Chester's defending remained of the highest quality. Neil Young was getting nowhere against Wakeley Gage and Bobby Coy was coping manfully with Lee. Mike Summerbee was roaming everywhere in an attempt to make a telling influence but found himself shackled at every turn. Colin Bell continued to find his every move dogged by Graham Abel and Butcher showed safe handling and sound positioning as a series of hopeful shots from distance came his way. On one occasion Lee forced his way past two challengers but having been forced wide had to centre low across goal rather than shoot and there was no obliging colleague on hand to turn home his cross. Alan Oakes also played a neat give and go with Coleman to find some room inside the box. Coy lunged to block his shot and only managed glancing contact. All eyes were diverted towards the far post as the ball looped goalwards but the trajectory took it over and Chester breathed a collective sigh of relief. Chester weren't content to sit back and defend, however. Rimmer sent Murray clear with a neat headed flick but George Heslop was able to get back and block the lumbering forwards' shot. There was more danger when Murray returned the compliment and Rimmer sped completely clear. Faced with Dowd the striker struck a fierce drive that left the crossbar shaking as it rebounded to safety. Suddenly Colin Bell was also running clear at the other end, having finally lost Abel, and from the edge of the box he struck low and true for the bottom corner. Butcher plunged dramatically to his right and somehow got a fingertip to the ball to send it sliding behind for a corner. With heads in hands all over Maine Road it seemed as though the home side realised at that moment that this was not their day. Butcher had to make another decent save to deny Young's drive from outside the area but with nine minutes to go the result was sealed in the most magnificent style. Graham sedt off to run the ball out of trouble for Chester and was approaching the halfway line before City looked to have him hemmed in. Looking up Graham spotted his teammate Murray loitering infield some twenty yards further forward and lofted the ball towards the youngsters' chest. Murray was stationed fifteen yards over the halfway line, with his back to goal and two defenders in attendance. Four touches later and the ball was in the City net, nobody else had touched it and the ball hadn't hit the ground. Murray's first touch, with his chest, sent the ball looping over his own and Heslop's head. His second, with his head as he turned away from Heslop, lifted the ball beyond the covering Mike Doyle and his third, with his left thigh lifted the ball high into the air and towards goal. Murray strode forward with stealthy intent and as the ball dropped, still some thirty yards from goal, he unleashed the most ferocious left footed volley imaginable and the ball tore into the top corner before Dowd could register even a token response. Special. Having milked another round of adulation from the ecstatic Chester fans Murray was withdrawn by Harry McNally and Gary Bennett was given a late run out. Chester's great day out was crowned just two minutes later when a shellshocked City saw Speight put Rimmer away and this time the pacy striker found the bottom corner with his finish. By this stage there were proabably more Chester fans left in the ground than City supporters and the last few minutes was played out against the backdrop of possibly the worlds' biggest ever Conga bobbing around the vast Kippax terrace. Unfortunately neither Roy Castle or either of the McWhirter's were there to verify this as a genuine world record although Eddie Large did at least go on record to say it was the biggest one he had ever seen. Another triumphant day then for Harry McNally and his buoyant side and another couple of noughts onto the price tag of the competitions' phenomenon, David Murray. Full Time: Manchester City 0 Chester City 3
5th Round Draw Nottingham Forest (1978-79) 2 v. 0 Manchester United (1956-57)
3rd Round Third Replay Leeds United (1971-72) v. Liverpool (1981-82) Leeds: D.Harvey, P.Reaney, P.Madeley, N.Hunter, T.Yorath, P.Lorimer, B.Bremner, J.Giles, E.Gray, M.Jones, J.Jordan. sub: A.Clarke. Liverpool: B.Grobbelaar, P.Neal, A.Hansen, M.Lawrenson, A.Cohen, S.Lee, G.Souness, R.Whelan, K.Dalglish, D.Johnson, I.Rush. sub: H.Gayle. attendance: 52,232 The two teams tossed a coin to see who would decide the date and venue for this third replay. Leeds called correctly and chose to take the game back to 1968 and opted for Hull City's Boothferry Park as the venue. Having sought to gain an advantage in this choice the men from Elland Road must have been disappointed to enter an arena in which Liverpool supporters outnumbered their own fans by around two to one. The Liverpool fans were creating a wall of sound as the teams came out and would keep this up for most of the night. It was encouragement their side would need as another gruelling night unfolded. Both sides had made several changes from the previous game. Leeds were without the suspended Jack Charlton and also omitted Sprake, Cooper and Clarke. David Harvey was brought into the nets with Terry Yorath taking over at left back, Johnny Giles returning into the midfield and Joe Jordan given the nod over Sniffer Clarke. It was hard to tell whether Bruce Grobbelaar had got over the concussion sustained in the previous meeting as his erratic behaviour could still be passed off as normal. With the reserve Steve Ogrizovic representing Coventry in this competition Bob Paisley had little choice but to put his trust in his eccentric keeper. Avi Cohen and David Johnson were also given starting roles in place of Phil Thompson and the injured Terry McDermott. Leeds had filled their side with as much energy as they could muster and made a roaring start. Yorath bombed past Eddie Gray and when the winger slipped him in his driven centre just evaded the lunging Jordan and Lorimer smashed a typical drive just over after surging clear of Cohen. Leeds obviously reckoned the centre of the Liverpool defence was vulnerable to high balls and both full backs were quick to launch centres from deep towards Jones and Jordan. Jones nodded one down for Bremner whose instant shot brought a superb reaction save out of Grobbelaar and then Jordan glanced a header just wide after Jones had again got the better of Hansen in the air. Ronnie Whelan almost got David Johnson in on goal but Paul Madeley intercepted at full stretch and Sammy Lee blasted straight at Harvey from 30 yards but these were rare ventures into Leeds' territory. Gray stepped inside Phil Neal and also drifted away from Whelan before grazing the far post with his low drive and Cohen had to clear off the line following an almighty scramble at a corner which ended with Jordan forcing a shot under Grobbelaar. Liverpool were so far off the pace they could not even stem the tide of Leeds' pressure by foul means. Time and again Souness and Whelan were left floundering by the Leeds midfield as they looked to put a foot into a challenge. Mark Lawrenson produced a perfectly timed challenge to rob Jones as he ran onto a Jordan flick and Grobbelaar dived out bravely to deny Lorimer as he tried to reach a pass from Giles. Leeds claimed a penalty as Bremner went down under a challenge from Phil Neal but the referee waved play on as the Liverpool defence continued to come under severe pressure. With five minutes remaining to half time Eddie Gray won another corner for Leeds and from his centre Paul Madeley rose unmarked to head firmly past Grobbelaar from twelve yards to give Leeds a richly deserved lead. Two minutes later the Liverpool keeper was unable to hold a low drive by Lorimer and Jones was on hand to force home the rebound to put real daylight between the two sides. Worse was still to follow for Liverpool. As Leeds looked to mount yet another attack Avi Cohen managed to take the ball away from Lorimer in a midfield skirmish but was immediately hit by a fierce challenge from Johnny Giles. The Liverpool defender was left writhing in agony and things looked extremely bleak when he was eventually strapped to a stretcher and carried from the field with what would later be confirmed as a broken leg. Half Time: Leeds United 2 Liverpool 0 Liverpool were forced into moving Ronnie Whelan to left back with Howard Gayle coming on to play on the left wing and Dalglish dropping deeper to support Souness in the centre of the park. Initially Leeds remained in total control with Jones and Jordan both testing Grobbelaar with headers and Giles drilling a shot just wide from the edge of the box. Gradually, however, Dalglish began to get to grips with his midfield role and Liverpool came more into the game than at any stage previously. It was Dalglish who slipped a perfect through ball into David Johnson only for the striker to send his shot wide of the post and then the canny Scot curled in a shot from 25 yards that had Harvey at full stretch to save. The Liverpool supporters recognised their teams' improvement and began roaring their men forward. Harvey had to save efforts from outside the box by Souness and Sammy Lee before Rush struck a post with an instinctive shot from ten yards. Eddie Gray broke away one occasion to send a cross shot narrowly wide of the far post but it was now mainly all Liverpool. Johnson caught a first time drive from the edge of the box sweetly but the ball flew straight at Harvey and Rush glanced a header inches wide from Whelan's cross. Leeds brought Allan Clarke on for Jones in an effort to hold the ball up more consistently in the Liverpool half but the impetus was now comprehensively with the men in red. Souness grazed the bar with a snap shot from just outside the box and Harvey got lucky when Johnson's glancing header slipped from his grasp and bounced just wide of the post. Dalglish then split the Leeds defence wide open with a chipped pass to Gayle but the substitute blazed wildly over from a great position. Gayle's next contribution was spectacularly effective, however. Picking the ball up well inside his own half the winger surged past Paul Reaney and set off for goal. Cutting inside he brushed off Bremner and sidestepped Madeley before slamming a rising drive across Harvey into the top corner. Ten minutes remained and Liverpool were right back in it. Dalglish engineered a shooting chance for himself inside a packed penalty area but could only squeeze his shot wide of the far post and Rush was denied by Harvey's outstretched leg with another close range effort. The Leeds' penalty area was now a sea of bodies and when Dalglish went tumbling under a combined challenge from Hunter and Yorath the referee pointed to the spot. If Phil Neal was nervous he didn't show it as he stepped forward to plant the penalty high into the net to bring this tie level yet again. Only two minutes remained to another period of extra time but still Liverpool poured forward in search of a winner. Rush flicked on a centre from Gayle towards Johnson but Hunter was there to intercept with a huge boot downfield. Alan Hansen went to control the clearance but the ball escaped under his foot and Clarke was onto the error in a flash. The forward set off for goal but, with Lawrenson closing in rapidly, decided to shoot from 25 yards. The effort was not struck with great power but was perfectly placed and Grobbelaar, at full stretch, could not reach it. There was a collective holding of breath as the ball bounced on towards goal before an eruption from the Leeds camp as the ball struck the inside of the post and bounced into the net. Several Liverpool players slumped to the ground and this time there would be no way back. Finally, after four games, this epic tie had been settled and the Preston North End squad of 1888-89 could get back on their barge and set sail for Leeds. Whether the 83 year journey would allow them time to sober up after three weeks solid boozing was another matter, however. Full Time: Leeds United 3 Liverpool 2
3rd Round Second Replay Leeds United (1971-72) v. Liverpool (1981-82) Leeds: G.Sprake, P.Reaney, J.Charlton, N.Hunter, T.Cooper, P.Lorimer, P.Madeley, B.Bremner, E.Gray, M.Jones, A.Clarke. sub: J.Jordan. Liverpool: B.Grobbelaar, P.Neal, A.Hansen, P.Thompson, M.Lawrenson, S.Lee, T.McDermott, G.Souness, R.Whelan, K.Dalglish, I.Rush. sub: H.Gayle. Att: 48,662 This was always going to be a difficult game to stage and Football England perhaps didn't get the logistics exactly right. This second replay not only had to be on a neutral venue but also in a neutral year. Football England studied the options and decided the game would be played at Stoke City's Victoria Ground in 1975. This ended up causing certain problems. Both participating teams fetched the best part of 20,000 fans with them, there was a decent contingent of Stoke fans wedged inside their home ground looking to repel all boarders and the Manchester United hooligan element, at its' peak in 75, had also come to soak up the "atmosphere". Perhaps the most problems were caused by the small, but determined, possee of Port Vale fans who seemed intent on riding roughshod over allcomers. Stoke city centre was not the place to do your shopping on this day and the ground simmered with an air of tension as the teams took to the pitch. Both sides had selected more attacking substitutes than in the previous two encounters which at least suggested they might be looking to provide a more open game than before. Leeds had also recalled Norman Hunter, the club psychiatrist deeming him to be over his trauma from the first game, with Paul Madeley retaining his place at Johnny Giles's expense in midfield. The first to attack were Leeds with Billy Bremner breaking from midfield on two occasions. On the first he tried to play in Allan Clarke only for Alan Hansen to intercept but on the second he tried his luck himself and was grabbing at his orange hair in frustration as Bruce Grobbelaar took off to his right to tip the ball behind. Ian Rush evaded Jack Charlton's challenge running onto a fine pass from Graeme Souness but the angle was against a shot and when he played the ball across the area both Kenny Dalglish and Terry McDermott were inches away from converting. Ten minutes played and it was a good, open game with no serious violence as yet. The omens were promising. Gary Sprake saved well from Ronnie Whelan's curling shot and then plunged at the feet of Dalglish to smother as the forward turned away from Hunter inside the box. Grobbelaar then made another good save to deny a Peter Lorimer drive but could only watch as Mick Jones got above Phil Thompson to head goalwards. To his relief the ball glanced wide of his left hand post. Eddie Gray had been getting less joy out of Phil Neal than in the earlier games but when fed by Bremner he suddenly lost his man and was away down the left wing. Gray centred deep towards the far post and Grobbelaar decided to come and claim. Despite producing a prodigious leap, however, the Liverpool custodian was underneath the ball and when it dropped Lorimer smashed in an effort that resulted in a spell of pinball which ended with the ball at the feet of Jones who slammed an effort high into the roof of the net. This was the signal for the game to revert to type. With a lead to protect Leeds immediately changed into their hob nailed boots and began kicking lumps out of everything that moved. Bremner sailed into Souness, Hunter went through Dalglish and Paul Reaney, more surprisingly, levelled Whelan. Liverpool could not leave resist bait with Whelan exacting revenge on Lorimer, Souness going over the top on both Clarke and Gray and Thompson leaving Jones in an untidy heap after an aerial challenge. In amongst the kicking McDermott landed a delicate chip onto the top of the netting but the game was now generally compressed in the midfield areas and more like open warfare than football. Right on half time Jackie Charlton waded into another midfield melee and almost severed Terry McDermott in two. The referee, who was yet to actually book anyone, suddenly snapped and sent Charlton straight from the field. It was probably some satisfaction to the old school centre half that McDermott followed him moments later on a stretcher. Howard Gayle came on to play on the left wing with Ronnie Whelan taking over in the centre. For Leeds Paul Madeley dropped back into the back four with Allan Clarke dropping deeper to play a sort of advanced midfield role behind the lone striker Mick Jones. Nothing meaningful happened before half time so Leeds led at the interval but faced playing the second half a man short. Half Time: Leeds United 1 Liverpool 0 Liverpool pressed urgently at the start of the second half with Leeds deep in defence and snapping into tackles ferociously in midfield. Possession was hugely in favour of the men in red and they probed every area of the Leeds team searching for a weakness. Despite having the extra man they found it difficult to penetrate the white blanket thrown across the pitch. Howard Gayle ran enthusiastically at Reaney a couple of times but he had neither the pace or the guile to trouble the cultured full back. Hunter was coping well with the threat of Dalglish while Ian Rush was basically in Paul Madeley's pocket. On the Liverpool right Sammy Lee and Phil Neal were still mainly employed trying to keep Terry Cooper and Eddie Gray in check. Only in the centre of midfield did Liverpool have a noticeable advantage. Bremner was gamely trying to do the work of two men but, with infrequent support from Lorimer and Clarke, he was struggling to contain Souness and Whelan. Souness broke away to send a low drive inches wide and Whelan engineered a fleeting chance for Rush which was snuffed out by a perfectly timed challenge from Madeley. Set pieces also offered Liverpool hope with Thompson heading over from a right wing corner and Lawrenson forcing Sprake into a low save following a free kick from the other flank. The first clear cut chance of the second half came at the other end as Cooper sped forward to overlap Gray on a sudden break and the full backs' low centre evaded Hansen to reach Mick Jones beyond the far post but his shot, back across the face goal, flashed wide with Grobbelaar stranded. This seemed to inspire Leeds and for ten minutes they coped with Liverpool's efforts comfortably. Clarke seemed to be getting a taste for the midfield scrap, managing to rob Souness on one occasion to lead a brief counter before coming in from behind on the Scotsman to stall another attempted Liverpool attack. This relaxed spell was ended when Sprake misjudged a hopeful centre from Gayle and ended up palming the ball against the crossbar. Bodies launched themselves at the rebound from all angles but after an almighty scramble Dalglish's shot bounced wide off Hunter's body. Liverpool drew strength from the incident, however, and attacked with renewed vigour. Rush poked an effort wide from Whelan's centre and Sprake was glad to see a header from the centre forward drop kindly into his arms. Twelve minutes remained when Lawrenson strode forward into a huge space before finding Dalglish on the edge of the box. The crafty forward burrowed into the close marking Hunter before turning sharply and driving a crisp low shot beyond Sprake into the bottom corner. Before Leeds could draw breath Dalglish had collected a pass from Neal on the angle of the area and, with Hunter standing off this time, turned onto his left foot to arrow a drive across Sprake into the top far corner. Suddenly Liverpool led, had an extra man and there were less than ten minutes remaining. Leeds threw Clarke back up front and also sent on Joe Jordan in place of Eddie Gray. Terry Cooper was pushed forward to man the left flank by himself in a vague 3-3-3 formation. Liverpool immediately began to tear holes in the undermanned Leeds defence but Rush, twice, and Whelan both shot wide when well placed to finish the tie. Cooper launched one high ball into the box that Jordan reached ahead of Hansen but Grobbelaar was able to clutch the ball safely underneath his crossbar. Peter Lorimer then sent another high ball in from the other flank. Grobbelaar decided to come and deal with this one but spilled the ball under Jordan's robust challenge. The ball was loose and once again bodies launched at the ball from all quarters. Thompson went in to deny Clarke but the ball rolled loose towards Jones with the goal gaping. Grobbelaar dived bravely back to try and claim possession and did so, taking a hefty knock not only from Jones but from Jordan also in the process. The Liverpool keeper kept hold of the ball but did not move an inch after the Leeds players had disentangled themselves. Frantic teammates began waving on Ronnie Moran who arrived to adminster his sponge and smelling salts but when he finally gained a response from the stricken keeper and managed to get him to his feet it was a Bambi on ice moment. The antics Grobbs would get up to in the penalty shoot out against Roma in the 1984 European Cup final were nothing to this. With his legs going in 17 different directions at once the concussed keeper staggered around his goalmouth for a few minutes before being escorted to the dressing rooms. A volunteer was required for the nets and Ronnie Whelan stepped forward. Only three minutes remained for Leeds to test the replacement. Bremner shot from 20 yards but was fractionally high and Lawrenson rose to head clear a corner without Whelan having to leave his line. With the referee checking his watch Madeley found Peter Lorimer in a yard of space 25 yards from goal. The most feared right foot in football snapped into action to send an effort hurtling towards goal. Souness launched himself into an attempted block and managed to deflect the ball which looped high up into the goalmouth. Whelan saw the ball dropping towards Jordan and came out to challenge but he had mis-read the flight and the ball carried on over them both to reach Jones arriving at the far post to nod home and send the game into extra time. Full Time: Leeds United 2 Liverpool 2 Unbelievable. These two teams had now been snapping at each other for 300 minutes and still they could not be seperated. Both teams now faced extra time with only ten men and Liverpool had an outfield player in goal. Leeds had spent too much energy holding on for the majority of the second half a man short to be able to make the most of their advantage now, however. Liverpool were able to keep good control of possession for the most part without looking particularly like creating anything themselves. Norman Hunter sent in one decent effort from 30 yards but Whelan leapt to punch clear in spectacular fashion. Allan Clarke also had one half chance from a narrow angle but his shot skidded beyond Whelan's far post. With the game just into the second period of extra time Howard Gayle suddenly embarked on a run from his own half, brushing aside the tiring Reaney for once, and surging away from Lorimer and Madeley too. Suddenly the winger was clear of the defence and bearing down on goal. Sprake came out to meet him but was powerless to block Gayle's low shot. With the Liverpool fans half way up celebrating the goal the ball fizzed just the wrong side of the upright. Back came Leeds and Sammy Lee had to hack a Jordan header off the line following a corner before Hansen blocked a Jones effort that squirmed through Whelan's gloves also on the goalline. With time running out Clarke went over Thompson's challenge just outside the box and Leeds had themselves a free kick in a central position. Whelan was not absolutely sure where to position the wall which ended up massed right in front of him. Lorimer stepped forward to hammer a blur of a shot over the untidy wall and nobody was totally sure what had happened until the ball landed some 15 yards behind the taker having smashed against the crossbar. Ronnie Whelan was still waiting for the kick to be taken. The final whistle, sounded seconds later, meant that these teams would now have to meet for a third replay and Football England were faced with another logistical nightmare. It was not ourselves or these two teams or even their supporters who you needed to feel sorry for, however. Spare a thought for the Preston North End team of 1888-89 who were still awaiting the winners of this tie. Faced with making the journey into the future to meet one of these two teams the Preston squad had now been shacked up together on a barge on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, just outside Blackburn, for two weeks waiting for news of which way to set sail. By now they had drunk at least three pubs in the vicinity dry and were facing the prospect of setting off one way or the other just to find fresh beer supplies. I hope this waiting won't count against them when they finally come to play their 4th round tie. Full Time (after extra time): Leeds United 2 Liverpool 2
4th Round
Arsenal (1988-89) v. Hereford United (1971-72) Arsenal: J.Lukic, L.Dixon, D.O'Leary, T.Adams, N.Winterburn, D.Rocastle, K.Richardson, P.Davis, B.Marwood, A.Smith, P.Groves. subs: R.Wilmott, G.Caesar, P.Merson. Hereford: D.Icke, R.Griffiths, M.McLaughlin, A.Jones, K.Mallender, D.Tyler, T.Gough, C.Addison, R.Radford, B.Owen, B.Meadows. subs: T.Naylor, R.George, D.Rudge. att: 32,995 (1,866) Having beaten non league Sutton United in the previous round George Graham's Arsenal side were hardly quaking in their boots at the prospect of facing another non league side in Hereford United, conquerors of the 1966-67 QPR side. Hereford had been struck by an injury to their goalkeeper Fred Potter who had a thigh strain and was unable to travel into the future for this fixture, even though manager Colin Addison had suggested there might be miracle cures available in 1989 which would allow him to play. The journey into the future had been something of a traumatic one for Addison and Hereford. When they set off they had had a handy young reserve goalkeeper from Coventry ready to take Potter's place but by the time they arrived in 1989 they had a turquoise clad, highly spiritual, conspiracy theorist who was also apparently a distant relation of God. While recognising that any help from David Icke's "old man" might come in handy against the Gunners Addison was still somewhat perturbed about the change in his stand in keeper. There was faint amusement on the Highbury terraces as the Hereford goalkeeper took his station in his pristine turquoise shellsuit and this increased when he failed to remove it before the game kicked off. Arsenal were soon swarming forward and finding holes in the Hereford defence. Brian Marwood went past Roger Griffiths twice in the first five minutes to send over crosses which Alan Smith could not head on target while Perry Groves shot wide when expertly supplied by Paul Davis. Dudley Tyler managed to slip past Nigel Winterburn on one occasion to send in a hopeful cross shot which was never troubling John Lukic but the play remained concentrated in and around the Hereford goalmouth but when Icke was able to watch a 25 yarder from Kevin Richardson pass harmlessly wide of his post on 10 minutes he had still not been given reason to muddy his shellsuit. The next Arsenal threat came from a series of corners with O'Leary and Adams combining with Alan Smith to provide a genuine aerial threat. Icke was well positioned to tip two efforts over the bar, however, and when Rocastle put a bit too much height on his next delivery the keeper strode confidently from his line to make the ball his own. If Addison had been surprised by the transformation in Icke's personality on their trip to the future he was still more amazed in the transformation in his goalkeeping. Icke was the epitome of confident assurance and this self belief could quickly be seen transmitting itself to those in front of him. Ken Mallender suddenly intercepted a pass meant for Rocastle and immediately set off on the counter attack. The storming full back powered away from Richardson before sending over an inviting centre that Billy Meadows headed flush against the bar. When Tony Gough then forced Lukic into a plunging save the first signs of unrest among the Highbury faithful became evident. Stung into action Arsenal roared back into attack. Brian Marwood shot inches wide after lovely work by Davis and Icke got down comfortably to collect a header from Smith. Suddenly Davis combined with Rocastle whose perfectly weighted ball had Perry Groves running through on Icke. Groves dummied to shoot and then looked to go round the goalkeeper veering to his right. In a movement that was barely visible to the human eye Icke plunged at his man, scooped the ball into his grasp and emerged through the forwards legs' with a perfect forward roll without so much as brushing his opponents' sock. Groves was half way through the motion of stroking the ball into the empty net before he realised he had been relieved of possession. By this stage Addison was wishing his entire team had a turquoise kit to change into at half time although this would have meant Icke wearing a different colour and he was unsure what kind of a reaction that might have caused. Nigel Winterburn tried his luck from 30 yards but Icke made the save look easy underneath his crossbar and the keeper also dived full length to collect Rocastle's low ball from the goalline before it reached the lurking Smith. The half ended with Hereford attacking, however, and Lukic was grateful to see Brian Owen prod wide after he had fumbled a low drive from Tyler. Half Time: Arsenal 0 Hereford United 0 Things seemed just about as good as they could realistically be for his team at half time and Colin Addison was a happy man at the beginning of the break. It was still difficult to understand what was happening to his inspired goalkeeper. Time travel seemed to be affecting Icke more profoundly than any of the other Hereford players. Initially Icke was happy to reflect on his superb first half performance with his excited teammates but by the end of the break he had started complaining about a couple of relatively inconsequential refereeing decisions and seemed to be inferring that the official was not of this planet. Had this been a throwaway comment it wouldn't have unduly concerned Addison but Icke seemed serious about the possible ancestry of the official and the player-manager was happy to finally get back out onto the pitch. Arsenal were soon testing the turquoise keeper again and Icke was still on top of his game, diving to clutch an Alan Smith header and then leaping from his line to take the ball off the target mans' head in flambouyant fashion. Hereford were growing in confidence and Tyler squeezed between Winterburn and Adams before smashing a shot narrowly over the angle. George Graham had seen enough and withdrew Perry Groves in favour of Paul Merson and the newcomer quickly showed his class, surging beyond Alan Jones and Roger Griffiths to unleash a tremendous shot that Icke not only saved but managed to hold. It was beginning to appear as though there was no way past the keeper, and no future at the club for Fred Potter, but Icke's suspicions about the referee would not go away. When Arsenal were awarded a corner after Mallender challenged Rocastle the keeper confronted the official. Nobody was absolutely sure what passed between the two men but Icke's anger was obvious. His verbal attack on the official was not halted by the production of a yellow card and when the referee next went to his pocket it was to deliver a straight red. Still Icke's tirade continued and the official was evidently desperate for the keeper to leave the field although he looked less confident of his own authority every second. Finally Icke left of his own accord, though still aiming comments at the man in black and vowing to expose him for what he really was. This bizarre incident seemed to affect the mood of both sides but with Hereford now a man short and Ken Mallender having to go in goal there was little doubt about the outcome. Mallender decided against donning the turqouise shellsuit worn with such distinction by Icke and instead sent for Fred Potter's traditional green jersey. Within five minutes both Smith and Merson had beaten the stand in keeper and at that point Arsenal seemed to decide that there was no need to inflict further punishment on their weakened opponents. The rest of the game passed by in meaningless passing around the midfield with Hereford sitting deep to protect Mallender. What had been shaping up into one of the greatest performances by an underdog ever had ended up in complete confusion after the incident with Icke. Both teams were happy to forget about this one as soon as possible. Arsenal had the next round to look forward to while Addison and his men could not get back to 1972 soon enough. Full Time: Arsenal 2 Hereford United 0 ** On receiving the referees' report for this game Football England decided against any disciplinary actin against Icke as we considered that telling the ref he was reptilian humanoid was hardly a sending off offence. (we've suffered at the hands of such petty officials ourselves during our careers) Instead we came to the decision that David Elleray would take charge of no further matches in this competition. Hereford were offered the option of a re-match but declined feeling another venture into the future might not be absolutely wise. We honour their decision.**
Burnley (1959-60) v. Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) Burnley: A.Blacklaw, J.Angus, B.Miller, A.Elder, W.Joyce, J.Adamson, J.Connelly, J.McIlroy, R.Pointer, J.Robson, B.Pilkington. Tottenham: B.Brown, P.Baker, M.Norman, R.Henry, D.Blanchflower, D.Mackay, T.Dyson, J.White, B.Smith, J.Greaves, C.Jones. att: 29,227 (1,667) There was little these two sides needed telling about the other. Only two years seperated them and they were already accustomed at going head to head with each other in search of honours. This also might have explained the somewhat disappointing attendance, a case of familiarity breeding contempt. The game started with Burnley on the attack. Walter Joyce and Jimmy Adamson were initially more influential than the vaunted Spurs pairing of Mackay and Blanchflower and this in turn meant Jimmy McIlroy saw plenty of the ball with which to stretch the visitors defence. Burnley's most obvious superiority was on the flanks, however, where John Connelly and Brian Pilkington were having plenty of joy against Peter Baker and Ron Henry. Connelly sent two crosses flashing low across the goalmouth that eluded the onrushing attackers before finding the head of Ray Pointer who glanced wide from eight yards out while Pilkington stormed inside to smash a shot inches over the bar with Bill Brown a spectator. Then McIlroy split the Spurs defence with a lovely ball to send Jimmy Robson through on goal but his drilled shot thudded squarely into Brown's stomach and another chance had been lost. Such profligacy was not wise against a team like Spurs and when Danny Blanchflower finally managed to locate Jimmy Greaves with a decent pass the mercurial inside forward sent in a skidding drive which bounced clear from the foot of the post despite being apparently hemmed in by three Burnley defenders. This encouraged Spurs to push forward with a little more purpose but when Alex Elder intercepted a pass from John White intended for Terry Dyson and immediately drilled a long diagonal ball forward Connelly read the situation far quicker than Henry and with an assured first touch was through on goal. Brown came forward to narrow the angle but Connelly had the time and composure to pick his spot at the keepers' near post and his low finish put the Clarets ahead. Tottenham were unusually hesitant. The goal meant they needed to push forward in search of an equaliser but they seemed mindful of the fact that they had been caught on the break on virtually their first venture upfield. Bobby Smith sent in a header from Dyson's centre but the effort was straight at Adam Blacklaw and Burnley continued to look the side most likely to score. Pointer was inches wide with a low snap shot and Brown did well to tip a Robson drive over the top. Then McIlroy shot wide after a lovely turn away from Dave Mackay. Having accomplished what he considered to be the hardest part of the exercise the Irishmen looked suitably disgusted with himself for missing the target. Half Time: Burnley 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 Tottenham had yet to get started and Burnley remained the better side as the second half got under way. John Connelly was a particular threat as he was able to skip past Ron Henry apparently at will. Tottenham's best player up to this point, however, was undoubtedly Maurice Norman who almost always had the beating of Ray Pointer in the air and was in position to cut out countless centres from both wings. Bill Brown made a splendid reflex save to tip over a sharp Robson header from McIlroy's chip before Spurs finally began to rouse themselves. Cliff Jones made a lightening break from inside his own half and was only inches wide with his shot across goal. Smith and Greaves looked distinctly unimpressed in the middle, however. Terry Dyson was more unselfish when he then got the better of Elder but Smith's strong shot on the turn brought a smart reaction stop from Blacklaw. Now it was a real cup tie. Pilkington rattled the frame of the goal from just inside the box and when Spurs immediately countered Mackay's shot from distance flashed over the bar with Blacklaw nowhere. Danny Blanchflower had been unusually quiet but in Tottenham's next attack he ghosted into position just outside the box and with everyone expecting a shot he rolled a killer pass through to Greaves. The ball was in the back of the net before anyone in claret and blue could react. Two minutes later Bobby Smith charged for goal from 30 yards out and although Brian Miller managed to block his progress with a last ditch challenge Greaves was on the spot to whip the loose ball high past the helpless Blacklaw. Typical Greaves, a spectator for an hour yet within two minutes he had transformed the game. The master goalscorer wasn't finished yet either. With Burnley reeling the quicksilver forward turned away from Jimmy Adamson in midfield and immediately set off for goal. It was impossible to work out, with the naked eye, why the three defenders in his way all ended up strewn across the Turf Moor pitch while Greaves was calmly slipping the ball beyond Blacklaw for his hat trick but there was no doubting the fact. Burnley could have been forgiven for crumbling but, to their credit, they came straight back at Spurs. Pointer sent in a low shot that Brown turned behind and Robson was denied by a goalline clearance after getting his head to Connelly's corner. McIlroy shot wide from 20 yards and provided Robson with a clear chance that was wasted with a scuffed finish. Eight minutes from time Pilkington lashed home after another astute through ball by McIlroy and the outcome was back in doubt. Connelly burst through but his chip over the advancing Brown dropped agonisingly wide of the far post and Pointer, for once escaping Norman, sent a free header high onto the terracing behind the goal. Two minutes from time Conelly once again got the better of Henry to drive a low ball across the face of goal. Bodies piled in from both sides and it looked as though Robson's touch would be crucial until Norman appeared on the line to boot clear. The last action saw Greaves race clear again but this time his low shot not only beat Blacklaw but the far post as well. Perhaps the sharp shooter was saving this one for the next round. Full Time: Burnley 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3
West Ham United (1964-65) v. Manchester City (1967-68) West Ham: J.Standen, J.Bond, K.Brown, B.Moore, J.Kirkup, P.Brabrook, M.Peters, R.Boyce, J.Sissons, J.Byrne, G.Hurst. Man City: H.Dowd, T.Book, M.Doyle, G.Heslop, G.Pardoe, M.Summerbee, A.Oakes, C.Bell, T.Coleman, F.Lee, N.Young. att: 33,089 (3,107) Manchester City only had a few years back in time to travel to take on West Ham in Football England's Fantasy FA Cup competition and were feeling reasonably confident. Whereas they knew everything about the Hammers, City were a young team and basically an unknown quantity to their opponents. Colin Bell was soon prominent with his leggy running and with Mike Summerbee and Franny Lee also lively the opening stages belonged to the men in sky blue. Summerbee belted a shot wide on the run before crossing for Neil Young to head just over. Then Bell surged through onto a headed flick from Young but shot tamely from the edge of the area to allow Jim Standen an easy save. West Ham could not get going at all and when Martin Peters was brushed to the floor by Alan Oakes as he tried to turn in midfield Summerbee ran past him shouting "Ten years ahead of your time?" in mocking tones. This sledging fell on deaf ears as Peters was unaware at this time of his own precocity. Lee had the next attempt for City with a 25 yarder that glanced the top of the bar on its way over. Then the barrel chested front man went all Lynn Davies on it as he was challenged by Bobby Moore several yards outside the area. There was no way the ref was going to penalise the East Ends' golden boy on his own manor, however. Finally the Hammers made a chance as Peter Brabrook tricked Glyn Pardoe and swung over a deep cross that Geoff Hurst headed back across goal only to see the ball clear the far angle. Back came City and Summerbee worked a brilliant short passing move with Bell and Young before forcing Standen into a flying save with a dipping drive. Then Tony Coleman forced another smart save from the keeper with a clever chip from the angle of the box. City really needed something to show for their dominance and on the stroke of half time they got it. Coleman fed Lee who turned sharply away from Ken Brown to smash in an effort from outside the box. John Bond was in the way and charged the shot down but the ball ran loose towards goal. Young slid in to shoot but Standen was advancing and also managed to block, the ball ran loose for Bell who was denied a tap in by a sliding challenge from Moore but when the ball again rolled out into the box there was nobody in claret and blue left to cover Summerbee who slid into the empty net to give City the lead. West Ham went straight onto the attack from the kick off and Johnny Byrne slid a cunning pass through for Johnny Sissons who was goalside of Tony Book but the wingers' shot passed disappointingly wide of the far post and City had their half time lead. Half Time: West Ham United 0 Manchester City 1 West Ham had been bitterly disappointing in the first half and showed more purpose as the second half got under way. It was hard to see where they might make inroads into the City defence, however. Book and Pardoe were generally the masters of Sissons and Brabrook while the uncompromising George Heslop was relishing his physical battle with Geoff Hurst. The Hammers' usual source of inspiration, Johnny Byrne, was roving in an effort to influence things but found Mike Doyle a committed shadow. Chances remained scarce for the home side. Peters drifted beyond Alan Oakes to connect with a deep Brabrook centre but the save was an easy one for Harry Dowd and the City keeper could stand and watch as a 25 yard Hurst effort flew high over his bar. City remained a threat when they ventured forward. Bell forced a fingertip save from Standen and a flying header from Lee flicked just wide of the far post from Young's centre. For the first hour Bobby Moore had been generally content to sit deep and keep tabs on the City attack but with his teammates further forward continuing to create virtually nothing West Ham's captain began taking the initiative himself. Moore strode forward over the halfway line to slide a ball down the channel for Hurst who ran onto the ball and shot first time, the fierce drive just clearing the angle of post and bar. Then the cultured defender sent a long ball out to Sissons whose first time centre was flicked off Hurst's head by the diligent Heslop. Tony Coleman made one break for City into the room vacated by Moore but was crowded out by Bond and Brown as he was about to shoot as the visitors looked to kill the tie off. The play was now mainly confined to the City half but an equaliser still looked unlikely. Ronnie Boyce tried his luck from outside the box but the shot was always missing the target. Martin Peters came closer from the edge of the area when Hurst forced his way to the goalline and pulled the ball back but again Dowd was not called into action. There was a scramble inside the City area when Bond pumped a high ball forward but Heslop's boot put an end to the danger and when the clearance dropped Summerbee was running unchallenged into West Ham territory with support on all sides. The generously nosed forward drove towards the edge of the box before playing Young in on goal. With time to spare the City striker teed the ball up on his favoured left foot before arrowing a shot into the bottom corner. This seemed to be game over but when the Hammers attacked straight from the kick off Byrne turned smartly away from Doyle and curled a sweet finish beyond Dowd for an instant reply. Six minutes remained and now West Ham launched everything straight into the City area and hoped for the best. Hurst got his head to one bomb and the ball looped narrowly over the bar and Brabrook flashed a shot wide of goal when Pardoe's weak clearance dropped to him. With nobody guarding the back door, however, City were able to break again in the last minute and Coleman's perfectly timed pass sent Lee racing away to shoot past Standen and put an end to all doubt. West Ham's efforts had been too little too late and City progressed as worthy winners. Full Time: West Ham United 1 Manchester City 3
Everton (1969-70) v. Aston Villa (1980-81) Everton: G.West, T.Wright, B.Labone, J.Hurst, K.Newton, A.Ball, H.Kendall, C.Harvey, J.Husband, J.Royle, J.Morrissey. sub: S.Brown. Aston Villa: J.Rimmer, K.Swain, K.McNaught, A.Evans, G.Williams, D.Bremner, D.Mortimer, G.Cowans, T.Morley, G.Shaw, P.Withe. sub: D.Geddis. att: 57,799 (3,882) Both these sides had negotiated difficult ties against lower league opposition in the previous round and this clash promised to be a battle royal. Goodison Park was packed and baying at the start with the travelling contingent of almost 4,000 lost in the swaying mass of blue around the terraces. The game started at a frantic pace but for all the hard running and endeavour of the Villa midfield it was Everton instantly in command. The celebrated midfield trio of Ball, Kendall and Harvey were first to everything and the wingers Husband and Morrissey were quickly testing their full backs to the full. Ball strode forward after winning a challenge with Gordon Cowans to send a shot narrowly over the crossbar and Morrissey raced beyond Kenny Swain to cross for Joe Royle whose header required a smart save from Jimmy Rimmer. Colin Harvey was the next to offer Royle a chance, chipping a precise pass beyond Ken McNaught, but after taking a neat touch with his chest Royle blazed high over the bar. Villa could muster nothing in replay, Dennis Mortimer tried to burst forward but was stopped in his tracks by a juggernaut of a challenge from John Hurst who then broke forward himself to start a move which ended with Husband shooting low for the far corner only for Rimmer to get down well to save. Villa were being out-passed and out-tackled in midfield and any long balls forward towards Peter Withe were being gobbled up by Brian Labone. The only thing missing from this Everton performance was a goal and with Evans and McNaught getting an increasing grip on Joe Royle chances became scarcer despite the home sides' dominance. Ball tried another effort from outside the area but Rimmer saved comfortably and when Kendall tried to go through after a one two with Harvey a fierce challenge by Des Bremner thwarted him. Then there was sudden danger at the other end. Gordon Cowans found himself in a yard of space and he immediately speared a magnificent pass behind Tommy Wright for Tony Morley to run onto. Wright had had no trouble from the winger thus far but was left trailing in his wake now. Morley raced forward before whipping over a low centre which reached Gary Shaw beyond the far post and the netting bulged as he slid in to shoot at the angle. Hearts were in mouths for a moment but then a huge sigh of relief went around the ground as it became clear the ball had hit the side netting only. Everton were back on the attack as the half ended with their best chance falling to Morrissey who latched onto a Royle flick but was again unable to hit the target with his shot, albeit not missing by much. Half Time: Everton 0 Aston Villa 0 Although Everton had been impotent in front of goal during the first half Villa could hardly expect to survive if they came under similar pressure after the break. Initially they managed to force their way more into the game. Kenny Swain got forward down the right and his deep centre was headed back across goal by Withe towards Shaw who was just unable to make contact and Gordon West was forced into spectacular action by a Cowans free kick. The visitors could not retain this momentum, however, as the Everton midfield got busy again. Time and again Everton swept forward through crisp, short passing moves which Villa simply could not quell. Ball linked with Harvey before clipping a reverse ball through the Villa defence with his instep. McNaught and Evans were baffled by the pass but so too was Royle who reacted too late and allowed Rimmer to dive out and smother. Then Kendall sent Morrissey on his way and his overhit centre actually bounced back into play from the angle of post and bar. Hurst came forward to attack a Morrissey corner and was only denied by McNaught leaping high beneath the crossbar and Royle connected sweetly on the volley from Wright's centre in the next attack only for Rimmer to pull off a fantastic save. Everton's pressure was at a crescendo and so was the support from the terraces. Villa were at full stretch but still they were on terms. The hour mark had passed and Harry Catterick was warming up Sandy Brown though without knowing how his sub might improve his attacking options. Alan Ball nipped in ahead of Cowans as a ball dropped loose in midfield and immediately set another attack in motion. The midfield dynamo carried the ball quickly before finding Royle to feet. The centre forward held off Evans before feeding Ball who had continued his run. Ball shaped to hit it first time from 25 yards but as the defence converged on him he slipped a simple pass through to Jimmy Husband in space to his right. The winger seemed to freeze and as Rimmer flew at him the chance seemed lost but at the last moment he burst into action, slipping the ball beyond the keeper and stroking into the empty net before the Villa defence could get back. Sandy Brown hardly needed telling to abandon his warm up as Ron Saunders immediately sent David Geddis out along the touchline. Within minutes the Villa sub had been introduced in place of Morley as the visitors changed to three up front. Still comprehensively second best Villa were reduced to aiming high balls at Withe and hoping Shaw and Geddis could make something of the scraps. They had one half chance apiece, Shaw missed the target with his left foot whereas Geddis slammed his effort straight at West, but Everton remained in charge. Royle was presented with headed opportunities by both wingers in quick succession but could not steer either effort beyond Rimmer who also saved well from a low Kendall drive. There were also now prolonged spells of keep ball as Everton flaunted their midfield mastery. Husband almost grabbed a second after a solo run which took him past three defenders but he just lost control at the vital moment allowing Rimmer to intervene. The clock was ticking down and Everton's lead, despite their dominance, remained a precarious one. Villa, however, simply could not muster a response. The visitors were throwing more and more men forward but invariably the ball was not there and with gaps appearing everywhere in the Villa defence Royle finally took advantage when sent completely clear by Harvey, scoring with an emphatic drive into the top corner and therby wiping clean the memory of all his earlier failures. After struggling so badly to dispose of the Corinthians in the previous round this had been an emphatic display by Everton and marked them out as opponents to be reckoned with in the next round. Full Time: Everton 2 Aston Villa 0
Wrexham (1977-78) v. Manchester United (1967-68) Wrexham: D.Davies, A.Hill, G.Davis, J.Roberts, A.Dwyer, M.Thomas, L.Cartwright, M.Sutton, B.Shinton, G.Whittle, D.McNeil. sub: J.Lyons. Man Utd: A.Stepney, S.Brennan, B.Foulkes, T.Dunne, D.Sadler, N.Stiles, G.Best, P.Crerand, B.Charlton, J.Aston, D.Law. sub: B.Kidd. att: 30,000 (5,000) locked out: the rest of Wrexham and half of Manchester. Oh my God. Not the best day to go walking the dog round Wrexham. Unless your dog was a Doberman. Maybe a Doberman with rabies. The town of Wrexham was up for this game but Manchester United were just beginning to really go to places mob handed in 1968 and there was a huge following making the short trip to North Wales for this one. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. Inside the ground was not too bad, in actual fact. Both sets of fans caged in their own sections happily trading insults without being able to actually do damage to each other. It was outside that you had to watch your back. There was a genuine air of expectancy around the ground as this one kicked off. United were obviously massive favourites but Wrexham knew they had a good team and quietly fancied their chances. Mickey Thomas lobbed a hopeful ball forward towards the United box as soon as he received possession and when David Sadler could only half clear Dixie McNeil was on hand to spank a fierce volley straight past Alex Stepney into the top corner of the United goal. Bedlam. United kicked off and when the ball went to George Best John Roberts launched a challenge which took everything. The referee might have blown for a foul but saw the ball rolling towards Bobby Charlton and decided to let play continue. Charlton eased forward a few yards before lacing a 35 yarder past Dai Davies which was all but invisible to the naked eye. 162 seconds gone and it was Wrexham 1 Manchester United 1 and neither keeper had touched the ball other than to fag it out of the back of their net. It was something of an anti-climax when in the next attack Graham Whittle hit a shot wide of the post from an excellent Bobby Shinton pass. Perchance the prospect of some normality though. Or maybe not. Paddy Crerand sent the ball quickly to Best who twisted his way beyond three defenders before clipping over a centre that Denis Law met with an arching header and the ball fizzed past Davies into the top corner. Dai Davies now had to come to terms with the fact that he had conceded two goals and still hadn't touched it. Sensing a disturbing theme developing Les Cartwright took possession from the kick off and passed back to Davies who gratefully clutched the ball into his chest with the care and attention normally devoted to a suckling child. Then he punted it 70 yards downfield. The ball that is, not a suckling child. None of the players seemed fazed about the three early goals and carried on looking to attack at every opportunity. There seemed to be a greater degree of resistance in the United midfield, however, with Stiles, Crerand and Sadler biting into challenges to stifle several Wrexham attacks while players like Best, Aston and Charlton found it easier to get at the opposition defence. Best split the Wrexham defence wide open with a ball to John Aston whose firm shot was well pushed aside by Davies before Law sent in another whiplash header that grazed the bar on its' way over. At the other end McNeil tested Stepney from 25 yards and Mickey Thomas got away from Tony Dunne to send in a snap shot that flashed just the wrong side of the post. United's extra quality showed midway through the half when Charlton came surging out of his own half to exchange passes with Crerand and Best before reversing a clever ball into the unmarked Law who flashed a low drive precisely inside Davies's right hand post. Wrexham still refused to lay down and Graham Whittle saw a close range effort blocked on the line by Sadler before Bobby Shinton sent a chip over Stepney only to see the effort land on the roof of the net. United's next sweeping move ended with Law playing Crerand in on goal but the schemer slipped his shot the wrong side of the upright with Davies advancing. Back came Wrexham and Stepney made a smart save to deny John Roberts from a corner before Bill Foulkes produced a magnificent saving challenge to rob McNeil as he was about to pull the trigger 12 yards out. Seconds before half time the complexion of the game was changed when Thomas slipped a clever ball past Foulkes and Whittle was able to loft his shot over Stepney and into the net from just outside the box. The teams left the field to a tremendous ovation with both sets of supporters believing that their team could still win. Half Time: Wrexham 2 Manchester United 3 More often than not games which have exploded in such a manner during the first half tend to calm down a bit after the break when the managers' have had a chance to instil a bit of order. Such was the case here. Matt Busby withdrew Sadler from the midfield and parked him alongside Foulkes in the centre of the United defence while Arfon Griffiths was well aware that if United got the next goal the game was as good as over. In the early stages of the second half his midfield was much less adventurous. These changes seemed to favour the visitors, however. Their reinforced defence found little problem in handling McNeil and Whittle when they were deprived of support while at the other end the individual talents of Law, Best, Charlton and Aston always posed a threat. Aston sped away from Alan Hill to whip over a centre that Best met squarely on his forehead and Davies was forced into a fine save before Law stabbed in a shot when he appeared to be surrounded and Davies, with no hope of saving, was happy to see the ball roll inches wide. Bobby Charlton's wandering style remained a problem for Wrexham who had no obvious candidate to pick him up. The balding maestro belted another trademark thunderbolt inches high before supplying Best with a chance that was lost through over elaboration. Wrexham responded with a hopeful effort from distance by Mel Sutton which Stepney dealt with comfortably while Mickey Thomas spoiled one promising burst with a final pass that asked too much of McNeil. With 20 minutes to go Griffiths gambled by sending on John Lyons in place of Sutton and set his side up in a 4-2-4 formation. This left Thomas and Cartwright fighting fires in midfield while the Wrexham defence launched the ball long whenever they won possession. Lyons got his head on one such punt and directed the ball into McNeil's path for the striker to flash a shot fractionally high but in response George Best sauntered past Alan Dwyer to set up a glorous chance for Law which was somehow spooned over the crossbar and then Law returned the favour and Best was equally profligate, firing wide from point blank range. Two corners in quick succession gave Wrexham the chance to throw bodies forward and it took some desperate blocking by the United defence to protect Stepney in the jaws of goal. In Wrexham's next attack the ball broke for Bobby Shinton who wrong footed Shay Brennan to cut inside and having exchanged passes with Whittle he managed to drill a shot underneath Stepney to draw the home side level in dramatic circumstances. Only five minutes remained and the possibility of a shock was back on. The dream lasted for one minute. Crerand fed the ball forward to Law who turned Roberts before spearing a ball inside Dwyer for Best to run onto. With the defender straining to get back the winger suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, the full back went careering past him, and when Gareth Davis came across to challenge Best completely fooled him as well with a sublime body swerve. Having got the ball back onto his right foot the winger slammed a shot high into the roof of the net at Davies' near post. With all the excitement of the Wrexham equaliser immediately quashed United poured forward again and when Aston was released down the left his measured centre picked out Charlton whose glancing header found the bottom corner with Davies once again helpless. This had been a game in which Wrexham had confirmed their quality and attacking style but they had simply come up against a side containing the same attributes in greater measure. Full Time: Wrexham 3 Manchester United 5
Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953-54) v. Newport County (1981-82) Wolves: B.Williams, E.Stuart, B.Wright, B.Shorthouse, B.Slater, E.Clamp, J.Hancocks, P.Broadbent, R.Swinbourne, D.Wilshaw, J.Mullen. Newport: M.Kendall, K.Elsey, G.Davies, K.Oakes, J.Relish, N.Vaughan, S.Lowndes, N.Bailey, K.Moore, A.Waddle, J.Aldridge. att: 33,678 (511) It is quite a popular belief among successive generations of football followers that they are basically bigger, faster, stronger and just generally better than those that have preceded them. If that was an attitude prevalent among the Newport County squad travelling back from 1982 to take on the 1954 Wolves side then the opening ten minutes of the game would have provided a very rude awakening. Not that Newport would have been disappointed with those opening ten minutes. Quite the contrary. While the minnows from South Wales could easily have found themselves four goals down they had done well to limit the damage to just a single goal. Roy Swinbourne had headed over twice when ideally placed, Dennis Wilshaw had sent a fierce effort crashing against the bar and Mark Kendall had produced a magnificent reflex save from Peter Broadbent before Swinbourne knocked home from point blank range when Kendall saved but could not hold another fierce Wilshaw drive. The powerful Wolves side was not the type to sit on a lead and the visitors remained very much under the cosh even after falling behind. Jimmy Mullen was gliding past Karl Elsey with gay abandon and Johnny Hancocks was too quick for John Relish on the other flank. With consistent service from both flanks more goals looked inevitable. Mullen dragged a shot wide from inside the box before Swinbourne was unable to get the better of Kendall in a one on one situation. Kendall then went full length to deny Wilshaw. With the pressure incessant, however, it was not long before Broadbent had sent Wilshaw clear of the defence to blast an uncompromising shot beyond Kendall. In Newport's first attack Steve Lowndes found himself a yard to feed John Aldridge and his instant shot clipped the outside of the post with Bert Williams struggling. The serious intent of the Wolves side was emphasised moments later when Eddie Clamp put in a withering challenge on Lowndes as a deterrent against any more such pieces of enterprise. The Newport man looked suitably disenchanted. Back swept Wolves with the half backs spreading long, raking but very accurate balls into the channels for Mullen and Hancocks to exploit. Several dangerous centres had somehow been survived before Hancocks swept inside onto one particularly inviting ball from Bill Slater to hammer a rising drive beyond Kendall into the far corner of the Newport net. Half Time: Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Newport County 0 The second half was slightly more relaxed as the home side looked content to share attacks with their visitors and the play was quickly rebounding from end to end with real abandon. Both keepers were offered the opportunity to show their class as Kendall leapt high to deny Wilshaw and Slater while Williams was down low to keep out a drive from Kevin Moore before twisting remarkably to save when Aldridge diverted a fierce low cross back across goal from point blank range. With the play completely stretched further goals were inevitable and just before the hour mark Wolves got their fourth. Broadbent skipped through the open spaces of the midfield before slipping a cunning ball into the run of Wilshaw who crashed a low drive beneath the advancing Kendall. It seemed as though a rout might be on the cards with this goal but to their credit Newport kept on gamely throwing men forward. Neil Bailey forced Williams to tip over from 30 yards and then Eddie Stuart had to hack off his own goalline after Williams had taken the pace off an instinctive effort from Aldridge. Next Alan Waddle was offered a glorious opportunity when Moore's corner picked him out perfectly ten yards out but his unchallenged header rebounded to safety from the crossbar. In response Mullen fired too high when found in space inside the penalty area and Kendall made another fine save to deny Clamp. With 15 minutes to go Newport got the reward their pluck had merited when Moore cut inside Stuart before slipping a neat ball into Nigel Vaughan whose low shot clipped the inside of the post on its' way into the net. This suddenly looked like it might be more than a consolation when Waddle nodded down a long ball forward and Aldridge evaded the challenge of Billy Wright before firing clinically past Williams. Just under ten minutes remained and Newport came again but when Aldridge returned the compliment for Waddle his finish was not quite so unerring and Williams was able to save at full stretch. With the visitors piling forward a clearance out of defence dropped to Hancocks who immediately set off towards goal at full speed from just inside his own half. Grant Davies launched into a desperate challenge as the winger looked about to go completely clear. He managed to knock the ball away from Hancocks but there were only Wolves players in the immediate vicinty and Broadbent was the man able to stroll onto the loose ball to bury another low shot beyond Kendall. Finally, with just five minutes left, both teams seemed content to sit back and take a breather with the outcome now absolutely and utterly beyond doubt. Full Time: Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 Newport County 2
Huddersfield Town (1924-25) v. Bradford City (1975-76) Huddersfield: T.Taylor, N.Barkas, T.Wilson, S.Wadsworth, R.Goodall, B.watson, T.Richardson, D.Steele, G.Brown, C.Stephenson, B.Smith. Bradford: B.Punton, C.Podd, J.Middleton, D.Fretwell, I.Cooper, G.Watson, T.Hockey, D.Hall, B.McGinley, G.Ingram, J.Cooke. att: 52,690 (5,455) This was a local derby few would have dared predict when the competition was first thought of but having put paid to Coventry City in the previous round fourth division Bradford had been rewarded with a plum in their trip to neighbours Huddersfield. Even having to travel back over half a century in time failed to douse local interest and almost five and a half thousand "Bratfut" folk had made the journey. Of course Herbert Chapman's all conquering Huddersfield side were strong favourites to see off their lowly opponents, especially having recorded a superb win at Chelsea (1969-70) in the last round. Huddersfield started with something of a swagger and Ted Richardson skipped away from Ian Cooper with alarming ease to set up the first chance of the game for George Brown but Bill Punton was able to smother his low shot. With just five minutes gone, however, Richardson skinned Cooper again and this time his cross found Brown's head and his downward effort squirmed through Punton's fingers to trickle over the line. It was the start Bradford must have dreaded and the goal had been conceded in a truly demoralising manner. Huddersfield continued to feed Richardson but the experienced Trevor Hockey began falling back to cover Cooper and this threat was somewhat nullified. Cec Podd was able to fend for himself against the other winger Billy Smith but although Bradford were coming to terms with the Huddersfield attack they were completely unable to register as an attacking force. Roy Goodall, Bill Watson, David Steele and Clem Stephenson had an iron grip on the midfield and this quartet showed themselves to be surprisingly patient in their build up. If there was nothing better on further forward they were content to keep ball in the central areas and wait for space to develop. Stephenson picked out one telling pass to put Smith clear inside the box but his cross shot was wide of the far post and then Brown got his head to a centre from the overlapping Ned Barkas and Punton was forced to tip over at full stretch. Gerry Ingram tried an effort from 35 yards, the closest he had got to the Huddersfield goal in possession of the ball, but Ted Taylor had the easiest of saves before the keeper found himself slightly more tested by a deep centre from Billy McGinley which he took under pressure from Joe Cooke. At the other Stephenson worked himself a yard of space to send in a low drive from just outside the area which brushed the outside of the post and then the schemer slipped Steele clean through the centre of the visitors' defence only for his shot to clear the bar by a fair margin. Hockey, who had been leaving his foot in all over the midfield in an effort to niggle the home side succeeded to the extent that Goodall went straight through him with a retaliatory challenge that was perhaps sterner than all of Hockey's rolled together and the Yorkshire/Welshman left the field for half time with a noticeable limp. Half Time: Huddersfield Town 1 Bradford City 0 Although Bradford had more or less managed to quell the early threat posed by Huddersfield they had barely caused the Huddersfield defence to break sweat. Manager Bobby Kennedy sent them out in a motivated frame of mind having challenged his team to make a true local derby out of the game. The first attack of the half saw Brown go close from another clever pass by Stephenson but following this the visitors finally began to ask some questions of the home defence. Garry Watson stole away from Sam Wadsworth and crossed for Joe Cooke whose header scraped the bar and then Hockey put Ingram through for a shot on the run which Ted Taylor had to bend over backwards to save. The resulting corner also saw Bradford applying serious pressure with John Middleton joining Cooke and Ingram as a likely target. Taylor tipped an effort from Ingram over and then Middleton saw his header blocked on the line by Ned Barkas. Finally the visiting fans had something to cheer but their team were unable to keep the quality Huddersfield side penned back indefinitely. Billy Smith broke away at pace and the visitors were stretched. The wingers' low ball through just evaded Brown but Ted Richardson had come in off his wing and met the pass with a fierce drive that was marginally too high. Richardson's next involvement was to send over a pin point centre that Brown headed wide, much to his evident disgust. Back came Bradford and after Cooke and Ingram had both flicked on headers David Hall was left running through on goal. Hall shot as Taylor advanced but the effort was poor and lodged in the keepers' stomach. Several Bradford heads were bowed as this chance was passed up and although the underdogs continued to battle gamely it appeared as though they knew their chance had gone. Having escaped two chances to George Brown the Huddersfield centre forward finally got his second of the game to put the tie beyond doubt. Richardson was the architect, turning Ian Cooper inside out before picking Brown out with a low cross which he slammed home with a vengeance. Ten minutes remained and Bradford were grateful that Punton was able to pull off two fine saves to deny Clem Stephenson and stop the scoreline taking on an ugly look. That would have been harsh on Bradford who had performed with credit. In the end though class had very definitely told as this formidable Huddersfield team marched on. Full Time: Huddersfield Town 2 Bradford City 0
Nottingham Forest (1978-79) v. Middlesbrough (1996-97) Notts For: P.Shilton, V.Anderson, L.Lloyd, K.Burns, F.Clark, M.O'Neill, A.Gemmill, T.Francis, J.Robertson, G.Birtles, T.Woodcock. sub: I.Bowyer. Middlesbrough: A.Miller, N.Cox, N.Pearson, G.Festa, S.Vickers, C.Fleming, Juninho, Emerson, C.Hignett, N.Barmby, F.Ravanelli. sub: M.Beck. att: 34,318 (503) Within two minutes of this game starting the visitors had sent a ball down the left hand channel for Ravanelli to chase only for Kenny Burns to steam over and launch the white feather over the touchline. Despite the animated protests of the Italian no free kick was forthcoming and as he returned to the action with something of a limp and his shoulders slumped it was up for debate how much more would be seen of Boro's main striker. It might be fair to assume that he would be more white flag than white feather from this moment on. Nigel Pearson sensed an opportunity to dish out a bit of retribution on his direct opponent but when he went scything into challenge he found the intended target, Tony Woodcock, already gone and racing towards the box. Woodcock teed up Garry Birtles but his low shot flashed wide of the far post. Birtles had been preferred to Ian Bowyer for this one with Trevor Francis dropping back to form part of a very attack minded midfield. Brian Clough evidently didn't think much of this Middlesbrough side and there was little in the early exchanges to make Old Big 'Ead re-assess that opinion. Archie Gemmill exchanged passes with Woodcock before bringing a low save out of Alan Miller and then John Robertson went by Neil Cox for the first time to put in a teasing centre that eluded Miller but was likewise just too high for Francis to convert. This would not be the last time that Cox would be left staring at Robertson's ample backside disappearing down the flank. Juninho made one bright break but Peter Shilton was not troubled by the shot and Forest remained in almost total control. Miller had to save at the feet of Woodcock and Birtles in quick succession before Robertson cut inside to fire in a shot that flicked off the far post on its' way behind. Woodcock also tried an effort from 30 yards that Miller was at full stretch to keep out before the inevitable opener arrived. Gemmill began the move and Woodcock exchanged quick passes with Birtles before slipping a low shot beyond the Boro keeper. Boro had gone into this one with three central defenders but they were completely unable to subdue the Forest front pair and Cox and Curtis Fleming, supposedly wing backs, were being occupied completely in a defensive capacity. Robertson was going past Cox at will with the full back getting no support whatsoever from an overrun midfield. Twice the portly winger put centres onto Birtles' head but both time the strikers' effort missed the target. Craig Hignett found himself in possession and just about within range so tried his luck. Hignett caught his effort sweetly but Shilton was mainly helping out the photographers behind his goal as he flicked the ball behind in extravagant fashion. Forest roared back and had Boro under severe pressure in the five minutes leading up to the break. Francis sent an effort just the wrong side of the post before bringing a brilliant save out of Miller having wriggled between two defenders. Robertson also tested the Boro keeper from outside the box before Woodcock played in Martin O'Neill deep inside the box only for his angled drive to flash just wide. The half time whistle was welcome relief to the visitors. Whether they could regroup and make an impact after the break was another matter, however. Half Time: Nottingham Forest 1 Middlesbrough 0 As Middlesbrough looked to impose themselves on proceedings after the break Juninho and Nick Barmby finally began to link up to some purpose with the latter forcing Shilton into a decent low stop after a clever exchange before Juninho presented Ravanelli with a shooting chance from the left hand side of the box. The shot was well struck but flashed past the angle at Shilton's near post. It was the home side who remained generally dominant, however. Francis had his head in his hands after glancing a header wide from six yards out after yet another Robertson centre and Miller did well to turn a shot from Gemmill onto the bar. There were hardly any challenges going in in midfield as both teams were content to let the other play but this was vastly to Forest's advantage with Gemmill and O'Neill foraging voraciously while Francis and Robertson got forward at will to terrorise the Boro defence. Robertson sent Birtles clean through the middle after stepping past two Boro players but the striker again managed to miss the target. With Forest piling forward Woodcock then saw a shot desperately blocked by Pearson and when the ball ran loose Francis smacked it back into the bottom corner. Within a minute Woodcock was slicing through the centre of the Boro defence and Gianluca Festa's lunging challenge only succeeded in conceding the most blatant of penalties. Robertson stepped up to slide the spot kick low into the corner and the scoreline finally had a realistic look to it. Brian Clough now decided to give Francis a rest and the introduction of Ian Bowyer saw the home side become even more dominant in midfield. Woodcock and Birtles both passed up reasonable opportunities before Bowyer himself roared forward to head home a centre from, you've guessed it, John Robertson. With 20 minutes still remaining it was now mainly a question of how many more goals Forest fancied scoring and in general they were sated. One man was still eager to get his name on the scoresheet after a frustrating afternoon, however. Garry Birtles was still running willingly and created two more decent chances for himself only to shoot off target with the first and then find Miller equal to his header. With the clock ticking down Robertson, perhaps taking pity on his frontman, sliced the Boro defence open one last time before squaring a chance that even Birtles could not pass up. If the half time whistle had been a relief to Boro the final whistle was the end of torture. This had been one sided to the point of embarrassment. Full Time: Nottingham Forest 5 Middlesbrough 0
Chester City (1985-86) v. Newcastle United (1975-76) Chester: J.Butcher, D.Glenn, G.Abel, W.Gage, M.Lane, J.Kelly, A.Holden, I.Richardson, M.Graham, S.Rimmer, D.Murray. sub: P.Houghton. Newcastle: M.Mahoney, I.Nattrass, P.Howard, G.Keeley, A.Kennedy, S.Barrowclough, T.Craig, G.Nulty, M.Burns, A.Gowling, M.MacDonald. sub: A.McCaffery. att: 19,855 (4,497) Having starred as a substitute twice in the previous round the question buzzing around Sealand Road was whether David Murray would be handed a starting shirt for the visit of Newcastle United. The answer was yes. Murray was in to lead the line alongside the pacy Stuart Rimmer with Peter Houghton on the bench. Newcastle had brought in Glenn Keeley, marginally more mobile, for John Bird while Chester had drafted in the giant Wakeley Gage in place of the suspended Bobby Coy. Gage and Graham Abel could expect a tough examination from Gowling, Burns and, in particular, Malcolm MacDonald. The compact Sealand Road ground was heaving and the atmosphere was highly charged. The Geordie contingent was just three short of its' 4,500 allocation. Whether the other three had been arrested, broken down en route or had just stayed in the boozer was not clear. There was no question that Newcastle had heard about Murray as Keeley caught him with a stray elbow as he leapt and headed clear the first ball thrown forward in the youngsters direction. The crowd didn't like it and neither did Murray who eventually got up in an aggressive attitude and started requesting information as to who had caught him from his teammates. While Stuart Rimmer tried to calm him down Keeley shouted over and claimed responsibility. Murray shouted something back in the centre halves direction but the worlds' greatest interpreter could not have deciphered what he had said. The gist of it was pretty obvious though. The potential conflict between these two players did not immediately deepen as the ball spent the next few minutes at the other end of the field. Mickey Burns made a dangerous run past a couple of static defenders before spoiling his work with a shot spooned high over the crossbar and then Stewart Barrowclough went by Martin Lane to centre for Alan Gowling whose header was well saved by John Butcher. Most eyes were on Malcolm MacDonald and "Supermac" exploded into life on 10 minutes bursting past Abel and Gage at Superstars pace to unleash a ferocious drive that rebounded from the crossbar with Butcher stationary. The power of the shot could be guaged by the fact that the ball flew back over MacDonald's head some 20 yards from goal. Chester were not going to lie down for their vaunted opponents, however, and began to get a grip in midfield with their sharp tackling. Murray was struggling to make an impression but any balls down the channels in Rimmer's direction gave the home team more joy. The speedy forward got away from Pat Howard twice in quick succession only to hit the side netting at Mike Mahoney's near post on the first occasion and then find the keeper able to acrobatically tip away his rising drive on the second. This was shaping up into a fine cup tie with both teams looking to attack at every opportunity and John Kelly had the crowd on its' feet with a quick break from midfield followed by a rasping 30 yarder that had Mahoney clutching thin air. The home fans had to stifle their cheers as the ball thudded against the bar, however. Both sides had now struck wood but the scoreline remained blank. Tommy Craig created the next chance with a perfect ball through for MacDonald but with only Butcher to beat the England striker dragged his shot horribly wide. This caused much amusement among the Chester supporters but two minutes later Gowling nodded down a long ball out of defence from Alan Kennedy and this time MacDonald brushed Gage to one side before blasting past Butcher for the opener. Chester responded and when Keeley hacked Murray down needlessly 25 yards from goal Milton Graham drove a curving free kick against the right hand upright with Mahoney nowhere. The half ended just in time as Murray launched a ludicrous challenge on Keeley that had the gangly defender folded on the floor like an accordion but with less wind inside him. It seemed as though Murray was going to receive at least a yellow card but players from both sides rushed over to form a melee which finally prompted the referee to simply blow for half time as the best way of diffusing the situation and the official contented himself with some words of warning to the Chester man as they left the field. Closer inspection of Murray's glazed eyes would have made the referee sceptical as to how much notice was being taken of his words, however. Half Time: Chester City 0 Newcastle United 1 The referee's words of warning might have passed Murray by but those of his manager Harry McNally certainly didn't. Even a loose cannon like Murray realised it was time to sit down and do as he was told when McNally went into a rage and at half time the Chester boss was livid. McNally wasted no time in pointing out to his centre forward that as yet he had made no positive contribution to the game and that if he didn't make one soon he would be dragging him off and throwing him back in the reserves. Murray was somewhat indignant but sensibly put his efforts to more constructive use than hitherto. Milton Graham helped the youngster by planting a ball squarely into his chest and, with Keeley getting too close, Murray was able to roll his man with the ball still cradled under his spell. Having made ground Murray laid a ball into Rimmer's stride and his effort had Mahoney at full stretch to save. Then when the ball ran loose inside the Newcastle box from Kelly's centre Murray was first to react but his goalbound effort struck Irving Nattrass and deflected behind for a corner. McNally was satisfied and told Peter Houghton to sit back down for the time being. Newcastle responded, however, and a slip by Gage left MacDonald and Gowling in a two against one situation with Graham Abel. The defender had no choice but to try and challenge the man in possession, MacDonald, and leave Gowling completely free. MacDonald had not scored as many goals as he had in his career without going alone occasionally when he should have passed and therefore ignored the obvious option. Abel could not stop MacDonald getting the shot away but he was able to sufficiently disrupt the centre forward to make him shoot wide from the edge of the box. The visitors then threatened again when Barrowclough darted inside past a couple of challenges but Butcher was down well to block his low shot. Back to the other end and Rimmer went past Kennedy and Keeley before drilling in a low cross shot that Mahoney could only parry back into the box. Murray dived in on the rebound but a combination of Keeley and Nattrass foiled his attempt. Again the ball ran loose and this time Ian Richardson had a free shot at goal. There were bodies in the way but there was no excuse for the wild effort that cleared the bar by some distance. Richardson went closer with a header from John Kelly's centre but the ball was fractionally wide of the post and then Rimmer was left scratching his head when Mahoney thrust out a leg to keep out his instinctive shot on the turn. This was good stuff by Chester but with less than 20 minutes left they were still trailing and McNally sent Houghton out to warm up again. Dave Murray saw this and immediately charged back into the midfield to try and impose himself on the game again. Tommy Craig was picking his pass when Murray steamed in and relieved him of possession in an aggressive but acceptable manner. The ball ran free to the lurking Milton Graham and his instant pass sent Rimmer hurtling between the ponderous Newcastle centre halves and this time his low shot was true as Mahoney advanced. This had the crowd at fever pitch and the home side set about trying to win the tie. Rimmer headed wide from a Martin Lane centre and Kelly shot marginally over the bar when Murray chested the ball back into his path. Gordon Lee recognised the danger and sent on Aiden McCaffrey in place of Mickey Burns in an attempt to bolster his midfield but Chester were rampant by this stage. Graham dribbled deep into the box before squaring a ball across the face of goal which no-one could quite get on the end of and then an overhit Kelly centre bounced out from the angle of post and bar with Mahoney beaten. The Newcastle keeper showed his quality in denying both Rimmer and Murray in a massive goalmouth scramble and then got a hand to a fierce Murray left footer that had top corner written all over it. Three minutes from time Graham got away down the left again and this time his low ball in picked Murray out six yards from goal with only Mahoney to beat. This time the ball was on his right foot, however, and Murray could only stab in an ugly effort that bobbled horribly wide. That seemed to be that and when the ball was lofted into the other half of the field Glenn Keeley took the first opportunity of informing Murray that he had just cost his team the tie. Murray's response was a sly dig to the ribs which left Keeley gasping for breath and out of position when Chester suddenly attacked again. The ball was slipped through to Murray in a vital yard of space some 30 yards out. The striker set off but he wasn't the fastest and a desperately lunging Keeley was not able to tackle him but he did manage a painful blow across the back of Murray's achilles which felled him as if taken out by sniper fire. For some reason Murray would not hear of being treated even though he could now barely stand and he was painfully stamping his injured member against the turf by way of a cure when Milton Graham stepped forward to crack a low free kick around the base of the Newcastle wall and into the right hand corner of Mahoney's goal. There was still time for Newcastle to launch a couple of high balls into the Chester penalty area but when Wakeley Gage got up to head the second one clear Chester had claimed another scalp and made it through to the 5th round. It had to be debatable whether David Murray would be able to take his place, if selected, in that one as he limped heavily from the field. Full Time: Chester City 2 Newcastle United 1
Arsenal (1970-71) v. Ipswich Town (1980-81) Arsenal: B.Wilson, P.Rice, F.McLintock, P.Simpson, B.McNab, C.George, G.Graham, P.Storey, G.Armstrong, J.Radford, R.Kennedy. sub: P.Marinello. Ipswich: P.Cooper, G.Burley, R.Osman, T.Butcher, M.Mills, F.Thijssen, J.Wark, K.Beattie, A.Muhren, P.Mariner, A.Brazil. sub: E.Gates. att: 48,627 (3,625) It might have been imagined that of all the managers' involved in the Football England Fantasy FA Cup competition Bobby Robson would have been one of those least fazed about the prospect of time travelling. In heading back a decade to take on Arsenal at Highbury, however, the Ipswich boss felt in need of a comforting presence in case of peril and therefore left out the mercurial talents of Eric Gates in favour of the more robust attributes of Kevin Beattie. Beattie quickly showed his worth with a series of jarring tackles in the midfield and a couple of powerful runs forward. For Arsenal Peter Storey could not match his strength and George Graham could not match his pace. Alongside Beattie the refined Dutch pairing of Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren were able to control proceedings pretty much at will. Thijssen presented Alan Brazil with a shooting chance which was sent just past the post and Muhren put a cross onto Paul Mariner's head and the effort forced a good save out of Bob Wilson. Mariner's next header was to create a chance for John Wark and his low shot glanced the post as it flashed wide. At the other end Charlie George was not far over from 25 yards but the burly centre forwards, Radford and Kennedy, were getting no change out of Osman and Butcher. George Armstrong looked the one likely outlet for the Gunners but only once did one of his centres find a target and then Kennedy's header was over. Just past the half hour Beattie thundered into another challenge on Storey and when the ball rolled loose to Muhren the elegant Hollander strode forward a couple of paces before curling a delicious drive beyond the despairing dive of Wilson. Having taken the lead Ipswich looked less intent on going forward but the attempts of the home team to get back on terms were tentative at best. Graham shot straight at Paul Cooper from the edge of the box and the keeper had an equally comfortable save from Peter Simpson's low effort from 25 yards. Just before half time there was more danger as Ipswich broke but John Wark's glancing header from Brazil's cross was just over the angle. Half Time: Arsenal 0 Ipswich Town 1 There was more effort and endeavour about Arsenal's football after half time but the home side still found it next to impossible to disturb the authority of the visitors. Armstrong brought a save out of Cooper at his near post and then Terry Butcher had to head clear from underneath his own crossbar in front of John Radford when Armstrong's cross deceived Cooper. The real chances continued to come at the other end, however. Thijssen split the Arsenal defence wide open to put Mariner through on goal but the shot was too close to Wilson who parried to safety and then Butcher headed wide when he should have scored from Muhren's free kick. With half an hour remaining Bertie Mee brought on Peter Marinello in place of Radford and sent Charlie George up front to play alongside Ray Kennedy. This began to ask one or two more taxing questions of Russell Osman in particular and George was unlucky to whip a shot just wide after neatly turning the defender. Beattie then roared forward to smash in a shot that rebounded from Wilson's chest into the path of Mariner who stroked home only to find an offside flag denying him. Beattie also showed his worth at the other end when getting back to rob George after he had slipped between Butcher and Mick Mills inside the area. With fifteen minutes to go Bobby Robson decided to give Gates a run out in place of Alan Brazil and the impish forward made an immediate impression. The sub made a darting run beyond Frank McLintock to collect a clever Mariner flick and beat Wilson all ends up with his rising drive from just inside the box. Two minutes later when Wark rolled the ball into his feet 30 yards from goal Gates simply exploded a searing drive into the top corner to make it game, set and match to Ipswich. What had looked a difficult tie on paper had been negotiated with remarkable ease and Bobby Robson's men were clearly emerging as credible challengers for this trophy. Of course Robson now had a huge selection dilemna facing him in the next round. Full Time: Arsenal 0 Ipswich Town 3
Blackpool (1952-53) v. Chelsea (2006-07) Blackpool: G.Farm, E.Shimwell, H.Johnston, T.Garrett, E.Fenton, C.Robinson, S.Matthews, E.Taylor, S.Mortensen, A.Brown, B.Perry. Chelsea: P.Cech, K.Boulahrouz, R.Carvalho, J.Terry, W.Bridge, M.Essien, C.Makelele, F.Lampard, M.Ballack, D.Drogba, A.Schevchenko. att: 28,965 (1,277) Chelsea arrived at the seaside in confident mood but after fifteen minutes they were not quite so cocksure. With no natural width the visitors were looking to stamp their authority on proceedings with quick, one touch passes through the centre of the pitch. The centre of the pitch was heavy and rutted, however, and with a stiff sea breeze blowing down the pitch these moves were breaking down consistently, generally without a Blackpool player needing to make a challenge. In contrast Blackpool were quick to get the ball out to the wings were there was some grass and also a couple of tangerine shirted wingers. As usual Bill Perry did not see much action on the left hand side as the home side looked to feed Stan Matthews down the right at every available opportunity. Matthews skinned Wayne Bridge on the outside a couple of times to deliver dangerous crosses and from the second Stanley Mortensen was only fractionally wide with his lunging header. Bridge took to jockeying the winger rather than committing himself but this simply meant Matthews was being allowed free passage to the byeline to deliver his crosses. Claude Makelele quickly started dropping back to help his full back but with limited success. Matthews jinked between both his markers into the box and actually struck for goal himself but Petr Cech was down smartly to smother at his near post. With more and more opponents being drawn towards Matthews the winger was able to slip a simple ball inside for Ernie Taylor whose low shot from just outside the box had Cech diving full length to tip behind. George Farm was able to throw his cap on a couple of long range efforts from Frank Lampard whose shoot on sight policy was not quite so dangerous with the heavy old ball he was being asked to shift. There was a moment of danger when Didier Drogba forced his way past Harry Johnston chasing a long ball through the middle but his shot bobbled just wide with Farm struggling to get across. Something must have gone seriously wrong with Ewan Fenton's radar the next time he sprayed a pass forward for the ball sailed left straight to the feet of Bill Perry. Khalid Boulahrouz lunged in eagerly but unsuccessfully and the winger was away in a flash. With players surging into the middle Perry kept his head and pulled the ball back to Taylor lurking on the edge of the box. The inside forward had time and space and made it count with a precise shot into the bottom corner which Cech had little chance of seeing let alone saving given the bodies in front of him. Chelsea were shellshocked and although they came forward in search of an equaliser their damaged confidence was evident in the tentative nature of their attacks. Andrei Shevchenko pulled a tame effort wide of goal from a square ball by Michael Ballack and then hit a much firmer effort that was nowhere near the target. Right on half time a frustrated Lampard was penalised for catching Taylor late and from 25 yards Mortensen saw his ferocious free kick smash against the crossbar. There was plenty of work to be done in the Chelsea dressing room if this one was to be turned round. Half Time: Blackpool 1 Chelsea 0 Jose "the Special One" Mourinho knew what was to be done. Joey Cole and Arjen Robben had to come on but with everything in the 50's still being rationed, including substitutes, he had no option but to send out the same men once again. There was little let up in the chasing Matthews was giving to Bridge, or anyone else in Blue that ventured near him for that matter. His centres led to Alan Brown shooting too high and Mortensen seeing two efforts fly wide and another bring a stupendous save, diving backwards, from Cech. Michael Essien had at least emerged from a quiet first half to start driving the visitors forward. He presented Drogba and Ballack with shooting chances after driving runs but neither player could test Farm and then he won a free kick after being hauled down in a dangerous position by Cyril Robinson. Up stepped Fat Frank but Farm was down well to paw his shot away from the bottom corner. From the resulting corner John Terry slammed in a header that Fenton booted clear from the goalline. Moments later Eddie Shimwell lifted Schevchenko several feet up in the air and when the Ukrainian, actually Russian again in 1953, finally got to his feet his disgust at not having a free kick was only equal to his disgust at not being able to leave the field through injury. Inexcusably the highly paid forward did not seem to think that Football England's Fantasy FA Cup competition was worth running off a knock for and he spent the majority of the remaining minutes sulking in a position where neither Johnston or Shimwell could land another blow on him. With Ernie Taylor getting more and more lively as he began to really run last nights' beer off the home side again began to take control with Matthews continuing to wreak havoc down the right. John Terry had seen enough and suddenly raced across to launch the winger into the shed of a terrace running down that side. Terry went in with everything, something had to catch the winger, it didn't particularly matter what. On and on the defender sailed and it did begin to cross his mind that he should have hit Matthews by now. As it was Matthews had stepped gracefully to one side and was now watching the England captan of 50 years time about to obliterate a few rows of cowering schoolboys. It was not a pretty scene. Most of those really vulnerable, sitting pitch-side of the advertising hoarding or dangling precariously from it, were only sporting short trousers and Terry's raised studs and flailing arms brought tears to the eyes of many. Those not injured became equally emotional when it became obvious that the defender had not come that way to sign their autograph books after all. All in all not a moment to look back on with any pride for the Chelsea skipper. Terry fared no better moments later when he launched a challenge towards Mortensen only to find him also somewhere else. Having dodged one centre half the lightning forward tore clear of Ricardo Carvalho whose attempt to grab his shirt failed miserably and from just inside the box Mortensen slammed a shot into the roof of the net with Cech groping helplessly. Mourinho used his Plan B and sent Terry to play centre forward but the only difference this made was that when his captain launched challenges at Johnston and co. he was actually able to make contact. Lampard finally caught one of his efforts sweetly but the direction was all wrong and the ball was last seen heading in the direction of Blackpool Tower. Cech kept the scoreline basically respectable with a fine save from Perry but in truth Chelsea had been well beaten. Back to the drawing board for Mourinho's men while Blackpool would no doubt be hoping to see another London team from the future coming to visit them in the next round. Full Time: Blackpool 2 Chelsea 0
Newcastle United (1954-55) v. Nottingham Forest (1988-89) Newcastle: R.Simpson, B.Cowell, B.Stokoe, A.McMichael, J.Scoular, T.Casey, L.White, J.Milburn, V.Keeble, G.Hannah, B.Mitchell. Notts Forest: S.Sutton, B.Laws, D.Walker, C.Foster, S.Pearce, G.Crosby, N.Webb, S.Hodge, G.Parker, N.Clough, L.Chapman. att: 58,801 (607) Excitement was high on Tyneside as the locals prepared for the visit of Nottingham Forest. Always eager for a good cup run the Newcastle fans fancied their chances having overcome non-league Wimbledon in the previous round. Time travel did not seem the easiest thing to master and Forest had faced a longer trip in time than they had faced in the previous round. Forest would not have much encouragement from the terraces. The 600 hardy souls who had made the trip successfully were completely lost in a sea of black and white. This being 1955 everything was in black and white, not just Newcastle's shirts. Forest were unchanged from the previous round but Newcastle had somewhat surprisingly left out Ivor Broadis, bringing in Vic Keeble at centre forward and moving Jackie Milburn to inside right. The home side started at a frantic pace, bouyed by their raucous support, and Milburn escaped from Colin Foster to send a shot narrowly wide of Steve Sutton's right hand post. It was not long before Forest's composed passing drew some of the sting from this bright opening, however, especially as Des Walker now made sure he tracked Milburn's every move and left Foster to look after Keeble. A lovely move down the right involving Brian Laws, Gary Crosby and Neil Webb ended with the midfielder slipping a ball back to Nigel Clough but Ronnie Simpson was equal to the effort, tipping the ball over for a corner. Forest's next move was even more incisive and ended with Clough threading a ball through the Newcastle defence to leave Steve Hodge running through on goal. With only Simpson to beat Hodge shot wastefully wide of the post. The home side had been put completely out of their stride but sheer determination saw them mount another spell of pressure. Bobby Mitchell managed to dodge Laws on a couple of occasions but with Walker in commanding form he could not pick out a colleague in the centre. JImmy Scoular also forced his way forward to send in an effort but Sutton was ideally positioned to save. Scoular and his midfield cohorts were mainly concerned in keeping their opponents quiet, however, and with Forest beginning to over pass in the central areas the game became somewhat sterile. Stuart Pearce was more direct with a powerful surge from the back and having got within range his thunderous shot had Simpson diving frantically but the ball brushed the bar on its way into the crowd. By half time the Geordie hoardes were strangely muted. Half Time: Newcastle United 0 Nottingham Forest 0 The general stalemate continued after half time. Walker was in command of Milburn and Foster had little to worry about with Keeble. The Forest midfield continued to look pretty but the diligent work of Scoular and Tommy Casey ensured the Newcastle defence was not left exposed. Only Bobby Mitchell looked capable of consistently beating his man but with Forest dominating possession it was a rare occurrence when he actually got a clear run at Brian Laws. Crosby drifted a centre in from the right which Lee Chapman met in front of Bob Stokoe but from penalty spot range his header never had the power to trouble Simpson. Then Hodge combined neatly with Webb to create an opening but, as in the first half, his shot was off target from inside the box. Milburn sent in a shot from distance at the other end, before Walker could take the ball off him, and the pace of the shot surprised Sutton who ended up shovelling the ball behind in untidy fashion. As the game wore on the home side gradually began to gain more control as Forest's wide players disappeared and Scoular and Casey got to grips with Hodge and Webb. This simply made the home side more secure defensively, however, they were still finding it almost impossible to trouble the Forest defence. George Hannah, hitherto anonymous, speared a great ball through for Keeble but the forwards' touch was heavy and Sutton was able to race off his line to collect. Then a foul by Pearce on Len White gave the home side a free kick from which Milburn escaped Walker to glance a header just over the top. These incidents served to rouse the crowd again and their encouragement helped the home team find another gear. Mitchell provided Keeble with the clearest chance of the game but his solidly struck shot bounced out off the post and when Scoular played a lovely through ball in for Milburn the recovering tackle from Walker drew gasps of admiration even from the frustrated home supporters. At last there was some meaningful pressure being applied, however, and with ten minutes to go Mitchell cut inside Laws and went down just inside the box to gain a penalty. Milburn stepped forward and went for Sutton's right hand corner but the height was helpful to the keeper who flung himself across to parry. It looked as though Newcastle's best chance must have gone as the ball was booted clear but Alf McMichael instantly returned the ball towards the box and with the Forest defence having failed to reorganize Milburn was able to nip in ahead of Sutton to flick a header beyond the keeper and into the net. The huge groan that had filled the air moments earlier was replaced by a blood curdling explosion of joy which rocked St James' to its' core and had thousands of housewives on Tyneside breathing a sigh of relief as they anticipated a night out down the working mans' club rather than a clip around the ear on their husbands' return. If Newcastle could hold on of course. Forest were more urgent in their play but were basically incapable of launching balls forward without a purpose. Except for Pearce of course. He spent the last ten minutes launching balls towards Chapman, bulldozing forward with dribbles of his own and shooting from anywhere in the Newcastle half. One of his thunderous efforts crashed against the crossbar with Ronnie Simpson nowhere but it was Forest's more subtle moves that created real chances. Neil Webb exchanged passes with both Crosby and Clough to stride into the penalty area but although his low shot beat Simpson all ends up it whistled wide and then Clough dropped a shoulder to play in Hodge whose rising effort brought a fine save from the Newcastle keeper. Crosby's corner found the head of Chapman but his header drifted wide and Newcastle were through. Now it really was time for the Geordie women to take off the pinny and slap on some lippy. Quality. Full Time: Newcastle United 1 Nottingham Forest 0
Yeovil Town (1948-49) v. Oldham Athletic (1989-90) Yeovil: S.Hall, A.Hickman, L.Blizzard, R.Davis, B.Keeton, N.Collins, B.Hamilton, A.Stock, E.Bryant, R.Wright, J.Hargreaves. Oldham: A.Rhodes, D.Irwin, E.Barrett, P.Warhurst, A.Barlow, N.Adams, N.Henry, M.Milligan, R.Holden, A.Ritchie, F.Bunn. att: 12,449 (14) Although Yeovil had once again been very definitely denied a glamour tie they did have the incentive of a very definite chance of progressing given their home tie with Oldham. Oldham were not going to draw any comfort from their travelling support either. Only 14 hardy souls had made the trip back in time. You could hardly blame them. Deepest Somerset was not the easiest place to get to once you had got as far as 1957. The locals were well up for it, however, and the home side were actually soon pressing despite playing up the hill in the first half. The wily Alec Stock was instrumental with clever passes out to his wingers and both Billy Hamilton and Jack Hargreaves sent over dangerous centres in the first ten minutes which no-one in the middle could quite get on the end of. Then Hargreaves cut inside and Andy Rhodes was forced into a save low down by his post. To emphasise Yeovil's fine start Ray Wright sent in a shot from 25 yards which was tipped behind for a corner. Oldham were finding the slope difficult even though it was supposedly in their favour with most of their passes being overhit and presenting possession back to their hosts. Neil Adams made Oldham's most dangerous break of the opening half hour but his low centre was beyond Frankie Bunn and Arthur Hickman was able to clear before Andy Ritchie could pounce. Back came Yeovil with a series of corners and Rhodes did not look comfortable as bodies hurtled in his direction every time he left his line with the referee more than happy to let it happen. Dennis Irwin was in position to head off the line when Rhodes was beaten to a corner by Eric Bryant and then when the keeper decide to punch the next one clear the ball dropped to Bob Keeton whose instant shot from 25 yards scraped the bar on its' way over. Keeton's next contribution was a well flighted through ball which Paul Warhurst rose to head clear but found the ball travelling further than he thought and the defender could only help it on into the path of Bryant. Earl Barrett dashed across to challenge but Bryant had support and slipped the ball to Wright who scored with a crisp drive into the bottom corner. "Uphill and we're one nil up!" chanted the Yeovil fans in glee. No they didn't, but they made one hell of a racket with their rattles. With Oldham reeling Stock sent over a precise free kick to the far post and Bryant stormed in to head past the petrified Rhodes from point blank range. Cue the rattles. Half Time: Yeovil Town 2 Oldham Athletic 0 With the slope in their favour Yeovil continued to pour forward after the break. Bryant went close twice and Hargreaves slammed a cross shot against the far post. The play was now absolutely camped inside the Oldham half and the home side were throwing more and more bodies forward as their confidence reached new heights. Suddenly Warhurst intercepted a pass from Wright intended for Bryant and with open space in front of him set off on the counter attack at full pelt. Before anyone could react the galloping defender was over the halfway line feeding Rick Holden out on the left. Holden also had space and wasted no time in exploiting it. Having made ground he centred deep to the far post where Warhurst was charging forward to head home a dramatic goal. From absolute assurance the non-league side now became a bag of nerves. Despite having the slope they were now unwilling to throw men forward in support of Bryant and now it was their long balls forward constantly coming back at them as Oldham looked to get back on terms. Now Andy Ritchie began to influence things. He turned Nick Collins on the edge of the box but saw Stan Hall keep out his fierce drive and then he played in Nick Henry whose shot deflected off Les Blizzard to bounce just wide of the post with the keeper completely wrong footed. Now it was Oldham racking up the corners but Stan Hall was much more accustomed to looking after himself in such situations and consistently came charging out to catch or punch. Dennis Irwin got forward to centre onto Bunn's head but the forwards' effort was poor from idela position and when Mke Milligan presented him with an opportunity on the deck the finish was equally tame. Ritchie took a Neil Adams centre expertly on his chest only to balloon his shot out of the ground to signal more rattle twirling and Milligan's effort from 30 yards produced a comfortable save for Hall. With ten minutes to go Yeovil even began bringing Bryant deeper and simply punted the ball downfield whenever they got the chance. It was getting harder for Oldham to drag themselves back up the slope and Les Blizzard was completely dominant whenever anything was thrown forward in the air. Warhurst went forward to play alongside Bunn and fashioned one chance for the striker but again the finish was poor before a chip from the angle of the box by Holden dropped agonisingly over the far post. Holden forced a corner out of Arthur Hickman with the game in injury time but his ball into the crowded box only brought one last clean take from Hall and Yeovil had another league scalp to their name. Unbelievably, rationing and all, Yeovil had made it through to the 5th round of the Football England Fantasy FA Cup. With very little prospect of getting another minnow in the next round they would no doubt be looking for a nice trip into the future for a big pay day and the chance to sample exotic foodstuffs like bananas. Full Time: Yeovil Town 2 Oldham Athletic 1
Arsenal (2003-04) v. Newcastle United (1995-96) Arsenal: J.Lehmann, Lauren, K.Toure, S.Campbell, A.Cole, F.Ljungberg, P.Vieira, Gilberto Silva, R.Pires, D.Bergkamp, T.Henry. subs: G.Stack, P.Cygan, R.Parlour, Edu, S.Wiltord. Newcastle: S.Hislop, W.Barton, S.Howey, P.Albert, J.Beresford, K.Gillespie, R.Lee, L.Clark, D.Ginola, F.Asprilla, L.Ferdinand. subs: P.Srnicek, D.Peacock, S.watson, S.Sellars, P.Kitson. att: 39,337 (6,770) This was a relatively easy trip by the standards of this competition and the Toon Army was out in force to see if Kevin Keegan's flambouyant side could unsettle Arsene Wenger's cosmopolitan Arsenal line up. Newcastle started well and their eagerness to get forward at pace disturbed the normally fluent passing style of the home team. Robert Lee and Lee Clark were quicker to most balls in midfield and both were eager to feed David Ginola so he could exploit Lee Dixon at right back, the man the visitors had identified as the possible weak link. It took Keegan and his men a good ten minutes to work out that the black man playing at right back for the Gunners was not actually Dixon at all and another ten minutes to come to terms with the fact that Adams, Keown and Winterburn weren't playing either. Or David Seaman. There is no question this shocked the visitors but they were encouraged to find that Lauren did not look happy when Ginola went at him and continued with Plan A. Ginola twice weaved his way into the box only to miss the target with his shots and then went on the outside to hang up a centre which Les Ferdinand met ahead of Sol Campbell and Jens Lehmann was at full stretch to tip over. Lee also tested the Arsenal keeper from just outside the box before Faustino Asprilla seized on a ball in midfield, surged away from Patrick Vieira and Campbell to clip an emphatic finish past Lehmann. The first 15 minutes had been all Newcastle and now they led. Arsenal looked to respond with Dennis Bergkamp playing in Robert Pires but his stabbed shot, under pressure from Steve Howey, flew straight into Shaka Hislop's belly. Next Thierry Henry made his first serious contribution with an explosive burst away from Warren Barton and Howey but from the angle his low shot passed just by the far post. Newcastle were not content to sit on their lead, however, and were soon in charge again. Ferdinand nodded down to Asprilla who managed to lob the bouncing ball over Lehmann but saw the effort land on the top of the netting. Then Asprilla returned the compliment and Ferdinand's searing drive clipped the angle of post and bar on its' way behind. Arsenal were generally getting nowhere with their short passing moves as Newcastle chased and harried all over the pitch and the speed and incision of their attacks was constantly stretching the Gunners' defence. Ginola once again led Lauren a merry dance down the left before firing over a low centre which three Newcastle players in turn just failed to convert. Lauren then managed to nick the ball off the Frenchman at the expense of a corner and when Keith Gillespie whipped in a rapid inswinger Ferdinand rose majestically to bullet a header which disappeared beyond Lehmann in a blur. Three quarters of Highbury was stunned while the Clock End was going beserk. As Arsenal threatened to capitulate Clark sent Asprilla clean through the defence with a perfect through ball. Lehmann advanced but the Columbians' low drive was past him in a flash. The roars from the Newcastle fans were stifled as the ball rebounded from the foot of the post, however. Arsenal moved the ball forward and when Gilberto Silva played the ball out wide to Henry Arsenal's talisman exploded into action once again. Barton's token challenge was ignored, Howey's more determined tackle was expertly ridden and Clark's desperate lunge sidestepped. As Hislop advanced Henry curled his effort for the far post and this time his aim was true. From looking to be completely out of the tie one minute Arsenal were right back in it the next. Half Time: Arsenal 1 Newcastle United 2 The second half was an exact opposite of the first with Arsenal almost completely dominant and the Newcastle defence hanging on for dear life. Henry was rampant and was picking on Warren Barton to a extent that made Ginola's treatment of Lauren look merciful. In tandem with Pires he looked likely to cut Newcastle open at any moment. Somehow or other the visitors survived, however. Hislop made fine saves from Henry, Bergkamp and Freddie Ljungberg; Pires and Gilberto Silva saw efforts brush the post while Ljungberg missed badly from ten yards out after being set up by Henry. The visitors were having to defend more and more set pieces also and Campbell was inches over after connecting with one of Henry's inswinging free kicks. Then a corner produced a terrific scramble in the visitors goalmouth with bodies lunging in from everywhere before Howey finally managed to boot clear. Keegan replaced Barton with Steve Watson but the replacement was just as vulnerable to the twin threat of Henry and Pires. It had not crossed Keegan's mind to replace the onlooking Gillespie instead. Pires clipped a shot against the bar before the equaliser finally arrived with ten minutes remaining. Bergkamp threaded a ball through for Pires racing into the box and his square ball left Ljungberg with the simplest of tap ins. The question now was could Newcastle hold out for a replay at St James. Hislop made a brave block at the feet of Pires before tipping an Henry rasper over the crossbar. Lauren came forward to bang a 30 yarder inches over the bar and then Ashley Cole got forward down the other flank to centre for Bergkamp whose header flashed just wide of the far upright. With Arsenal bombing forward from all angles Robert Lee suddenly won a challenge with Vieira in midfield and his instant pass to the right wing found Gillespie in oceans of space. Ashley Cole dashed back to try and cover but Gillespie was fast enough to maintain his advantage and when his centre came over it was perfectly on Ferdinand's head. There was a quick snapping of the neck muscles and the ball was rippling the netting just inside Lehmann's right hand post. Behind the goal the Newcastle fans were up as one to acclaim the most unlikely of goals and with only seconds remaining even they had reason to expect it to be a winner. Arsenal did get the ball into the Newcastle box once more but under tremendous pressure Henry's shot on the turn bobbled through into Hislop's grateful arms and one huge punt upfield later the game was over. Keegan walked off in a bit of a daze, as did most onlookers, pretty sure his team had won but not exactly certain. He would watch the draw for the next round anyway, just in case. Full Time: Arsenal 2 Newcastle United 3
Manchester United (1956-57) v. Manchester United (1998-99) Man Utd: R.Wood, G.Bent, M.Jones, R.Byrne, E.Colman, D.Edwards, J.Berry, L.Whelan, T.Taylor, D.Viollet, D.Pegg. Man Utd: P.Schmeichel, G.Neville, J.Stam, R.Johnsen, P.Neville, D.Beckham, R.Keane, P.Scholes, R.Giggs, A.Cole, D.Yorke. att: 196,666 (63,777) Tie of the round? As Gina G would have said, "Ooh ah, Just a Little Bit." Ticket demand was off the scale for this one. It was over 40 years back in time for the 1999 United fans but they were marching on Old Trafford in huge numbers. Over 60,000 had turned out and the famous stadium had never seen a following like it. Not even when Celtic had come down for testimonials. In general the mood between the rival fans was good but there were some unpleasant scenes in the stands when some of the 1999 vintage supporters went to their seats and found themselves already sitting there, albeit a good deal younger. Fortunately some sensitive stewarding defused the potentially cataclysmic situation and calm was restored. It was lucky for the vast majority of the supporters present that Football England had stood up to some unpleasant politicking from the combined Manchester United's. The clubs had wanted to switch the game from 1957 to 1999. Officials from both camps claimed it was on safety grounds but it was obvious that they had worked out that the receipts from a 65,000 crowd in 1999 would dwarf those from a 200,000 crowd in 1957. You could understand them wanting to do so, however. Despite the incredible crowd gathered at Old Trafford for this one the gate receipts were only a remarkable 27 pounds, 9 shillings and thruppence. And there was no live TV money as compensation. Unlucky boys. The game kicked off with the 1957 team swarming forward immediately. David Pegg walzed past Gary Neville as if he was not there and centred for Tommy Taylor who got head and shoulders above Ronnie Johnsen only to plant his header fractionally high. Then Duncan Edwards stormed forward to power in a low drive from 25 yards that Peter Schmeichel only just got down to in time. The Babes next attack was through Johnny Berry down the right. He also went past a Neville as if he was not there before skimming a low ball across the face of goal. Dennis Viollet reached it at full stretch and managed to divert the ball back the way it had came and the completely wrong-footed Schmeichel was relieved to see the ball bounce to safety from the post. When Eddie Colman robbed David Beckham in a midfield skirmish and Edwards quickly afterwards steamed straight through Roy Keane the 1999 team felt enough was enough and surrounded the referee to make prolonged and somewhat exaggerated protests. The home supporters were not impressed and also somewhat worried. "I hope we don't all turn out to be such great big poofs," was the general concern with especial notice being made of David Beckham's highlighted hair. Keane was not slow to the option of fighting fire with fire and put a hefty challenge in on Liam Whelan but United's captain was unable to drive his team forward at this stage. With the 1999 United under the cosh Paul Scholes was next to foul Whelan but this time it was in a dangerous position and Edwards belted in a fierce free kick which Schmeichel could only bundle back into the box and it took a magnificent challenge from Jaap Stam to deny Taylor a tap in. Beckham drilled a stupendous diagonal ball over the head of Geoff Bent to suddenly turn defence into attack and Ryan Giggs was cutting dangerously into the box. With everyone anticipating a centre Giggs went for the near post and with Ray Wood off balance it looked a goal all the way. The keeper did all he could by sticking out his right foot and the ball caught it to deflect behind. Giggsy was the 1999 United's best option up against the 1957 reserve right back and he soon went careering past him again before picking out Andy Cole at the far post. Having brought the ball down on his chest Cole wanted too much time, however, and Mark Jones thundered in with a ferocious challenge that lifted man and ball behind the dead ball line. Back came the 50's side. Viollet shot straight at Schmeichel after being teed up by Colman and Taylor was again dominant in the air when meeting a Berry centre but Schmeichel was down superbly to clutch the ball at his left hand post. Breaking to the other end Keane shrugged off Edwards for the first time to burst into the box via a one two with Dwight Yorke but Wood was down at his feet in a flash to smother his shot at source. With half time approaching Taylor moved out right to collect possession in a sweeping move and with the United defence all over the place the centre forward produced a perfect centre onto the head of Berry who had raced inside into the space created by Taylor. It was a gilt edged chance but heading was not Berry's strong point. There was little power on the effort but it was directed towards the post and Schmeichel, knowing he could not get there, could only stand and watch as the ball bounced gently down and just wide of his upright. The 1950's fans were not accustomed to goalless first halves but they were not disappointed with the action they had seen and gave both teams a tremendous ovation as they left the field. Half Time: Manchester United 0 Manchester United 0 Right from the kick off a lightning attack down the left between Pegg and Roger Byrne ended with the overlapping full back swinging over a lovely ball for Taylor to attack and his header was screaming into the top corner before Schmeichel took off and somehow scooped the ball to safety at full stretch. It was an astonishing save and had the effect of inspiring his own team and slightly demoralising the Babes. For the first time United's vaunted midfield really began to get a grip on proceedings and United found themselves under severe pressure. Roy Keane was now the dominant force on the pitch, picking up all the loose balls, feeding Beckham and Giggs consistently and with Paul Scholes now free to get forward at will the visitors looked likely to score at any moment. Andy Cole headed straight at Wood from one Giggs centre and the keeper had to be sharp to tip away an effort from Beckham. Then Beckham whipped an early ball into the box and Scholes appeared from nowhere to slip a shot inches wide of the post. Scholes was proving especially difficult for the 1957 side to pick up. He was uncomfortably nippy for Duncan Edwards, who was busy tracking Dwight Yorke anyway, and Eddie Colman was not quite so adept tracking back. Yorke shot badly wide when released by Scholes, whom Edwards had been forced to cover, but when another perfect Beckham centre again met Scholes's run their was no reprieve for Matt Busby's men and the United of the future were ahead. There was a speculative effort from Whelan by way of a reply but this did not trouble Schmeichel and the 1999 side remained in control. Keane ventured forward and Wood had to react well when his shot took a slight deflection off Mark Jones before the 1957 goalkeeper made a save that the big, red nosed keeper at the other end would have been proud of to deny Giggs after a slaloming run. The strain was telling and twice in quick succession Cole was put clear, first by Keane then by Beckham, but on both occasions his finish was feebly off target. Then when Mark Jones headed clear a Beckham corner the ball dropped straight to Schole 25 yards out and his instant volley crashed into the bar before anyone had moved. There were only ten minutes remaining and the 1957 side had to do something to get back into the game. The catalyst was a driving run from their powerhouse Edwards which ended with Viollet shooting wide but at least allowed them to keep play in the other half of the pitch for a few minutes. Johnny Berry roasted Phil Neville to remind the home side of their best avenue of attack but his centre was overhit and posed no danger. Colman quickly had Berry racing away again, however, and this time his low ball to the near post was far more dangerous but Stam got there just in front of Tayor to concede a corner. Berry took this himself and it looked a real bad one, straight at Schmeichel with no opponent in sight. The big Dane rose to collect and gathered easily under his bar only to be met with a thunderous shoulder charge from Tommy Taylor as he landed. Goalkeeper, centre forward and ball all ended up in a heap in the back of the net. Schmeichel jumped up angrily, his colleagues rushed over to have words with Taylor and/or the referee only to find Taylor jogging away contentedly receiving the manly handshakes of all his teammates and the referee pointing to the centre circle with a look of complete unconcern on his face. There was nothing for it but to surround the referee, swear at him a lot and jostle him slightly. The jostling part of it seemed to really annoy the refereee who became so angry that it appeared as though he might suddenly grow to three times his normal size and turn green. Instead he contented himself with singling out Keane, Neville G. and Schmeichel and sending them all from the field of play. Surprisingly the trio went without much further complaint but the reaction of the official had been pretty terrifying to those close up. Alex Ferguson would have also been sent off had the referee had a 4th official or realised he could dismiss the manager but it is perhaps as well that this did not happen as there was no way he could have reached the stand. The 1998 only had two minutes to survive but they also only had 8 men and Dwight Yorke volunteering to go in goal. Yorke had always shone in the five a side practise games in his own era and had instinctively put himself forward for the job. As he pulled on the gloves, however, he began to ponder the challenge Taylor had just been allowed to get away with and started wondering what he had let himself in for. David Pegg quickly sent a centre from deep straight towards the stand in keeper who made sure he got absolutely nowhere near it. Jaap Stam flung himself boldly at the ball, however, and cleared it from the rampaging Taylor. The ball inevitably ran to a United player though and it was Duncan Edwards ready and waiting to unleash a terrific drive that simply bent Yorke's hand back as it flew into the net. With only seven outfield players and a goalkeeper fighting to hold back genuine tears of pain there was little prospect of Alex Ferguson's side getting back into the game and it would be left to Matt Busby's team to continue flying the flag for United in this competition. Full Time: Manchester United 2 Manchester United 1
4th Round Results Arsenal (1970-71) 0 v. 3 Ipswich Town (1980-81)
3rd Round Replays Ipswich Town (1980-81) v. Everton (1984-85) Ipswich: P.Cooper, G.Burley, R.Osman, T.Butcher, M.Mills, J.Wark, F.Thijssen, A.Muhren, E.Gates, A.Brazil, P.Mariner. sub: K.Beattie. Everton: N.Southall, G.Stevens, D.Mountfield, K.Ratcliffe, P.Van Den Hauwe, T.Steven, P.Reid, P.Bracewell, K.Sheedy, A.Heath, G.Sharp. sub: A.Gray. There was only one change made by either side for this replay, Adrian Heath replacing Andy Gray up front for Everton after making a difference in the first game at Goodison as Everton fought back to draw after being outplayed for long periods. It was obvious that Everton were eager that Ipswich should not settle into their free flowing attacking style as heavy challenges were put in all over the field. Kevin Ratcliffe went right through Eric Gates early on and this was followed by Peter Reid dropping Arnold Muhren late, Paul Bracewell catching Frans Thijssen and Pat Van Den Hauwe sailing in on Alan Brazil. When the Belgian deserter then went through Gates the referee had little alternative but to show a yellow card. Trevor Steven produced the first constructive action from the visitors with a neat turn away from Mick Mills followed by a ball whipped into the near post but Graeme Sharp's lunging header could only find the side netting. Ipswich retaliated and Muhren sent in a dipping shot from 30 yards that Neville Southall had to tip over the bar. When the corner came across Terry Butcher rose highest but Gary Stevens was on hand to head off the line. Sharp then held the ball up well before laying off into the path of Kevin Sheedy whose low drive was tipped away at full stretch by Paul Cooper and Bracewell also tested the keeper with a snap shot from 20 yards. Just as it looked that Everton were gaining real control for the first time in the tie Ipswich responded with a spell of intense pressure. Muhren played Gates into the box and Southall produced a fine parry but his defenders were unable to properly clear and when Mills sent in a cross Paul Mariner thumped a header against the crossbar. Once again the ball came back into the box and Brazil whipped in a low shot on the turn which whistled just wide. This set the tone for the next ten minutes with Ipswich pressing hard for the opening goal. Gates grazed the crossbar and Southall saved well from Brazil on two occasions. In the next attack Gates fed Brazil down the left hand side of the box and Ratcliffe lunged as he shaped to shoot only to find the clever forward squaring the ball instead to the onrushing John Wark who drilled his shot past Southall in style. Everton tried to respond before the interval but Cooper had no trouble in fielding hopeful efforts from Heath and Steven. Half Time: Ipswich Town 1 Everton 0 The tie was poised as it had been at Goodison Park in the first game and after Ipswich had dominated the first ten minutes of the second half without seriously troubling Southall the Everton manager, Howard Kendall, decided action needed to be taken. On came Andy Gray for Bracewell in a bold attacking move but unlike in the first game Bobby Robson decided to counter the move immediately, sending on Kevin Beattie for Thijssen. Beattie was intended as extra protection for the Ipswich defence but as the home side continued to dominate the versatile powerhouse was most often seen bombing forward instigating attacks. The tank set up a great chance for Mariner which the forward screwed badly wide and then sent in a tremendous drive that Southall did brilliantly to turn away. The changes had only served to increase the home sides' stranglehold and Southall saved again to deny Wark. The strain was telling as the visitors defence became increasingly stretched and with Brazil looking a certain scorer from a Mariner knock down Gary Stevens conceded a penalty with his desperate challenge. With little over 15 minutes remaining the spot kick was effectively to seal the match and Wark made no mistake, hammering the kick high into the roof of Southall's net. Ipswich continued to pour forward against an increasingly ragged Everton and after shots from Beattie and Gates were repelled by the outstanding Southall the victory was confirmed by Paul Mariner who tapped home after Southall saved but could not hold a fierce drive from Brazil. A miserable night for the visitors was completed in the last minute when Van Den Hauwe received a second yellow for another dreadful foul, this time on Muhren. This had been seen as a tie between two teams with genuine chances of going all the way in this competition and Ipswich had won through deservedly and, eventually, emphatically. Full Time: Ipswich Town 3 Everton 0
Nottingham Forest (1978-79) v. Liverpool (1987-88) Notts Forest: P.Shilton, V.Anderson, L.Loyd, K.Burns, C.Barrett, M.O'Neill, I.Bowyer, A.Gemmill, J.Robertson, T.Francis, T.Woodcock. sub: G.Birtles. Liverpool: M.Hooper, S.Nicol, G.Gillespie, G.Ablett, S.Staunton, S.McMahon, N.Spackman, J.Molby, P.Walsh, P.Beardsley, J.Barnes. sub: C.Johnston. Forest made one change from the first game with Colin Barrett replacing Frank Clark at left back while Liverpool's alteration saw Nigel Spackman coming in for Craig Johnston. This was a more fundamental change than Forest's. John Barnes would be playing as part of a front three in front of a three man midfield. This was a bold move by Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool looked to take the game to their hosts early on. Barnes made one dangerous break past Larry Lloyd but his shot was weak under pressure and Peter Beardsley brought a fine save from Peter Shilton with a stinging shot from the edge of the box. After some forthright challenges from Lloyd and Kenny Burns in particular Liverpool's bright start was quickly doused. Beardsley continued to forage enthusiastically but Paul Walsh began to look somewhat less than interested after tangling with Burns chasing a long ball down the right touchline. Having quelled the visitors fire the home side were soon posing problems of their own. Having beefed up the centre of their midfield Liverpool were more vulnerable out wide and although Steve Nicol had handled John Robertson well at Anfield he was soon struggling to control him here. Robertson sauntered along the touchline twice to put in centres that were headed off target by Francis and Woodcock in turn and then the winger went past Nicol on the inside to drill a shot just wide of the far post with Mike Hooper scrambling across his goal. There was danger through the middle as well with Woodcock looking especially lively. He dodged Gary Ablett to test Hooper with a rising drive and then fed Archie Gemmill with a clever ball but the midfielders' shot rolled a foot wide of the post under challenge from Steve McMahon. McMahon tested Shilton from 25 yards and the goalkeeper made the save look easier than it probably was but in general it was backs to the wall for the visitors. Martin O'Neill shot wastefully wide when another another testing centre from Robertson found its way to him at the far post before a series of Forest corners saw the Liverpool goal under severe pressure. The closest Forest came to making this count was when Lloyd's header was scrambled clear from the goalline by Spackman with Woodcock and Francis looking to pounce. The half ended with Ian Bowyer breaking into the box to get on the end of another Robertson centre but his glancing header flashed just the wrong side of the far post and the tie remained deadlocked after two and a quarter hours. Half Time: Nottingham Forest 0 Liverpool 0 For fifteen minutes after half time the game became something of a midfield stalemate although a driving run and shot by Barnes gave Liverpool some encouragement. The elusive running of Woodcock was the major factor in Forest regaining control, however. Running down both channels he consistently had the Liverpool centre halves at full stretch. Turning Gary Gillespie he fired a cross shot across the face of goal that Francis was inches from turning in and then went clear of both centre halves only to be denied by Hooper diving at his feet. Bowyer, Gemmill and O'Neill were beginning to dominate the Liverpool trio of McMahon, Spackman and Jan Molby which meant Robertson was free to create more danger. The squat little winger dodged Molby and Nicol before firing another centre across the face of goal but again Francis was a shoe size away from converting. Robertson also curled a free kick inches wide of the post with Hooper static. Molby combined neatly with Beardsley to engineer a shooting chance but fired too high as Liverpool broke the siege but the respite was short. Viv Anderson came forward to join the attack and accepted a return pass from Francis to go completely clear only to shoot against Hooper. Anderson's next act was to launch a long ball forward down the right hand side. Again Woodcock was the quickest to react and reached the ball near the corner flag. Twisting right then left Woodcock managed to slip a short ball beyond two defenders to feed Bowyer bursting into the box. He instantly slammed the ball low across goal and this time Francis did get on the end of it and the deadlock was broken. Liverpool threw on Johnston for Steve Staunton but Forest kept coming. Francis headed over from Barrett's centre and then Gemmill collected a flicked pass from Robertson to shoot low past Hooper to completely kill off the tie. Once again this Brian Clough side had got the better of Liverpool in a cup contest. Full Time: Nottingham Forest 2 Liverpool 0 Chester City (1985-86) v. Brighton & Hove Albion (1982-83) Chester: J.Butcher, D.Glenn, B.Coy, G.Abel, M.Lane, J.Kelly, A.Holden, I.Richardson, M.Graham, S.Rimmer, G.Bennett. sub: D.Murray. Brighton: G.Moseley, S.Gatting, G.Stevens, S.Foster, G.Pearce, N.Smillie, T.Grealish, J.Case, G.Howlett, T.Connor, M.Robinson. sub: G.Smith. It had been wondered if Chester would leave Peter Houghton out in favour of the youngster Dave Murray who had come to their rescue in the first game but although Harry McNally did decide to drop Houghton he did so in favour of Gary Bennett. Murray retained his place on the bench, however. Brighton boss Jimmy Melia was less content with the men who had shaped so wooden in the first game and made three changes, Gatting, Howlett and Connor replacing Shanks, Ryan and Smith. This game had drawn the smallest crowd in the competition so far, just over 4,500, and also the lowest away support. Only 77 people had made the journey from the south coast three years into the future and they were not best pleased to find the matchday programme giving a double page spread to their cup final defeat of 1983, a trauma as yet unknown to them. At least this gave them the opportunity to give the substitute Gordon Smith heinous abuse as he warmed up and also meant they would be able to win a few bob backing the correct scores of their cup games when they went back in time. This game started in the same physical manner in which most of the first game had been played. Jimmy Case set the tone with a crude challenge on Milton Graham and the raw boned Chester defence wasted no time in piling challenges into Mick Robinson and Terry Connor. Case worked the best opening of the first 20 minutes but John Butcher was equal to his rising drive after his exchange with Robinson. Robinson was also close with a header from a Gary Howlett free kick before Chester began to pose some problems of their own. Ian Richardson was only just wide after bursting onto a flick from Gary Bennett and Stuart Rimmer reminded Steve Foster of his pace when racing away from the centre half to bring a flying save from Graham Moseley. Set pieces were also giving Chester encouragement as Bobby Coy and Graham Abel lumbered forward to bolster their attack. Coy headed too close to Moseley from a Graham free kick and Abel lashed just over when a corner dropped at his feet ten yards out. Neil Smillie floated a clever effort just over the angle as he cut in from the right before the half ended with Connor and Coy both going into the referees' notebook after a spot of pushing and shoving following another foul by Coy. Half Time: Chester City 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Perhaps both managers reminded their men at half time that this was actually supposed to be about football, perhaps it was just the early goal that arrived, but for one reason or another the tie finally climbed out of the gutter after the break. Rimmer headed wide from a John Kelly cross when well placed then Bennett shot wide with only Moseley to beat as Chester started the half brightly. The visitors responded and Butcher saved well from another Case rocket at the expense of a corner. Gary Howlett swung this over and Robinson headed home at the far post having been left completely unmarked by the Chester defence. Soon afterwards Connor had a glorious chance to double the lead when played through the middle by Tony Grealish but his fierce effort clipped the top of the bar. Smillie also saw a snap shot well held by Butcher as Brighton continued to hold sway. A determined run by Kelly brought Chester back onto the attack and his low centre found its' way all the way through to Graham whose sweet drive clipped the wrong side of the near post with Moseley beaten. Two bursts from Rimmer also had the visitors defence stretched but when the pacy striker tried his luck the effort was wild and when he took the better option of playing in his partner Bennett the finish was nervous and allowed Moseley a comfortable save. This miss brought concerted pleas from the terraces for the introduction of the youngster Murray and Harry McNally was prepared to send his powerful sub trotting along the touchline as preparation for some action. Before he had got the chance to join the action, however, the home side claimed long and hard for two penalties without gaining either. Firstly Graham's drive struck Foster on the arm and then Rimmer went down as if shot under challenge from Gary Stevens. The challenge had been from behind but the ball had come away tied to the defenders' bootlaces. The next action was at the other end and there were huge sighs of relief from the home fans when Grealish somehow pushed his shot wide after Butcher could do no better than parry an effort from Connor at full stretch. This was the signal for Murray to enter the action and there were just short of 20 minutes remaining, the right back David Glenn giving way. Kelly and Martin Lane were now employed as wing backs with Richardson and Graham in centre midfield and Murray being used in the hole behind Bennett and Rimmer. The fourth division side adjusted quickly to the new formation with the wing backs getting forward particularly effectively. Centres began raining into the Brighton goalmouth but no-one was able to profit. Rimmer slid an effort wide at full stretch and Richardson headed over when fed by Kelly. Murray forced Moseley to tip over with a volley from 25 yards when another cross was half cleared and then the big man showed a surprisingly delicate touch to play Bennett in on goal with a clever chip. Bennett wanted too long, however, and when he finally shot Stevens had recovered to get in a blocking challenge. Brighton were now unable to get out of their own half, however, with Chester winning all the 50/50's. Case looked to have got the better of Richardson in a midfield skirmish only to be summarily dumped by a robust challenge from Murray who strode forward with the ball before sending in a shot from 25 yards that Moseley somehow tipped onto the post. For the past ten minutes the Chester fans had been constantly throwing their hands to their heads as the seemingly inevitable equaliser continued to elude them. The visitors were totally under the cosh but now only five minutes remained. Martin Lane surged forward along the left wing again and was brilliantly found by Murray's golden left foot. The full back did not need to check his stride as he centred on the run and once more the delivery was perfect, the ball landing on Rimmer's head just beyond the far post. Moseley dived frantically at his near post but the header was true and crept into the top corner despite a glancing touch from the keepers' fingertips. Melia immediately sent on Gordon Smith for Howlett but with the home side now rampant this was more foolish than bold and Chester looked to end the tie without the need for extra time. Kelly thumped a long range shot just wide and Milton Graham curled a free kick inches over after Foster went through Murray on the edge of the box. With the game entering injury time Gary Bennett broke away and with the visitors defence stretched looked to play Rimmer in on goal. Stevens managed to get a toe on the ball to intercept but when it ran loose Dave Murray was moving up in support and he needed no second invitation on his left foot to shoot for goal. Moseley took off but the ball was already billowing the back of his net as he did so as Murray's ferocious strike settled the tie. There was still time for Coy and Grealish to get involved in an unpleasant scuffle on the ground after a mutually dangerous challenge and the referee had little alternative but to brandish yellow cards which meant Coy had to walk. With only seconds remaining, however, there was no time left for Brighton to make a man advantage count and Chester had come from behind a second time, this time to go through, and once again the hero of the hour was the 18 year old Dave Murray. In true FA Cup tradition the Football England competition was throwing up an unlikely hero and it appeared to be the thick set, dapperly moustachioed Chester nobody Dave Murray. Next up for the teenage sensation, if selected, would be the 1975-76 Newcastle United side and the thought of meeting John Bird, Pat Howard and Glenn Keeley was hardly likely to keep the youngster awake, or out of the pub, at night. Full Time: Chester City 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Leeds United (1971-72) v. Liverpool (1981-82) Leeds: G.Sprake, P.Reaney, P.Madeley, J.Charlton, T.Cooper, P.Lorimer, B.Bremner, J.Giles, E.Gray, M.Jones, A.Clarke. sub: T.Yorath. Liverpool: B.Grobbelaar, P.Neal, M.Lawrenson, A.Hansen, P.Thompson, S.Lee, G.Souness, R.Whelan, T.McDermott, K.Dalglish, I.Rush. sub: D.Johnson. Leeds' boss Don Revie did not deem Norman Hunter in a fit mental state to play in this replay after his traumatic experience at Anfield in the first game so the impressive Paul Madeley kept his place with Terry Yorath coming in as substitute. Liverpool named an unchanged side although they went with a more attacking option on the bench this time with David Johnson replacing Avi Cohen. There was no danger of the bitter nature of the first game being forgotten and challenges were flying in thick and fast from the start all over the field with one notable, and highly surprising, exception. Jack Charlton, not so familiar with these opponents from the future, was having to consult his little black book each time a Liverpool player took possession to see if they were in need of retribution. It was five minutes before Big Jack had worked out that everyone bar the substitute was fair game. By that time, however, his lack of concentration had cost the home side dear. Ronnie Whelan slipped a neat ball into the feet of Kenny Dalglish on the edge of the box and with Madeley anticipating the forward turning onto his right foot Dalglish went the other way to hit an instant left foot shot that Gary Sprake dived all over. Having only just rescued themselves at Anfield Liverpool were now purring towards top gear given the lift of this early goal and their slick passing and moving threatened to overwhelm a Leeds side accustomed to giving out such lessons themselves. With Jackie Charlton now fully focussed on meating out some punishment, however, and the referee happy to share a laugh and a joke with him each time he caught flesh with studs the visitors were not going to find it easy to make their superiority count. Sammy Lee fired in an effort from the angle of the box before Charlton could get across to him that forced Sprake into a fingertip save and Ian Rush managed to evade one of his lunges to shoot narrowly wide but in general the Liverpool movements ended with someone or other spread across the Elland Road pitch like some kind of red utterly butterly. Rush and Dalglish were bearing the brunt of the stick although Graeme Souness found himself hacked a few times when he least expected it and Terry McDermott also had to take a few, punishment for scoring the equaliser in the first game. Not surprisingly Leeds began to get back into the game with Johnny Giles and Peter Lorimer both testing Bruce Grobbelaar from outside the area and Eddie Gray reminding Phil Neal of his difficult time at Anfield by turning him inside and out before whipping in a centre that Mick Jones missed at full stretch. Jones and Allan Clarke were again struggling to get the better of Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson though, especially as Hansen was subduing Jones with more authority than in the first game. Indeed the only time the visiting centre halves looked uncomfortable was when Jackie Charlton came forward for a corner and parked himself right in front of Grobbelaar. Eddie Gray floated the ball straight towards Charlton's head and both centre halves and the keeper launched themselves towards the Leeds man. Somehow the ball looped over the bar leaving the goalmouth a scene of carnage. Hansen was poleaxed, Grobbelaar was poleaxed, Lawrenson was wringing his fist and Charlton was also somewhat groggy having been caught in the head by various parts of all three opponents' anatomy. Some cold water was enough to revive Charlton and Grobbelaar but Hansen did not look altogether comfortable as the game resumed. The next clash involved Bremner and Souness. So far these two had been only sparring but Bremner was waiting his moment and took the opportunity to stamp on his opponents achilles just as Souness was laying possession off in the centre circle. The whole Leeds camp had been suspicious of Souness during the first game sensing this might be a fair weather hard man, handy and up for it in front of his own fans but not so cocky away from home. As Souness writhed around in agony with his big girly hair getting caked in mud the home players looked at each other knowingly. It was just as they expected. Souness eventually recovered and when the game had continued for a couple of minutes everyone was somewhat surprised to see, after a Leeds attack had fizzled out, Bremner laid out and completely stationary in the centre circle. Nobody could understand the huge swelling over his left eye and the four perfect stud marks embossed into his left knee but a forensic scientist would probably have found some revealing DNA samples on the elbow and right boot of Souness. It was too close to half time for there to be any danger of the unconscious Bremner being unable to continue. Ten minutes under a cold shower would surely bring him round in time for the second half. Half Time: Leeds United 0 Liverpool 1 Sure enough Bremner was back out for the second half and quickly had his team moving forward. Revie had now got his captain playing further upfield and his influence began to increase. When actually playing football Bremner was quite a player. Quick and nippy, an incisive passer of the ball and capable of beating a man he began to ask more questions of the Liverpool defence than at any time in the first half. He slipped Jones away from Hansen inside the box only for Grobbelaar to make a magnificent plunging save to turn the effort away. Bremner then sent in a shot of his own through a crowded goalmouth and Grobbelaar made an even better stop. Just as the Leeds fans were beginning to wonder why they didn't have a keeper like this guy rather than the clown Sprake the Liverpool goalkeeper dashed from his box as Eddie Gray chased a long ball forward and completely missed his attempted kick clear. Gray instantly shot for goal from out wide and it took a magnificent headed clearance from Lawrenson to deny him a goal. The danger hadn't passed as the ball bounced loose for Lorimer but Phil Thompson flung himself in front of his ferocious drive and saved a certain goal. Ronnie Whelan broke away to give his defence some respite but having teed up the supporting Lee could only watch in frustration as the chubby midfielder blazed wildly over. Leeds were back on the attack with a series of corners and when Gray suddenly aimed for Madeley rather than Charlton he found his man completely unmarked. From ten yards Madeley's header clipped the top of the bar. Terry Cooper, coming forward with increasingly regularity, sailed past Phil Neal to centre for Clarke but Grobbelaar made yet another great save to smother the downward header by the foot of his post. Then Bremner saw an acrobatic scissors kick rebound to safety off the upright to heighten the home teams' frustration still further. Suddenly a hopeful ball forward found Dalglish and his instant flick sent his partner Rush galloping clear. Out came Sprake but he could barely react as the low shot fizzed past his feet. It looked a goal all the way but mercifully for Leeds the ball flashed just wide of the post and they still had ten minutes to save themselves. Revie sent Yorath on for Paul Reaney and also threw Charlton forward to play up front. This was a schoolyard tactic but Liverpool had no-one to really contest the high balls that started to rain forwards towards the giraffe like figure. Phil Thompson moved inside with Whelan slotting in at left back but nobody could stop Charlton flicking the balls on. Clarke looked to be in from one such flick only to find Lawrenson nicking the ball off his toe at the last moment and then Lorimer did get on the end of one only for his blinding drive to skim the outside of the post. Two minutes remained when Bremner shaped to chip another ball into Charlton only to then burst forward himself towards the box. It was Thompson who finally came to confront him but the midfield dynamo slipped a low pass between the oncoming defender and Whelan to put Lorimer right through on goal. For once the hot shot decided against power and clipped a precise low shot beyond Grobbelaar and inside the far post. Elland Road went beserk, the Liverpool players visibly slumped as the white shirts indulged in a few hearty handshakes and head patting routines. "Bingo'll have to wait tonight Mr. Revie!" shouted Jack Charlton as everyones thoughts turned towards extra time. Full Time: Leeds United 1 Liverpool 1 The play became somewhat nervous and tentative in the first period of extra time as the players contemplated the precarious nature of the tie and felt their aching limbs. Souness suddenly exploded in a shot that rebounded back from Sprake's body without the keeper moving and Rush shot weakly at the keeper having been expertly fed again by Dalglish. This was the cue for Rush to depart the scene with David Johnson entering the fray for the first time but it was Leeds who then came closest to edging in front when Gray's low shot thudded against the inside of the post and flew back into the grateful arms of Grobbelaar. The second period of extra time saw the players pushing themselves harder in the search of a decisive goal. Even the likes of Charlton, Bremner and Souness were beginning to wonder if they really fancied another replay. Ronnie Whelan had Sprake scrambling with a clever lob but the ball dropped onto the top of the net and Dalglish shot home from McDermott's through ball only to be flagged offside. Back came Leeds and Giles supplied Jones with the perfect pass only for the striker to loft his shot over with Grobbelaar advancing. Then Clarke squared unselfishly for his colleague but again Jones could not hit the target. When Lorimer drilled a centre onto his forehead, however, Jones shaped better but Grobbelaar once more took off to produce a fantastic save. Jackie Charlton was beginning to realise that he should have included the goalkeeper in his little black book and made a mental note for the second replay that was looking increasingly likely. Eddie Gray skinned Neal yet again but Bremner's glancing header from his centre was wide of the far post. With play stretched completely and Leeds looking to try and settle the tie Liverpool broke away in the final minute. Madeley was the one player back and made no attempt to cover Johnson, just sticking closely to Dalglish. The ball inevitably went to the spare man who suddenly had the chance to settle this thing once and for all. With only Sprake to beat Johnson's shot was too close to the keeper who had to do little more than bend his back to make the save. The looks of disgust from Johnson's teammates were impossible to ignore. Full Time (aet): Leeds United 1 Liverpool 1
Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) v. Swindon Town (1968-69) Tottenham: B.Brown, P.Baker, M.Norman, R.Henry, D.Mackay, D.Blanchflower, T.Dyson, J.White, B.Smith, J.Greaves, C.Jones. Swindon: P.Downsborough, R.Thomas, F.Burrows, J.Trollope, J.Butler, S.Harland, D.Heath, P.Noble, C.Jones, R.Smart, D.Rogers. White Hart Lane was absolutely heaving for this replay. The expected exodus from the west country had certainly taken place with special trains piling into the capital en masse. There was every reason to expect a thrilling game with both sides designed to attack but there was little reason to believe the visitors could spring a surprise against this formidable Tottenham line up. The only change by either side from the first game saw Swindon bring in Chris Jones at centre forward in place of John Smith who had been disappointing at the County Ground. A huge roar greeted the kick off and having won possession in midfield Stan Harland immediately swung the ball out towards Don Rogers, Swindon's chief dangerman. The hopeful pass should have provided an easy interception for Peter Baker but the full back slipped as he went to trap it and the flying winger was instantly away. Dave Mackay moved across to cover but with a quick change of feet Rogers had cut inside him and before he entered the box he had smashed a low shot past Bill Brown into the far corner. The roar from the ecstatic travelling fans eclipsed the one which had greeted the kick off as the visitors celebrated the best possible start. Rogers was soon troubling the nervous Baker again and when Brown could not hold his driven cross Jones had his chance but hesitation cost him dear as Maurice Norman lunged in to block. Shortly afterwards Don Heath made headway down the other flank and his centre was met squarely by Peter Noble but Brown reacted well to fist the ball away. Swindon could not keep up this blistering pace but while Tottenham began to get a grip of the game it was a while before they truly threatened an equaliser. Harland was diligent in his patrolling of Greaves who looked disinterested for the most part. Bobby Smith could never be accused of that, however, and was more prepared to scrap for the less than perfect service that was coming his way. Smith was able to shrug off Frank Burrows when John White clipped a ball through the middle but with Rod Thomas coming across to challenge he couldn't summon the power to beat Peter Downsborough. When White shortly afterwards had a half chance that he stroked just wide of the post it was becoming increasingly evident that Tottenham were beginning to turn the screw. Cliff Jones clipped the top of the bar with a header from a Terry Dyson corner and Smith called Downsborough into action with a strong header but the Swindon keeper was down quickly to save. Just as it looked as though the visitors would hold out till half time a shot from Smith was charged down by Burrows and as the ball dropped loose Greaves emerged from nowhere to expertly slide the ball past an exposed Downsborough. Within a minute a half clearance landed at the mercurial inside forwards' feet and after a dazzling burst which took him beyond three defenders and the keeper Greaves slotted home to give Tottenham an astonishing lead. Half Time: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Swindon Town 1 It was vital that Swindon asserted themselves after half time if they were to stay in contention but within seconds of the kick off Danny Blanchflower took Rod Thomas out of the game with a sliderule pass to Jones who sprinted down the touchline before centering. It looked like a comfortable take for Downsborough but just as the keeper was expecting the ball to thud into his stomach Greaves arrived to glance in his header at the near post. Not counting half time the hat trick had taken 2 minutes and 14 seconds. From here on in it became simply a matter of Swindon trying to keep things respectable, not an easy task against a side that knew no other way to play than to attack. Downsborough saved well to deny Jones, Smith and Mackay while Smith and White put efforts marginally off target. The fourth goal arrived just past the hour when Smith bundled home from a yard out after Downsborough could not hold a volley from Jones and number five came from the penalty spot after the harrassed keeper had to drag Greaves down as he went round him again, Blanchflower stroking home the spot kick. Still Spurs poured forward with Dyson belting a shot against the bar and Greaves stabbing a cheeky effort through Harland's legs and against the far post. Five minutes from time Greaves got his fourth and Tottenham's sixth with a crisp volley from Smith's nod down but after taking this second half battering the final word went to Swindon. Rogers nodded a long ball forward beyond Baker and hared off towards goal. From just inside the angle of the area he sent in a rasping drive that Brown parried out straight into the path of Chris Jones who nudged the ball awkwardly, but effectivrely, back into the unguarded net. The game had been just as open as everyone had expected and the result was probably as most would have forecast. The seven year train journey back home gave the visiting supporters plenty of time to drown their sorrows, however. Full Time: Tottenham Hotspur 6 Swindon Town 2
West Ham United (1964-65) v. Millwall (1972-73) West Ham: J.Standen, J.Bond, K.Brown, B.Moore, J.Kirkup, P.Brabrook, R.Boyce, M.Peters, J.Sissons, J.Byrne, G.Hurst. Millwall: B.King, B.Brown, A.Dorney, B.Kitchener, D.Burnett, E.Dunphy, G.Bolland, H.Cripps, D.Allder, A.Wood, D.Possee. The night every right minded citizen in London had dreaded had finally arrived, courtesy of Football England and the sick twisted humour of the cup draw, with Millwall making the comparatively short trip back in time to the early sixties. While the rest of London was beginning to "swing" at this time on this night the East End was literally kicking and screaming. Millwall had made the short journey to Upton Park mob handed but the narrow terraced streets in and around the Boleyn Ground remained an intimidating location. The police were out in record numbers and no doubt wished they, like the teams in this competition, had been granted the power of time travel. Most would have used it to either travel 12 hours into the future while some would have chosen to go back in time ten years or so so they could try a bit harder at school. Inside the ground the simmering, tense, aggressive atmosphere remained although at least here the police mainly had control of proceedings. Despite the large away following the ground was swathed in claret and blue and the second division visitors would no doubt be up against it in every way. West Ham started positively and swarmed forward with a series of close passing moves. The game plan was to feed Peter Brabrook whose pace could be expected to cause problems for Harry Cripps. Benny Fenton had scored a tactical victory, however, by moving Crippsio into midfield with the more mobile Dennis Burnett stepping in to marshall Brabrook. Cripps was chiefly designated to patrol Johhny Byrne when he began dropping off the centre halves and to kick anything else he spotted moving and could get close to in the midfield areas. Brabrook managed to put in one dangerous centre but Geoff Hurst's glancing header flashed wide of the far post and when Johnny Sissons hit a low shot from the left hand side of the area Bryan King was down smartly to save. The first 20 minutes had definitely been a success for Millwall even though they had yet to manage an effort on goal. A strong run by Doug Allder then won them a corner and their potential to cause trouble from set pieces was obvious as Barry Kitchener and Cripps went forward to support the strapping centre forward Alf Wood. It was Wood who got his head to Eamon Dunphy's cross and Jim Standen had to claw the ball out of the top corner at full stretch. This was encouraging for the Lions but it stung the Hammers into more determined attack. Geoff Hurst showed his power in bursting clear of Kitchener and King was relieved to see the ball disappear just over his crossbar. Then Hurst chested off into the path of Byrne who was turning to celebrate the opening goal before King made a remarkable fingertip save down by his right hand post. West Ham's more determined attacking was met with more vigorous defending from Millwall. Kitchener levelled Hurst the next time he looked to make inroads and Cripps took out Martin Peters as he looked to support his attack. When Bobby Moore strode forward to start an attack down the inside right channel and looked to play a one two with Brabrook there were two Hammers hitting the deck as Cripps took Moore out late and Burnett did likewise with Brabrook. There were supporters from both teams congregated near the incident and the different responses which arose from it immediately led to a free for all on the terraces. For a moment it looked as though the players were going to replicate the ugly scenes developing off the pitch until Moore quickly grabbed the ball and took the free kick already awarded to his team. The ball dropped perfectly onto the left foot of Sissons lurking at the far post and the winger shot first time past King. There were complaints from the visitors but the goal was a good one. For a few minutes it looked as though the visitors might crumble under tihs blow and they had their outstanding goalkeeper Bryan King to thank for keeping them in the game. King made fine stops from Peters and Byrne and then drew admiring applause from even the Hammers fans with a stupendous reaction stop from a point blank range Hurst drive. Drawing inspiration the visitors ended the half with their best spell of pressure. Standen tipped a Wood effort from the edge of the box over before Derek Possee nipped past Brown and Joe Kirkup before sending his low drive agonisingly wide of the far post. Half Time: West Ham United 1 Millwall 0 There was a cagey start to the second half with both sides looking more worried about conceding the next goal than confident of scoring it. Long range efforts from Byrne at one end and Gordon Bolland at the other did not trouble either keeper and the hour mark was reached with the game deadlocked in midfield. Sooner or later the visitors were going to have to be more adventurous, however, and Brian Brown showed some initiative by driving forward twice to send over dangerous crosses which Wood challenged for but could not make clean contact with. Bolland was also getting forward more and linked well with Possee on one occasion but found Standen equal to his rising shot. The danger of pushing too many men forward was then demonstrated as West Ham broke quickly through Byrne and Brabrook with Hurst just unable to make contact with the wingers' low centre. With time beginning to run out there was no point worrying about what might happen at the back, however, and after Cripps had fired over from 30 yards the visitors penned the Hammers back with a series of corners. With Wood and Kitchener charging at the crosses like men possessed there was five minutes of mayhem in and around the West Ham area but when a punted clearance by John Bond was perfectly taken in his stride by Johnny Byrne the home side suddenly had a three on one. Alan Dorney was the one man back and Byrne teased him like a matador, taking the ball right up to him then dummying the pass on three occasions before finally ignoring the sensible option of squaring the ball to his imploring teammates and dancing round the defender before slamming his shot over King's shoulder into the roof of the net. Ten minutes remained and Millwall gamely tried to push forward to rescue themselves but all real conviction had gone out of their play after this killer blow and it was little surprise when Moore's perfectly weighted through ball found Martin Peters running into the box to score. All that was left was for the fans to continue the argument long into the night, a conflict which had no definite conclusion, unlike the football. As the Millwall followers eventually drifted off back into the 1970's and the policemen on duty began working out if they would have qualified for early retirement by 1973 Jack The Hat was able to send word to the Kray twins that it was safe for them to return from the little visit to Margate they had treated themselves to since this tie had been drawn out of the hat. Full Time: West Ham United 3 Millwall 0
3rd Round The results are starting to come in from around the country and the last century. Results are updated at the bottom when received with match reports provided below. Preston North End (1888-89) v. Cambridge United (1989-90) Preston: Dr.R.Mills-Roberts, B.Howarth, D.Russell, B.Holmes, S.Robertson, J.Graham, J.Gordon, J.Ross, J.Goodall, F.Dewhurst, S.Thomson. Cambridge: J.Vaughan, A.Fensome, P.Chapple, L.Daish, A.Kimble, C.Leadbitter, M.Cheetham, G.Clayton, L.Philpott, J.Taylor, D.Dublin. There was plenty for fourth division Cambridge United to get accustomed to as they headed back in time to a completely different century both in terms of facilities and rule changes. Manager John Beck was in no mood to alter his gameplan, however with his four defenders instructed to launch huge punts towards his four forwards at every available opportunity. The heavy ball made it uncomfortable to kick in Cambridge's girlie 1990's boots, however, and within ten minutes every member of the visitors back four was wincing in pain as they attempted to send the ball to the furthest points of Preston's Deepdale ground. In contrast Preston were moving the ball slickly over the heavy surface and building up attacks with smart passing movements through the midfield. Sandy Robertson linked up well with Jimmy Ross to carve open a chance for John Goodall but with only John Vaughan to beat his shot went over the bar. It was not long before Goodall got his next chance and this time Vaughan had to get down quickly to keep his side level. As his back fours' long balls became shorter and shorter Beck's rage on the sidelines became greater and greater but his charges could not improve on their distances and when it began raining heavily this made it even more of a challenge as the ball began to soak up water and became heavier still. Alan Kimble actually collapsed in agony after connecting badly with his toe end and the ball went straight to Johnny Graham whose first time lob through the middle send Goodall through on goal again and this time his shot beat Vaughan all ends up and passed through the posts, there not being any such things as nets at that time. Cold, wet and muddy were conditions Cambridge might have been expected to revel in but the ball continued to hamper their tactical approach. The stuffing was knocked out of the visitors a little more when one punt forward by Liam Daish did reach Dion Dublin but in trying to head the ball 40 yards to the wing Dublin sent himself into a sort of walking coma from which he did not recover for around ten minutes. If Dion couldn't head the thing without almost killing himself not many of the others really fancied having a go. Moving the ball out of the gluepot central region Fred Dewhurst sent Sam Thomson sprinting down the left and his centre dropped perfectly for Jimmy Ross to shoot home. Ross, Goodall and Robertson all came close to extending the lead as Preston continued to be presented with possession by the visitors who were fortunate to be only two behind at half time. Half Time: Preston North End 2 Cambridge United 0 Whereas Preston came out for the second half looking somewhat cleaner and dryer than when they had left the pitch John Beck refused to allow his players to leave the pitch at all at half time. Instead they spent the interval trying to keep warm as the icy rain continued to teem down on them while Beck and his coaching staff arranged buckets of cold water three deep all around the side of the pitch. The purpose of these became obvious the first time one of his players failed to reach the minimum acceptable distance of 70 yards with one of their passes. Out dashed Beck's assistant Gary Johnson to launch one of the buckets all over Andy Fensome, the offending player. By the hour mark all four of the Cambridge defenders were completely soaked and, with the temperature continuing to plummet, the risk of hypothermia began to become very real especially for the two full backs who were the easiest to reach with the water. Not surprisingly the home side continued to dominate and Ross extended their lead with a neat finish after being fed by Robertson. By now Beck had armed himself with an actual hosepipe courtesy of the local fire brigade and with their help was aiming jets of water at all his players in turn as his anger reached critical proportions. There was a touch of It's A Knockout about the next goal as Phil Chapple was knocked off his feet by a sudden spurt of water sent by his manager as he moved to challenge Ross who was left free to run through and shoot past Vaughan to complete his hat trick. John Goodall headed home the fifth from a Jack Gordon corner which led the disgruntled Cambridge players to huddle together in the centre circle in a tight ball to try and protect themselves from the water being flung in their direction and to preserve some body warmth. This left their goal a little exposed and Sam Thomson took advantage with a walk in goal for number six. Having kicked off again, however, Cambridge were able to keep possession within their little huddle for the remaining ten minutes and thereby avoided further damage. It would be a long journey home for the visitors as Beck refused to allow any of them to change out of their playing kit and even considered stopping off in 1915 and 1940 to enlist his squad in the army as punishment for their below par showing. While the slightly bemused Prestonians headed off into the night to celebrate victory with a few casks of ale they would probably have been burning down their Deepdale ground and outlawing football in the town for good had they been aware that in just over 100 years time the "daft apoth" with the water gun would actually become their teams' manager. Full Time: Preston North End 6 Cambridge United 0
Wimbledon (1974-75) v. Newcastle United (1954-55) Wimbledon: D.Guy, B.Stockley, J.Bryant, D.Donaldson, B.Edwards, S.Rice, D.Bassett, G.Aitken, M.Mahon, B.Holmes, R.Connell. sub: T.Vansittart. Newcastle: R.Simpson, B.Cowell, B.Stokoe, A.McMichael, J.Scoular, T.Casey, L.White, I.Broadis, J.Milburn, G.Hannah, B.Mitchell. sub: C.Crowe. The famous Newcastle cup fighters of the 1950's had to travel 20 years into the future to meet non league Wimbledon at the tightly packed Plough Lane ground. Wimbledon had wanted to move the game to White Hart Lane but Football England were not having that kind of crap which left around 40,000 Geordies disappointed at not being able to get their hands on tickets. The couple of thousand visiting fans who had made it to the game were soon cheering their side forward as Newcastle started at a whirlwind pace. Bobby Mitchell was quickly giving Bob Stockley a tough time down the left flank and the darting runs of "Wor" Jackie Milburn threatened danger through the middle. Milburn put in the first attempt of the game with a rising drive that Dickie Guy did well to tip over and then Ivor Broadis was foiled by the keeper who managed to cling on to his curling attempt. Wimbledon were finding it difficult to get out of their own half as the fearsome half backs Jimmy Scoular and Tommy Casey controlled the midfield exchanges. Dave Bassett tried to disrupt this control with a late challenge on Scoular and a high lunge at Casey. Scoular was content to let his football do the talking but Casey took exception and his next tackle left Bassett grounded for a full two minutes. Away from the niggling Newcastle continued to pound the Dons goal. Milburn sent a header inches wide of the post and Guy produced a breathtaking save from Mitchell's arching free kick. Scoular ventured forward to shoot from 25 yards and again Guy saved well in tipping behind for a corner. When this came across Milburn got in another header that Billy Edwards hacked off the line with Guy beaten. Wimbledon mounted their first meaningful attack with a short passing move through the middle which ended with Glenn Aitken feeding Roger Connell but from just inside the box his shot was too high under pressure from Bob Stokoe. As the players got ready for the goal kick it became apparent that Bassett was again in need of attention having been caught by Casey as he moved the ball on. Newcastle came back strongly with George Hannah and Milburn both sending efforts wide before Guy again came to the rescue dashing from his line to take the ball off the toe of Broadis as the inside forward cut through. With the interval approaching Scoular ran straight through Bassett in a challenge for the ball and the Dons' midfielder had to be carried from the field to enjoy his half time slice of orange. Half Time: Wimbledon 0 Newcastle United 0 Bassett was not fit to resume after the interval with Tom Vansittart coming on in his place but Wimbledon were able to mount the first attack of the half. Mick Mahon got away from Bobby Cowell to centre and Connell leapt highest but saw his header glance the crossbar. The home supporters produced their biggest roar of the afternoon in the hope that their side could maintain the pressure but Newcastle had soon resumed command. Scoular played in Hannah who should have scored but shot wide and then Milburn saw Guy react brilliantly to parry his close range shot after an instant turn. The heroics of the Robin Hood lookalike goalkeeper was certainly frustrating the visiting forwards and probably contributed to a glaring miss by Len White who shot over a gaping goal after Mitchell's low centre had eluded Guy's dive. There was little let up in the pressure, however, as Scoular and Casey continued to exercise an iron grip of the game. Increasingly this pair focussed their passes on Mitchell who was comprehensively roasting Stockley. Jeff Bryant and Dave Donaldson could handle the aerial challenge pretty well but whenever Milburn got the ball into his feet they had problems. Milburn turned smartly only to shoot over and then his first time shot brought another good save out of Guy. When next fed Mitchell suddenly cut inside Stockley for the first time and sent in a speculative effort with his right foot. The ball floated beyond the diving Guy, struck the crossbar and with the goalkeeper helpless Milburn reacted the quickest to knock home the rebound. Wimbledon had 15 minutes to find a response but for every opportunity they created Newcastle would carve out three. Hannah, Broadis and Milburn all had chances to seal victory for the visitors but missed the target while Ronnie Simpson made his most testing save of the afternoon from a Selwyn Rice effort. With the game entering injury time Wimbledon won a corner and threw virtually everyone forward but Bryant could not get sufficient power on his header under severe pressure and Simpson claimed the ball under his crossbar without trouble to cement his sides' place in the next round. Full Time: Wimbledon 0 Newcastle United 1
Blyth Spartans (1977-78) v. Aston Villa (1980-81) Blyth: D.Clarke, J.Waterson, S.Carney, T.Dixon, R.Scott, A.Shoulder, E.Alder, K.Houghton, R.Carney, L.Mutrie, T.Johnson. sub: M.Dagless. Aston Villa: J.Rimmer, K.Swain, A.Evans, K.McNaught, C.Gibson, D.Bremner, D.Mortimer, G.Cowans, T.Morley, G.Shaw, P.Withe. sub: D.Geddis. Excitement was obviously high in the north eastern town of Blyth as the midland giants Aston Villa came visiting. There was disappointment within the camp that their experienced full back Ron Guthrie had opted to represent Sunderland in the competition but it was the right back John Waterson who might have the most defending to do up against Villa's flyer Tony Morley. Morley tested Waterson early on and got beyond the full back to centre and Tommy Dixon's clearing header was uncomfortably close to his own goal. Gordon Cowans brushed the crossbar with a free kick after a foul on Gary Shaw by Steve Carney but Les Mutrie then gave the home crowd encouragement with a strong header that required a touch over the bar from Jimmy Rimmer. This led to a spell of end to end attacking with chances for both sides. Eddie Alder got his baldie head onto an Alan Shoulder cross but was wide and Terry Johnson brought a good save out of Rimmer with a near post flick for Blyth while Peter Withe wasted a hat trick of chances after being set up by Morley and Shaw. On 20 minutes Mutrie got above Ken McNaught from Rob Carney's centre and when the ball dropped Shoulder was the quickest to react and poked home past Rimmer. With the ground in turmoil Cowans threaded a ball through to Des Bremner breaking away down the Villa right and his square ball was right into Shaw's stride to side foot into the bttom corner first time. This bodyblow seemed to deflate the home side and Villa pressed hard to take advantage. Withe was still in profligate mood as the majority of chances continued to fall his way but Dave Clarke had to make a fine save to deny Cowans when he let fly from the edge of the box. McNaught sent in a header from a Morley corner that was blocked on the line and a huge scramble ensued as the ball fell loose but when Dixon finally managed to boot the ball to safety the non leaguers had made it to half time still on terms and the crowd offered them a great ovation for their efforts. Half Time: Blyth Spartans 1 Aston Villa 1 Blyth looked to mount an attack at the start of the second half with Alder launching a ball towards the Villa penalty area but Allan Evans got up well to head clear and Gary Shaw turned an instant ball out to the left where Morley was haring forward at full speed. No recovering defender could get near the winger and having raced past Steve Carney he was clean through. Clarke came out but Morley produced a composed low finish to give Villa the lead. Again the home side struggled after conceding a goal and Shaw hit the post from Withe's knock down soon afterwards. "Sid" Cowans had taken a firm grip of the midfield and the tireless running of Bremner and Dennis Mortimer kept the visitors pushing forward almost incessantly. Cowans played in Bremner but the shot was too high and when Withe finally got an effort on target from Mortimer's cross Clarke was down smartly to save. Brian Slane sent on Mike Dagless in place of Rob Carney in a bid to strengthen his midfield but Villa remained in charge. Clarke had to tip a Cowans drive over the bar and Morley crashed in a shot that bounced to safety from the keepers' chest. In response Johnson sent a shot flashing over the bar at full stretch from Shoulder's through ball and Rimmer saved easily from Mutrie's header. 20 minutes from time a sweet passing move orchestrated once again by Cowans released Kenny Swain bombing forward from right back and his low ball picked out Shaw to score a virtual replica of his first goal. This was almost certainly game over and Ron Saunders sent on David Geddis for the underwhelming Withe as Villa continued to pass Spartans to death in the midfield. Geddis could have scored from Mortimer's pass but shot wide and Clarke made another good save from a long range Colin Gibson effort. Out of nothing Mutrie got his head to a punt forward and Terry Johnson shrugged off Evans before beating Rimmer with a low shot. There was just less than five minutes for Blyth to save themselves but Morley immediately skinned Waterson and his deep centre found the head of Geddis who managed to squeeze the ball past Clarke by the post. In the last minute Dave Clarke stopped it from becoming five with a flying save to deny the excellent Cowans and at the end of the game evryone could look back on the aftrenoon with a fair degree of satisfaction except the bearded, sweatbanded Peter Withe. Full Time: Blyth Spartans 2 Aston Villa 4
Arsenal (1988-89) v. Sutton United (1988-89) Arsenal: J.Lukic, L.Dixon, S.Bould, T.Adams, N.Winterburn, D.Rocastle, M.Thomas, K.Richardson, P.Davis, P.Merson, A.Smith. subs: D.O'Leary, B.Marwood, P.Groves. Sutton: T.Roffey, R.Jones, P.Rogers, S.Hemsley, T.Rains, M.Stephens, P.Dawson, N.Golley, M.Hanlan, L.Dennis, P.McKinnon. subs: J.Vincent, M.Cornwell, E.Ekoku. No problems with time travelling for these two sides but the fact that non league Sutton United had been drawn away from home in the tie seemed to remove any possibility of an upset whatsoever. Indeed Arsenal immediately had the visitors penned back as their powerful midfield quartet were quicker and stronger in evferything they did. Paul Davis drilled a shot just wide from the edge of the box after exchanging passes with Paul Merson and Kevin Richardson forced Trevor Roffey into action with a nervous looking grab at his low shot. 12 minutes in Arsenal took the lead when David Rocastle made ground easily down the right before crossing for Alan Smith to head home unchallenged. It was all too easy for the first division club. Merson, Smith and Michael Thomas all sent in efforts that were marginally off target as the game descended into shooting practice for the Gunners and midway through the half Roffey was fetching the ball out of his net for the second time. Lee Dixon went surging forward on the overlap and was perfectly picked out by Davis and he had all the time and space he could have wished for as he waited the perfect moment to pick out Merson who swept home his finish into the top corner. Roffey made a fine save fromanother Smith header but as half time approached the home side took their foot off the pedal and allowed Sutton a few attacking opportunities. Matt Hanlan evaded Dixon to cross for Paul McKinnon whose header was comfortably fielded by John Lukic and Lennie Dennis got away from Tony Adams to put in a low shot that was only a foot wide. Suddenly Arsenal broke away down their left, however, and when Merson centred to the back post Rocastle was arriving to score with a sweet first time cushioned volley back across goal. Half Time: Arsenal 3 Sutton United 0 All the visitors could hope for in the second half was to keep the scoreline Mel and Kim and in fairness their efforts never wavered. Nigel Golley beavered away in midfield to combat Arsenal's passing moves and Tony Rains finally began to subdue the outstanding Rocastle somewhat. Roffey still had to make saves from Smith, Merson and Steve Bould, however, as the home side continued to fashion almost all the chances. Robyn Jones stretched to head a Tony Adams header off the line following a corner and a deft chip from Merson clipped the top of the crossbar. In a move that was either enterprising, desperate or stupid Barrie Willams withdrew Mickey Stephens and threw on a third striker in the shape of the raw youngster Efan Ekoku. There was nothing subtle about Sutton's attacking efforts but the newcomer did have the pace and strength to unsettle Adams and Bould on occasions and the visitors looked more likely to get a consolation goal than at any stage. Ekoku forced his way into the right hand side of the penalty area but then bobbled his shot wide of the far post and Lennie Dennis forced Lukic to tip over with a crisp shot. With five minutes to go Sutton forced a corner but when Adams headed this clear and the ball broke to Thomas the break was immediately on. Thomas made ground before releasing Merson down the left and his low cross picked out Kevin Richardson perfectly for a tap in finish. With the game well and truly safe George Graham felt safe enough to throw on Perry Groves for Merson and the enthusiastic, though essentially useless, sub was quickly being released clean through the defence by Paul Davis and Groves finished at the second attempt after Roffey had parried his first shot. Unfortunately this had been all too easy for the Gunners. Full Time: Arsenal 5 Sutton United 0
Blackpool (1952-53) v. Crystal Palace (1975-76) Blackpool: G.Farm, E.Shimwell, H.Johnston, T.Garrett, E.Fenton, C.Robinson, S.Matthews, E.Taylor, S.Mortensen, A.Brown, B.Perry. C.Palace: P.Hammond, P.Wall, I.Evans, J.Cannon, K.Sansom, N.Chatterton, P.Holder, M.Hinshelwood, P.Taylor, A.Whittle, D.Swindlehurst. Third division Crystal Palace had one thing in their favour as they travelled back to 1953 to face the mighty Blackpool and that was the prior knowledge their manager Malcolm Allison had of the fine side they were up against. Allison knew all about the pace and power of Stanley Mortensen and the wing wizardry of Stan Matthews. It at least allowed him to hatch some kind of plan for keeping the star pair relatively quiet. Unfortunately, having brought his side early to the resort, the flambouyant manager had spent most of his week desperately trying to find attractive young ladies with huge chests to be photographed drinking champagne in the bath with him. This being the 50's and the heyday of the beauty competition Blackpool was not without its' fair share of buxom young beauties, even in the winter months, but Allison found that the girls of that era were not quite so eager to jump naked into a bath to have their photo taken with a 50 year old bloke as they were in the 1970's. Having tried it on and failed with the beauty queens Doreen Dawne and Brenda Mee and got nowhere Allison turned his attention to the showbiz types in town but the response was just as negative when he approached Jill Day. When he then suggested it to a 17 year old Julie Andrews, starring in panto with Norman Wisdom, the police had to be called and Allison spent a night in the cells before being released and warned as to his future conduct. Undeterred Allison had better luck with a few gullible Tiller Girls who fell for his line about being manager of "The Crystal Palace" and, believing this to be a swanky London nightspot, they agreed to join him in the bath on his promise of making them stars. All this left the Palace boss little time to concentrate on the upcoming cup tie but he did still manage to come up with a surprise selection in his bid to keep Matthews in check. Allison handed the number 3 shirt to the teenager Kenny Sansom who had only a handful of first team appearances to his name. Short, quick turning and sharp in the tackle Sansom perhaps had the best chance of all his defenders of keeping Matthews quiet. This was a gamble that did not look likely to pay dividends as the winger immediately began tormenting the young full back with a series of mazy dribbles down the touchline as the scheming Ernie Taylor fed the ball towards Matthews at every opportunity. Within ten minutes Sansom had launched 36 attempted tackles and only succeeded in making contact with the advertising hoardings on each occasion. Fortunately for Palace Matthews seemed to be enjoying his dribbling practice too much to bother sending over any centres and he would often wait for Sansom to crawl back onto the pitch before beating him again. For his part Sansom was already dizzy to the point of nausea. He vaguely remembered feeling like this once before when his parents had gone away for the weekend when he was 13 and he had proceeded to drink two bottles of Harvey's Bristol Cream. He did not want to end up spewing up everywhere as he had done on that occasion so he decided to take a seat in the stands for a few minutes and see if that helped his stomach to settle and also perhaps give him some clues as to how to stop this feind of a winger. Sansom watched carefully as Matthews unveiled his full repertoire of tricks and feints, even though there was nobody now there to actually beat, but to no avail. The West Stand seemed to be rolling like a ship on the high seas and Sansom began to turn green with sea sickness. There was nothing for it other than to return to the action and do his best and hope that if he did throw up none of it landed on the countries favourite footballer. After 25 minutes Ernie Taylor began to tire of Matthews' somewhat selfish display and decided to slip a ball through for Mortensen instead. As if fired from a cannon Morty burst between Ian Evans and Jim Cannon and belted a rising shot beyond Paul Hammond. As the players trotted back to the centre circle for the restart Matthews left Sansom on the seat of his pants again with a sly little body swerve. Taylor was really running the show by this stage and to show his versatility he suddenly sent a ball out to Blackpool's left flank where Allan Brown and Bill Perry had to break up their card school with Peter Wall and Nicky Chatterton to actually take part in the game. Brown got to the ball first but Wall recovered well to concede a corner. Palace's own dangerman, Peter Taylor, had not had the chance to show his brand of wing play as yet but when Phil Holder launched a ball in his general direction the Palace flyer showed he had the legs on Eddie Shimwell and having cut inside he fired in a shot that just about cleared George Farm's bar. Perhaps affronted Matthews took his next pass from Ernie Taylor, waltzed past Sansom, drove in along the goalline and squared the ball back for Allan Brown to smash home from penalty spot range. Half Time: Blackpool 2 Crystal Palace 0 The second half saw Blackpool continue to pile forward but Palace began to look more capable of resisting their attacks as Sansom showed his potential by finally managing a few successful challenges on Matthews. With Peter Taylor pushed even further forward in support of Alan Whittle and Dave Swindlehurst the visitors also began to offer a more realistic threat. Taylor saw a shot pushed away for a corner by Farm and when this came over Swindlehurst glanced the bar with a header. Blackpool continued to offer the greater threat, however, with the pace of Mortensen always stretching Evans and Cannon. When Morty roared into the box and went down under the desperate challenge of Cannon the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and he got up to smash the penalty beyond Hammond himself. To their credit Palace responded immediately and Whittle split the home defence open with a clever flick which found Chatterton breaking clear and his low finish did the rest. Now the game was truly end to end although almost wholly down one flank with Matthews the focus of the Blackpool attacks down their right and Palace looking to their left flank and Peter Taylor. Gilt edged chances were wasted at either end by Mortensen and Swindlehurst but when the next goal did come with ten minutes left it sent the game right into the melting pot as Taylor's raking centre was met by Swindlehurst at the back post and his header found the net despite Farm getting a hand to it. Suddenly the result was in doubt for the first time all afternoon and the visitors swarmed forward. Blackpool were in no mood to sit back on their one goal lead, however, and the game became incredibly stretched. Harry Johnston had to hack a Whittle effort off his own goalline while Taylor brought a fine diving save out of Farm as Palace strove for the equaliser. At the other end a series of crosses from Matthews somehow eluded his fellow forwards as Blackpool looked to kill the game off. Perhaps fittingly the last word on the day went to one of the Taylor's. Picking up a loose ball just over the halfway line he jinked past a challenge and then headed for goal using his fellow forwards as a decoy. Having moved to the edge of the area he sent a precise low shot beyond the keeper and the rippling side netting served testimony to the accuracy of the strike. It was the Tangerine shirts celebrating and Ernie Taylor receiving the congratualtions. So Palace bowed out but they did so in some style after looking in danger of being on the end of a rout. In the dressing room their ever positive manager Malcolm Allison consoled his players with the promise that he would make sure the team coach stopped off in 1968 on the way home and he would introduce them to some women who weren't so shy in sharing the bath water. The 17 year old Kenny Sansom was particularly happy at hearing this news. Full Time: Blackpool 4 Crystal Palace 2
Colchester United (1970-71) v. Chelsea (2006-07) Colchester: G.Smith, B.Hall, B.Garvey, J.Kurila, B.Cram, B.Lewis, J.Gilchrist, D.Simmons, M.Mahon, R.Crawford, B.Gibbs. sub: M.Cook. Chelsea: P.Cech, P.Ferreira, J.Terry, R.Carvalho, W.Bridge, M.Essien, M.Ballack, C.Makelele, F.Lampard, D.Drogba, A.Schevchenko. sub: A.Robben. It was somewhat strange that the self styled "Special One" Jose Mourinho was taking his mega bucks Chelsea squad back to 1971 to play lowly Colchester United and yet his side was set up in the best Alf Ramsey fashion of the time with four across midfield and no wingers while Dick Graham's Colchester were employing a three man midfield with two wider attackers supporting the spearhead Ray Crawford. Jose thought he had invented that one but his trip back in time would have taught him he is not so original as he might think. Only it didn't because he obviously ignored everything else other than himself and his millionaire players. Colchester weren't going to be overawed by a bunch of blokes they had never heard of, most of whom seemed to be foreign and one of whom was a "right fat bastard" as John Gilchrist observed to Dave Simmons as the sides prepared to kick off. Colchester immediately punted the ball out of play from the kick off but having won the ball back in midfield Gilchrist's next bomb forward was more successful. Ray Crawford barged John Terry flying as he leapt for the header and while all the Chelsea players stopped and appealed for the free kick Crawford carried on to slam the ball past Petr Cech. There were furious protests from the visitors and much shaking of the heads' amongst the home ranks. "What's their problem?" seemed to be the overriding feeling. Jose Mourinho marched off in search of the fourth official but having located what he thought must be the right man found himself face to face with a bemused 14 year boy who could only offer him a match programme rather than get the goal disallowed. Mourinho calmed down slighly when he found that the programme on offer was only 10p and immediately bought the boys' entire stock. Reckoning that when he got back home to 2007 he would be able to sell these little rascals for at least £2 a time on e-bay he spent the next quarter of an hour buying up every copy he could get his hands on. He did a good job too. Have you ever tried to get hold of a copy of the programme for this game? They're like gold dust. Jose's just waiting for the catalogue value to go up to a fiver and then he'll be flogging them off for fun. When he returned his attention to the game he found his side holding sway but not entirely enjoying the physical battle they were involved in. John Terry had quickly put in a retaliatory challenge on Crawford but while he was happy to see that the referee was lenient towards himself as well he was not quite so chuffed to notice that Crawford barely flinched and that his own ribs felt pretty sore after making the challenge. Michael Essien, Fat Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele did not seem too unhappy to mix it with the Colchester three man midfield but Michael Ballack looked slightly less up for it. The generous commentator might have said he was finding space well but there's generally plenty of space when you're as far away from the action as it's possible to be while actually remaining on the pitch. Despite the fact that the Colchester centre halves, Brian Garvey and John Kurilia, were given licence to kick lumps out of Andrei Shevchenko and Didier Drogba they were still finding it difficult to handle the powerful forwards. Drogba blazed over from the edge of the box then struck the bar with a fearsome header from penalty spot range. Schevchenko was on target with a fierce drive from the corner of the box but Graham Smith was well positioned to tip behind for a corner. The equaliser was beginning to look inevitable and on 25 minutes it arrived. Lampard burst forward, exchanged passes with Drogba and shot from the edge of the box. The shot was not the most powerful but it was accurate and Smith's grasping fingers could not stop the ball from nestling in the bottom corner of his net. On the sidelines Mourinho went on a fist pumping celebration down the paddock and returned to the dugout to find his beautiful cashmere overcoat more like Joseph's Technicoloured Dreamcoat from the tea, coffee and bovril stains covering it. The coat was now also host to the world's most diverse collection of phlegm specimens ever known. Once more Mourinho went in search of the fourth official but found only a man offering him a dubious looking meat pie. Once again Mourinho was impressed by the 10p price being asked but feeling these items would not be quite as popular on e-bay 36 years later he passed this time. Colchester's early steam was dying and Ballack should have scored when found by Essien but he shot hurriedly and cleared the bar. Then Smith made a superb double save from Drogba and Wayne Bridge, supporting from the back. Two minutes from half time Drogba once again proved too strong for Kurila and this time his shot gave Smith no chance at all. With the visitors camp happy in the prospect of a half time lead Brian Lewis made a sudden break along the Colchester right and Crawford got his head to the centre in front of Cech's attempted punch and the home side were back level. Half Time: Colchester United 2 Chelsea 2 The second half was almost all Chelsea as the visitors pressed forward at will. Somehow the home goal remained intact, however. Lampard had 27 attempts in the first 12 minutes of the second half two of which required saving and Drogba, Schevchenko and Essien all brought Graham Smith into action. John Terry had two headers scrambled off the line from corners before Ballack glanced the top of the bar from a free kick. This was the Germans' last action, however, as Mourinho sent on his winger Arjen Robben to replace him. There was raucous laughter and heckling from a section of the crowd who had managed to keep a programme away from Mourinho and were now being asked to believe that the bloke coming on was still only 22. The boo boys were quickly silenced as Robben disappeared down the wing faster than Concorde and Brian Hall, the startled full back, had to receive treatment for whiplash. All of a sudden the home fans would have traded their remaining programmes to Mourinho just to have the German back on the field, and chipped in for his dry cleaning bill. Three times Robben dashed past Hall to send over wicked centres and on the third occasion Schevchenko was in exactly the right place to side foot home. 15 minutes remained but there was no doubting which was the fitter side and once again the home crowd had to grudgingly re-assess their first impressions. Not only was the 97 year old winger the fastest thing they had ever seen but the pie eating midfielder had one hell of an engine on him. "Hey, Alf Tupper," one wag in the crowd shouted in the direction of Lampard, "stop running for a minute, the chippies not open yet." The portly midfielder might have heard but he certainly didn't understand and simply carried on running and shooting at every opportunity. In fact Lampard would have bankrupted the Essex club with the amount of balls he had lost during the afternoon if it had not been for the fact that they had made so much money on programme sales but in the last minute he demonstrated the value of serial shooting when an effort from 25 yards flew into the net via the underside of the bar. After one of the most one sided halves in the history of the FA Cup, fantasy or otherwise, Colchester could congratulate themselves on having only been beaten by two goals. Full Time: Colchester United 2 Chelsea 4
Yeovil Town (1948-49) v. Port Vale (1953-54) Yeovil: S.Hall, A.Hickman, L.Blizzard, R.Davis, B.Keeton, N.Collins, B.Hamilton, A.Stock, E.Bryant, R.Wright, J.Hargreaves. Port Vale: R.King, S.Turner, R.Sproson, T.Cheadle, R.Potts, A.Mullard, A.Leake, C.Askey, K.Griffiths, B.Hayward, J.Cunliffe. Just a short trip back in time for Port Vale and for once they were actually playing the part of Goliath rather than David. To get a chance at one of the big boys the Valiants and their "iron curtain" defence would have to resist Alec Stock's Yeovil Town on the infamous sloping Huish Park pitch. Yeovil decided to defend the slope in the first half and take their chances at trying to penetrate the renowned Vale defence after half time. Obviously it was important for them not to be out of contention at the break. The visitors either were incapable of changing their game plan or they simply didn't realise the importance of taking advantage of the sloping pitch. Although Vale penned the non league side back in their own half there was not enough urgency in their attacks and it was a rare occasion when any visiting forward got in behind the Yeovil defence. Colin Askey on the right wing looked the brightest of the Vale forward line but Ralph Davis was showing himself to be a dogged marker and limited the wingers' crossing opportunities. Ken Griffiths headed narrowly over from one centre but in general the crosses coming into Stan Hall's penalty area were delivered from too deep and the keeper was very decisive in coming to deal with these hopeful balls. Albert Leake sent in a rising drive from nigh on 30 yards and Hall was forced to tip this over but there was precious little else to disturb him. Basil Hayward, the visitors centre forward, had also been known to perform at centre half and he looked as though he might have got his role confused during an innocuous first half performance. Half Time: Yeovil Town 0 Port Vale 0 By contrast Yeovil wasted no time in launching lots of balls and bodies into the Vale half when they began kicking down the hill. The game was immediately at a far higher tempo, especially as the visitors now looked far more comfortable absorbing pressure and looking to strike on the break. The player manager Stock sent in the first attempt of the second half which grazed the bar then Eric Bryant and Ray Wright both called the highly rated Ray King into action. On both occassions the keeper was up to the test. At the other end, however, Jack Cunliffe's cross gave Hayward his first chance and his header was only a foot or so wide while Askey forced Hall into his most demanding save with a low drive towards the far post. For ten minutes just past the hour mark the game was a real end to end affair with Bryant missing badly from ten yards for Yeovil and Hayward off target when even better placed for Vale. It was Yeovil who managed to seize the initiative, however, and as the game wore on their dominance became more and more pronounced. Stock sent Wright in on goal but from the angle his shot missed the near post while Bob Keeton saw a strong header superbly turned away by King from one of a series of corners. Eight minutes remained when Nick Collins fastened onto a loose ball in midfield and set off running down the slope. Two Vale players could have challenged but seemed to leave the job to each other and suddenly Collins was approaching the edge of the box. Tommy Cheadle came lunging in desperately and Collins went down, landing inside the box although the contact looked to have been just outside. Most heads turned towards the referee to see what the decision was but the official was happy enough for play to continue as the ball fell loose to Jack Hargreaves who had no intention of waiting for a whistle. The winger took one touch to set the ball perfectly onto his left foot and then slammed his shot high beyond the despairing dive of King into the roof of the net. Eight minutes wasn't long for the tired bodies of Port Vale to make it up the hill for an equaliser but the spirit was still alive. Askey sent over a centre that was begging for a taker but found none and then Ken Griffiths shrugged off both Keeton and Les Blizzard but his snap shot flashed just wide of the post with Hall rooted to the spot. With that went Vale's last chance of salvation and the non leaguers were through to the next round with the real prospect of one of the games' giants awaiting them. Full Time: Yeovil Town 1 Port Vale 0
Swindon Town (1968-69) v. Tottenham Hotspur (1961-62) Swindon: P.Downsborough, R.Thomas, F.Burrows, J.Butler, J.Trollope, D.Heath, P.Noble, S.Harland, D.Rogers, R.Smart, J.Smith. sub: W.Penman. Tottenham: B.Brown, P.Baker, M.Norman, R.Henry, D.Blanchlower, D.Mackay, T.Dyson, J.White, B.Smith, J.Greaves, C.Jones. sub: L.Allen. There was much excitement in Wiltshire as Swindon's fine attacking 3rd division side prepared to take on the powerful Spurs side from the start of the decade. The home fans were accustomed to seeing their side worry the bigger boys but this would surely be their toughest challenge yet. Tough or not the home side set about their task with relish. Stan Harland wasted no time in giving Don Rogers the chance to take on Peter Baker and the crowd roared as the winger dashed past the challenge to send over a cross which Roger Smart glanced wide of the far post. This was a move to inspire confidence and Swindon continued to press. Rogers cracked a shot just wide and Bill Brown was forced into saves by Don Heath and Peter Noble. The home side really needed a goal to show for their early dominance and on 10 minutes it arrived. Rogers again created the danger, cutting inside Baker and firing goalwards. With Brown diving to save the ball struck Maurice Norman's outstretched leg and nestled neatly in the opposite corner. Spurs looked to respond and Jimmy Greaves cracked in a fine effort on the turn that clipped the top of the bar before Peter Downsborough could move but it was soon the home side on the attack again. Rogers was causing havoc down the left but John Smith twice spurned clear chances from his service, once with his head and once on the deck. When Rogers next left Baker in his wake and centred deep, however, Brown went to collect but could not get there and Peter Noble, bursting from midfield, was able to head into the empty net. Half an hour had gone and Spurs looked shellshocked as the ground erupted in excitement. Two stiff challenges in midfield by Dave Mackay which gained Tottenham possession signalled a change in emphasis, however, and with Danny Blanchflower finally able to get on the ball the visitors were suddenly attacking hard. Blanchflower slipped a short ball into John White in a few yards of space and his equally precise through ball had Bobby Smith storming into the box to blast home. After all the home sides' pressure they had been opened up with alarming ease and when Terry Dyson clipped a low ball in from the right moments later Greaves stole in ahead of Frank Burrows to slip in an instinctive finish at the near post. Swindon's two goal lead had evaporated inside five minutes and the raucous roars of the home supporters had been replaced by stunned silence. Downsborough reacted brilliantly to turn away efforts from Smith and White as the visitors rampaged forward but on the stroke of half time he was helpless as Mackay strode forward to play in Cliff Jones who lashed his shot into the top corner like an arrow. Half Time: Swindon Town 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3 After such a breathless first half the second began in extremely muted fashion. Tottenham looked content to pass the ball around without worrying too much about scoring while Swindon looked scared to push men forward in fear of what might happen at the other end. Harland tried his luck from range but the save was easy for Brown and at the other end Smith headed over from Dyson's centre when he probably should have scored. Increasingly, however, the game was becoming a midfield stalemate. Roger Smart had dropped back to assist Harland and Noble in their efforts and although this had made the home side far more durable it had removed much of their cutting edge. With 20 minutes to go Smart was moved back into the attack as Willie Penman came on as sub for John Smith and this did liven things up a bit. Smart flicked a header just over and Rogers came back to life with a surging run and shot that Brown saved well low down by his post. Once again the fact that Swindon were pushing forward left them vulnerable at the back and Greaves looked certain to finish things when put clear by Blanchflower but Downsborough nicked the ball from his feet as he looked to go round the keeper. Swindon were still more fortunate when Bobby Smith's header from Dyson's corner rattled the crossbar with Downsborough beaten. It did not look as though this would matter as the clock ticked down but the irrepressible Don Rogers had one last surge up his sleeve as he moved inside to latch onto a flick by Smart, sweep past Norman and crack home his shot from just inside the area. There was just time enough to restart the game. While their best hopes of progress had undoubtedly past the Swindon fans were more than happy to take the draw and use it as an excuse to have a couple of dozen celebratory ciders while wondering how they could make it to the replay. Getting to London in midweek six years earlier looked a tricky task and it was obvious it would need skillful handling of their holiday entitlements. After two dozen ciders, however, this no longer presented a problem and a healthy contingent from the west country could be expected at White Hart Lane for the return. Full Time: Swindon Town 3 Tottenham Hotspur 3
Hereford United (1971-72) v. Queens Park Rangers (1966-67) Hereford: F.Potter, R.Griffiths, A.Jones, M.McLaughlin, K.Mallender, D.Tyler, C.Addison, T.Gough, R.Radford, B.Owen, B.Meadows. sub: R.George. QPR: P.Springett, T.Hazell, R.Hunt, F.Sibley, J.Langley, M.Keen, M.Lazarus, K.Sanderson, R.Morgan, R.Marsh, I.Morgan. sub: I.Watson. To be honest the mood in the QPR camp was not the best as they arrived at the Welsh border to take on non league Hereford United. The close knit squad had been extremely disappointed at their veteran striker Les Allen's decision to play for the 1961-62 Tottenham team in this competition rather than themselves. At least with them he'd have been guaranteed a start. In choosing Spurs he would have to hope that his team got drawn in an age when substitutes were allowed or he wouldn't be seeing any action at all. Hereford away was also hardly the glamorous fixture they would have wanted to lift spirits. The Londoners made a bright enough start, however, with both the Morgan twins running enthusiastically in support of Rodney Marsh who showed a few nice touches in the early stages. Although these succeeded in making a couple of defenders look a little bit silly they didn't actually pose a threat on goal. The first real effort came from Keith Sanderson who sent in a hopeful shot from 30 yards. It wasn't the most powerful effort but it was right in the top corner and needed a full length save from Fred Potter to keep out. Gradually Hereford's player manager Colin Addison, sitting deep in midfield, began to get a hold off the ball and he immediately looked to supply the lively winger Dudley Tyler. Straight away his nippy dribbling looked to be troubling QPR's old stager Jim Langley at left back. Tyler picked out Brian Owen with a pin point centre but his header was weak and posed no problems for Peter Springett. When Addison slipped a ball into Owen's feet, however, it was a different matter. An instant turn took him away from Frank Sibley and his 25 yard drive dipped beyond Springett into the net. 20 minutes had gone and their was already spillage onto the pitch from the heaving terraces. Not to worry, though, this was 1972 and there was no danger of sanctions being imposed against the home team for a bit of a crowd invasion. It was now that the low morale in the visitors camp really demonstrated itself. Although they moved forward in search of an equaliser their efforts were half hearted and the Hereford goal remained relatively untroubled. Most importantly the silky touches of Marsh never seemed to coincide with any of the numerous off the ball runs made by either of the Morgans. Encouraged Hereford began to press again. Billy Meadows had two fine chances but shot meekly at Springett on both occasions while Ronnie Radford was closer with a more difficult chance from the edge of the box. On 38 minutes, however, Tyler skinned Langley once again and his centre provided Meadows with a chance that even he could not pass up. Cue more youths prancig around the Edgar Street mud with black and white scarves tied to their wrists. Just before half time Marsh set off on a dribble that took him beyond three challenges but with only Potter to beat his shot bobbled the wrong side of the post. Moments later the visitors trooped off with heads bowed. Half Time: Hereford United 2 Queens Park Rangers 0 Everyone was probably expecting a second half onslaught from Rangers but it certainly didn't arrive immediately. Roger Morgan glanced a header wide from a corner and Mike Keen shot wide when handily placed beyond the far post. In general, however, the home side were able to sit on their two goal lead in some comfort. Owen almost extended the advantage with a sudden drive from 25 yards which seemed to surprise Springett who only just got across his goal in time to save at the expense of a corner. Rather than Marsh it was Roger Morgan who set the tone for a more determined spell of Rangers pressure. Moving further out to the left the rangy forward began running at Roger Griffiths with considerable success. This led to a succession of centres and corners but there were still no takers. Marsh made solid contact with one centre but Potter was able to tip the ball over the bar and still Hereford had a two goal cushion. Ian Morgan tested Potter with a shot under pressure but the keeper was down to save and a speculative effort from Mark Lazarus was also dealt with competently by the keeper. Less than ten minutes remained when Marsh finally linked up to good purpose. Beating one man the mercurial forward exchanged passes with Roger Morgan before lobbing a cool finish over the advancing Potter. Rangers had six minutes to save themselves but with Addison shadowing Marsh everywhere and Dudley Tyler now dropping back to assist Griffiths with Roger Morgan it was difficult for the visitors to apply any meaningful pressure. Mike Keen won his side a corner in the last minute for which everyone bar Springett and Langley ventured forward. Roger Morgan managed to get his head on Keen's centre and the ball fell nicely for Marsh who whipped in a shot on the turn. Potter thrust out an instinctive hand and the ball glanced off it to fly just wide of the post. When Mick McLaughlin rose to head the next corner away it was game over and once again Edgar Street became the property of the local youth. Full Time: Hereford United 2 Queens Park Rangers 1
Chelsea (1969-70) v. Huddersfield Town (1924-25) Chelsea: P.Bonetti, D.Webb, J.Dempsey, R.Harris, E.McCreadie, P.Houseman, J.Hollins, A.Hudson, C.Cooke, I.Hutchinson, P.Osgood. sub: A.Birchenall. Huddersfield: T.Taylor, N.Barkas, T.Wilson, S.Wadsworth, R.Goodall, B.Watson, T.Richardson, D.Steele, G.Brown, C.Stephenson, B.Smith. sub: B.Spence. Huddersfield Town, under the management of Herbert Chapman and in the middle of their hat trick of league titles, had some adjustments to make having arrived in London 44 years into the future to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but after some early teething problems they found the game recognisable to the one they were used to and settled into their stride to match the Londoners. The things that were most recognisable to them was the glue pot pitch and the rustic challenges coming in from the likes of Dave Webb and Ron "Chopper" Harris. Webb brought down the dangerous Billy Smith twice in the opening exchanges and Harris was continually leaving a foot in on the Terriers chief goal threat George Brown. It did not take the Yorkshiremen long to decide that fighting fire with fire was a reasonable course of action and Charlie Cooke, who had looked bright in the opening exchanges, felt the full force of a couple of Ned Barkas's forthright tackles and Tommy Wilson left Peter Osgood eating mud on a couple of occasions. The fact that Huddersfield's boots were more like those being worn by the Chelsea skinheads in the crowd rather than the Chelsea team also gave the visitors the edge in this physical battle and pretty soon the likes of Osgood, Cooke and Peter Houseman were beginning to wish Harris and co. had adopted a more restrained attitude towards their visitors from the past. Huddersfield's team selection was also suited to the battle that was beginning to rage. With the England full back Roy Goodall pushed into the half back position and David Steele moving forward to the inside right position the Terriers looked very solid indeed and Goodall was proving effective in limiting the impact made by Alan Hudson as he looked to get a grip in midfield. This meant neither keeper was unduly stretched in the opening half hour. Ted Taylor tipped an Osgood header over the bar without any fuss while Peter Bonetti was slightly more taxed in getting down to deny a shot from the edge of the box by Clem Stephenson. By half time the home team and supporters had become similarly frustrated by the combative and well organised visitors and although John Hollins took it upon himself to try a couple of efforts from distance these were both watched by Taylor without alarm as they passed over his crossbar. Half Time: Chelsea 0 Huddersfield Town 0 Other than the fact that their opponents had barely mustered a threat themselves there was precious little else to give Chelsea comfort as the second half began. The visitors smothering tactics were becoming more and more dominant. Houseman had been completely shackled by Sam Wadsworth, Cooke only rarely managed to evade Barkas and Tommy Wilson was having by far the better of his exchanges with both Osgood and Ian Hutchinson who took it in turns to go up against the strapping centre half. In midfield Hudson was still taking players on and looking to create but the likes of Goodall, Billy Watson and Steele were becoming increasingly influential. Little by little the supply line to the Huddersfield forwards became more consistent. Billy Smith was sent clear of Webb and his centre across the face of goal just evaded the lunging Brown and Ted Richardson while Clem Stephenson ghosted between Harris and John Dempsey to head another of the wingers' centres just over the bar. Dave Sexton sent on Alan Birchenall for the ineffective Houseman and his energy, as well as his bizarre hair, gave the visitors a little more to think about. The sub combined well with Hudson to provide Osgood with his clearest sight of goal but from 15 yards his low drive fizzed just the wrong side of the post. Huddersfield also had to throw bodies in the way to survive a couple of Chelsea corners but still the main threat was coming at the other end. Watson smashed in a drive that almost knocked Bonetti off his feet and Brown was fractionally wide with a low shot after a smart turn away from Dempsey. With ten minutes to go Stephenson darted away from Hollins in midfield before piercing the Chelsea defence with a precise pass into Brown. His first touch took him completely clear and as Bonetti advanced his crisp sidefooted finish had the ball nestling in the bottom corner. Chelsea sent Dempsey to play as a makeshift targetman alongside Hutchinson and Osgood and began launching high balls straight down the middle. This brought about some severe late pressure, especially from Hutchinson's mammoth throw ins, but Herbert Chapman showed his tactical nouse by sending on Bonwell Spence in place of Steele for the last five minutes and he joined with Wilson in repelling the aerial bombardment. More hopeful shots from Hollins and Cooke flashed off target but by the final whistle Ted Taylor had not been called upon to make any save of note in the second half. Full Time: Chelsea 0 Huddersfield Town 1
Norwich City (1958-59) v. Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953-54) Norwich: S.Kennon, J.Mullett, B.Butler, R.Ashman, R.McCrohan, M.Crowe, E.Crossan, B.Brennan, T.Bly, T.Allcock, B.Punton. Wolves: B.Williams, E.Stuart, B.Wright, B.Shorthouse, B.Slater, E.Clamp, J.Hancocks, P.Broadbent, R.Swinbourne, D.Wilshaw, J.Mullen. The famous Wolves side of 1953-54 was obviously well pleased with having been drawn away from home at third division Norwich City in the same decade and their confidence was evident from the off as they piled forward with their trademark raking passes to the flanks where Johnny Hancocks and Jimmy Mullen were quickly causing problems for the City defence. Mullen, inparticular, was immediately tormenting Joe Mullett and providing a stream of crosses into the home penalty area. Roy Swinbourne headed over from one when well placed while Dennis Wilshaw slammed a shot against the bar after Mullen got along the byeline to cut the ball back. On ten minutes the opening goal inevitably arrived but the souce was the inside forward Peter Broadbent who suddenly saw a gap to run into rather than feed his winger and a sharp change of pace sent him breaking into the box. Barry Butler tried to challenge but this simply left Wilshaw completely free and when Broadbent unselfishly slipped him possession Wilshaw buried his shot high into Sandy Kennon's goal. Norwich had not mustered an attack and before they could do so they were two down. Hancocks sent over a deep cross from the right, Mullen had moved into the middle and headed back across goal from the far post and Wilshaw just beat Swinbourne to the gift in front of goal three yards out. Wolves began to slacken the pace after this ferocious opening but they remained the more dangerous side. Mullen blasted wide from the angle of the area and Swinbourne forced Kennon into an acrobatic save from just inside the box. Just past the half hour Norwich finally managed to get a sight of Bert Williams's goal but Bill Punton's shot was too high to cause any concern. The first glimpse of the home dangerman Terry Bly came on the stroke of half time when he found a yard of space against Billy Wright to crack in a fierce drive that Williams got down to superbly to tip away for a corner. Half Time: Norwich City 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Whether Wolves thought the job was done or the home side simply upped the tempo cannot be known but the start of the second half saw the visitors finally coming under some serious pressure. Bly had three efforts on goal in the opening five minutes of the half, two fisted away by Williams and one that glanced the upright, while Terry Allcock, Bobby Brennan and Errol Crossan also brought Williams into action. With the crowd finally roused and roaring encouragement the game suddenly had the feel of being a real cup tie for the first time as Norwich roared forward. Bly again maanged to slip Wright to smash in a shot that was whistling towards the top corner until Williams produced his best save yet to claw it to safety. The renowned Wolves half backs Bill Slater and Eddie Clamp had been chasing shadows since half time but Slater suddenly produced a jarring tackle on Allcock and emerged with possession. Slater instinctively knew where to play the ball and his pass dropped perfectly beyond Mullett for Jimmy Mullen who was haring away towards goal before the full back had managed to turn. Kennon came out to narrow the angle but Mullen was not alone and again it was Wilshaw the beneficiary as the winger squared the ball across an open goal. This was a bitter pill for the home side to swallow but before their heads could drop Crossan had given Bill Shorthouse the slip and crossed for Bly to head past Williams who this time looked at fault after all his earlier good work, getting a full hand on the effort without keeping it out of his goal. Encouraged the Canaries came again with Bly the focal point for all their attacking thrusts. Three more chances came his way in quick time but Williams was not going to slip up again and tipped two to safety while the other glanced a foot wide of the far post. When this assault failed to bring another goal the Norwich challenge began to fade and with Billy Wright gradually the master of Bly the last ten minutes looked in danger of passing by without incident until Swinbourne headed down a long ball forward from the Wolves and England captain perfectly into Dennis Wilshaw's path and he buried his and his teams' fourth goal past the helpless Kennon. What had looked like a good draw on paper for the Molineux outfit had proved that way and Wolves could now look forward with confidence to making a serious impact on the competition. Full Time: Norwich City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4
Manchester United (1998-99) v. Arsenal (1932-33) Man Utd: P.Schmeichel, G.Neville, J.Stam, R.Johnsen, P.Neville, D.Beckham, P.Scholes, R.Keane, R.Giggs, D.Yorke, A.Cole. subs: R.Van Der Gouw, H.Berg, N.Butt, T.Sheringham, O.Solksjaer. Arsenal: F.Moss, G.Male, H.Roberts, E.Hapgood, F.Hill, B.John, J.Hume, D.Jack, J.Lambert, A.James, C.Bastin. subs: C.Preedy, T.Parker, A.Haynes, C.Jones, T.Coleman. The 1932-33 Arsenal side were perhaps not aware of the rivalry existing between the two clubs in 1998-99 when the game was actually taking place. It would quickly have dawned on them, however, as a packed Old Trafford quickly began abusing their legendary manager Herbert Chapman with some sordid chants. Chapman's links with Leeds United and their financial irregularities were obviously well known to the United fans, not surprisingly as the official matchday programme had dwelt on the fact to some length, and they also found handily that his name fitted in perfectly to all their existing songs about Arsene Wenger. This certainly gave the fixture an edge it might otherwise have lacked as did the none too subtle chants aimed at Cliff Bastin. Although Arsenal's resolve was stiffened they found themselves under the cosh in the early stages as Roy Keane dominated the midfield and Paul Scholes took every opportunity to break forward into the box, something Frank Hill and Bob John were at a loss to combat. Scholes flicked a header just wide and Andy Cole forced a good save out of Frank Moss as United pressed forward while Ryan Giggs was offering the home side more encouragement with several early sprints away from George Male. Bastin hit one cross shot wide of the far post after a clever ball inside Gary Neville by Alex James but this was Arsenal's only moment of danger in the opening 20 minutes. Herbie Roberts was finding it difficult to keep both Cole and Dwight Yorke quiet as Hill and John continued to find themselves overrun and the centre half was forced into conceding a free kick 25 yards out as Cole threatened to burst clear. The Arsenal defence looked towards Moss for directions as David Beckham lined up the kick. "Just two please, chaps," Moss informed his colleagues, "I want a good look at it." Moss certainly did get a good look at it and was on the point of bursting out laughing as Beckham sent his kick arching way over to the right hand side, apparently for a throw in. When Moss suddenly noticed his net bulging behind him he was at a loss as to what could have happened and several other Arsenal players needed plenty of convincing from the referee before they could accept that the ball had really bent back into their net. This incident unsettled the visitors still further and they were in some disarray when Hill soon afterwards brought Scholes down for a free kick in a similar area. The Arsenal players once more looked round to Moss for guidance. "I want ten," the keeper yelled manically. "All ten of you." Having furiously checked every angle from his goalline the Arsenal keeper still wasn't happy. His ten man wall didn't quite seem big enough and he decided on the bold gamble of joining the end of the wall himself. There didn't seem much point standing behind it and waiting for another of those freakish things to come flying past him. This proved an inspired gambit as Beckham's curling effort just glanced the peak of his flat cap as he leapt skywards on the end of the wall and deflected behind for a corner. It was proving impossible for Arsenal to get any sort of control in midfield where Keane and Scholes were in complete control but they were beginning to have some joy down their left where Eddie Hapgood was able to come forward once or twice to help James and Bastin in launching attacks. Bastin sent a cross dangerously close to Peter Schmeichel's far post and then centred for Jack Lambert to head narrowly wide under pressure from Jaap Stam. The first half ended with another spell of United pressure though, with Yorke flicking an effort over at the near post, Giggs heading wide from a Beckham centre and Scholes putting in a diving header that rebounded to safety from the legs of Moss. Half Time: Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0 Faced with the novelty of being behind and also having five substitutes to choose from Herbert Chapman withdrew David Jack, who had struggled to get into the game, with the more defensive option of Charlie Jones and instructed the replacement to get under the feet of Roy Keane. This change certainly made the visitors more compact and although United maintained a stranglehold on possession they were now finding it much more difficult to create chances. Cole shot over from the edge of the area and Keane got his head to a Giggs centre but Moss was able to save comfortably. The left hand side remained Arsenal's most productive outlet and James jinked his way between Keane and Ronny Johnsen to send in a chip that had Schmeichel back peddling furiously to tip behind. Then Bastin sent in a wicked low centre that reached Joe Hulme beyond the far post and his shot flew into the side netting much to the relief of the home fans who were beginning to get a little restless. With 20 minutes remaining Cole exchanged passes with Yorke and found himself clear with the chance to finish the tie. As Moss came to meet him the striker opted for a chip but the keeper had not gone down at his feet, as Cole had obviously expected, and was able to save easily. Two minutes later James set off on a dribble across the face of the United box before angling a clever reverse pass through the centre of the defence and Bastin was anticipating smartly to slam home into the bottom corner. With one side stunned and the other inspired Arsenal came forward again and when Lambert tried his luck from 25 yards Schmeichel had to be at his best to turn the ball over the bar. It was time for action and Alex Ferguson took off Phil Neville and sent on Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. The United manager was not fond of replays in his own time zone and certainly wouldn't be wanting to go back 66 years to play one in the middle of what was shaping up to be a highly successful season. Giggs cut inside the put upon Male to skim the far post with a daisy cutter and Yorke managed to send a free header into Moss's chest from another pinpoint Beckham centre. As time began to run out Jaap Stam headed over from a corner and then Scholes spanked a volley inches too high when Beckham whipped the next one back to him lurking 25 yards from goal. When Cole then shot wide and Herbert Chapman looked at his watch to see that there had already been two extra minutes played he assumed that his side had done enough to earn a well deserved replay but again there was some difficulty in getting to grips with the differences 66 years had seen in football. Chapman had seen the man on the side of the pitch hold up the strange miniature scoreboard with "11" on it but just assumed that this was informing the less alert members of the crowd what the final score was. As the game dragged on and on he began to wonder what was happening. He had read up on the new laws before the game and couldn't remember seeing one about it being a next goal winner if the scores were level at full time. This was what it was beginning to look like and with his side starting to wilt the Arsenal boss suddenly feared the worst. Sure enough, with ten of the eleven added minutes played, Scholes sliced open the Arsenal defence and Solksjaer was through to drill his shot low under the body of Moss to secure United a controversial victory. Alex Ferguson's watch immediately began bleeping for full time and the referee did not hesitate in signalling the end of the game. Harsh indeed on The Arsenal but probably a fair result over the full 101 minutes. Manchester United 2 Arsenal 1
Arsenal (2003-04) v. West Bromwich Albion (1977-78) Arsenal: J.Lehmann, Lauren, K.Toure, S.Campbell, A.Cole, F.Ljungberg, P.Vieira, Gilberto Silva, R.Pires, D.Bergkamp, T.Henry. subs: G.Stack, P.Cygan, Edu, R.Parlour, S.Wiltord. WBA: T.Godden, B.Batson, J.Wile, A.Robertson, D.Statham, L.Cantello, B.Robson, T.Brown, L.Cunningham, C.Regis, W.Johnston. subs: M.Grew, P.Mulligan, M.Martin, J.Trewick, A.Brown. The first thing the Baggies had to adjust to having travelled 25 years into the future to face an Arsenal side on its way to an unbeaten Premiership season was the prospect of having far fewer black players than their opponents for a change. Ron Atkinson was momentarily lost for words as he realised that his entire team included less black men than the Arsenal back four. Could his team come to terms with this psychological blow and would the home crowd still feel free to dish out abuse to his "Three Degrees"? These were questions that would only be answered with time. Other than this Big Ron was a confident man. He had heard some rumours about a fast French bloke up front for "The Arsenal" and another Frog who scored a few from the midfield but surely the fast one wouldn't be as fast as Laurie Cunningham and no midfielder ever born could score more goals than "Bomber" Brown. Arsenal kicked off keen to show their quick, short passing game and Albion were immediately stretched. For five minutes Albion scarcely touched the ball as the home side continually spread the play from flank to flank with one touch passes. This pattern was suddenly disrupted when Albion's dynamic young midfielder Bryan Robson answered his managers' demand from the touchline and put in "a reducer" on the big, strolling black man in the Arsenal midfield. The visitors were shocked to see such a big fella go down so easily and could not understand the yellow card immediately brandished in Robson's face. Surely he was allowed at least one more knee high hack at the other teams' hard man, wasn't he? With Robson now treading a tightrope Albion needed someone else to step forward and show some aggression. As usual their skipper John Wile was the man for the moment. Wile had been desperately trying to get close enough to Thierry Henry to give him a good shoeing but this had proved tricky. As Arsenal were awarded another free kick he spotted a more realistic opportunity of imposing himself on the game. As Sol Campbell trotted forward towards the edge of the box Wile indicated to his defensive partner Alistair Robertson that he would take him and when the ball was swung over by Robert Pires Wile rose and planted a sweetly timed headbutt on the leaping Campbell, purely accidentally of course as all the 1970's journalists present were at pains to point out. It quickly emerged that Wile had come out of the collision worse off, however. While Campbell trotted back towards his defensive position with barely a rub of his big teak head Wile was left in a heap with blood spurting from his head in giant streams which reached into the second tier of the stand. On dashed the Baggies trainer who, noting the severity of the bleeding, felt compelled to forget his sponge and simply tip his entire bucket of cold water over the defenders' head. This drastic treatment did the trick and with only a few groggy shakes of his head Wile staggered to his feet and informed the referee that he was ready to continue. The fact that he was actually speaking to Dennis Bergkamp when he did this seemed to suggest that there might be some slight concussion in the case. Having finally got Wile's attention the real referee explained that he would have to leave the field as the wound was still open. Wile became increasingly aggressive as he insisted that he was fit to continue but the potentially ugly scene was diffused when the centre half finally collapsed from loss of blood and was hauled to the sidelines by the trainer for further treatment. Down to ten men Albion came under increased pressure although Bryan Robson did seem to strengthen the back four as he temporarily dropped back to cover for Wile. It still needed the woodwork to deny Henry when he sent in a dipping drive from 25 yards after an electric turn away from Brendon Batson out wide. Five minutes later Wile returned with an enormous bandage on his head but when that had become blood red within a minute of him resuming the referee was left with no alternative than to send him back for further attention. It was unclear at this point whether Atkinson was aware that he had three substitutes at his disposal but he certainly looked unwilling to use one so early. The gamble did not pay off. As Wile was having 14 rolls of Industrial Tape applied to his head wound Arsenal took the lead. Henry skipped away from Batson once again before crossing low for Bergkamp to tap home from six yards out. Wile was ready to resume as the game kicked off again but the Baggies now had a mountain to climb. Cyrille Regis forced his way between Toure and Campbell on one occassion to sting the palms of Jens Lehmann but half time came with the Gunners looking in complete control. Half Time: Arsenal 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 Ron Atkinson had spotted the main source of danger to his side during the first half and moved to do something about it at the interval. Henry and Pires had been ganging up on Brendon Batson down the Arsenal left and had been giving the full back a torrid time on his return to his former club. The tactical genius pointed this out to his players and informed Batson to play better in the second half. Galvanised by such astute management Albion came out to give a vastly improved display after the break. Cunningham tested Ashley Cole for pace but was shocked to find the full back just as quick as he was. That didn't usually happen in 1977. Down the other flank, however, the tricky Willie Johnston was having some joy against Lauren. From one of his centres Regis headed just over the bar and then the winger cut inside to test Lehmann down by his post. With Albion pushing forward, however, this left more space for Arsenal to break into and the speed of their counter attacks looked likely to inflict further damage. Sure enough another quick interchange between Henry and Pires ended with Freddie Ljungberg stealing into the centre to slip a low shot past the exposed Tony Godden. To their credit the Baggies refused to give up and Atkinson sent on Ally Brown for Wile when his captain keeled over for the fourteenth time with Robson asked to operate as a libero. This bold move paid dividends when Regis nodded down a high ball and Tony Brown latched onto it to crash a shot in off the post from 20 yards. There were ten minutes remaining and Albion still had a chance to take the Gunners back into the 1970's for a replay. Nobody was keener to see this happen than Bryan Robson who knew that he would be really able to kick lumps out of that big soft tart Vieira back in his own era. Robson burst forward twice to send in shots that whistled just wide and Ally Brown got his head to a centre by Johnston but saw the ball drift agonisingly wide of the far post. With the clock ticking down Albion were suddenly caught short at the back and Henry accelerated away from Robertson to finish the tie with an emphatic drive into the roof of the net. Albion had been beaten but in no way disgraced and they ignored the opportunity to indulge in a warm down in favour of getting to the bar as quickly as possible then hitting a series of London nightspots before heading back to the Midlands and the 1970's. Several of their players would have found themselves in the Sunday supplements the day after pictured in various compromising situations with a string of Grade D celebrities but by the time of going to press the pictures were already 25 years out of date and therefore remain locked in the archives, unseen and forgotten. As for Arsenal they were left wondering whether they really wanted to still be in the competition and praying that they would not be drawn away from home in an earlier decade in the next round. Full Time: Arsenal 3 West Bromwich Albion 1
Middlesbrough (1996-97) v. Chesterfield (1996-97) Middlesbrough: G.Walsh, N.Cox, N.Pearson, G.Festa, C.Fleming, C.Hignett, Emerson, Juninho, R.Mustoe, N.Barmby, F.Ravanelli. subs: A.Miller, S.Vickers, D.Whyte, P.Stamp, M.Beck. Chesterfield: B.Mercer, J.Hewitt, S.Dyche, D.Carr, M.Jules, M.Ebdon, P.Holland, T.Curtis, C.Beaumont, K.Davies, T.Lormor. subs: A.Leaning, M.Williams, C.Perkins, J.Howard, A.Morris. The draw gave Chesterfield the opportunity to avenge their epic semi final defeat of 1997 but having been drawn away from home they would have to do with the backing of just under 1,000 faithful fans, not the 20 odd thousand who miraculously surfaced at Old Trafford that fateful day. The underdogs started in determined fashion while 'Boro were suitably disjointed in their efforts with Barmby and Ravanelli flitting in and out of the game and Emerson simply looking crap. Kevin Davies and Tony Lormor challenged enthusiastically for the endless stream of rustic balls belted in their general direction but without managing to pose a threat to the Middlesbrough goal. The only consistent quality on the pitch was being shown by Juninho who caused alarm in the visitors ranks every time he got the ball and started jinking his way past challenges. Even the little Brazilian was guilty of wasteful finishing, however, and over 20 minutes had gone before Billy Mercer was forced into serious action, diving to his left to keep out an effort from Robbie Mustoe. Barmby floated a free kick just over the top but this seemed to set Ravanelli into a huge sulk as he had obviously wanted to take it himself. Right on half time the crowd were jolted from their slumbers when Nigel Pearson bulldozed onto a Hignett corner to head past Mercer and give the home side the lead. Half Time: Middlesbrough 1 Chesterfield 0 John Duncan's half time team talk appeared to have been along the lines of kick it higher and further in respect of both the ball and the opposition. Sean Dyche lofted Ravanelli several feet into the air and he came down like a lead balloon rather than a white feather. Ebdon, Holland and Curtis were also throwing their weight around in the midfield but it remained 'Boro playing the odd bit of football. Juninho curled an effort just wide after another slaloming run while Ravanelli smacked an effort against the bar from the edge of the box. After yet another run by Juninho Mercer could only parry the shot at full stretch and Craig Hignett was on hand to apply the finishing touch. With 20 minutes to go Bryan Robson withdrew Juninho to spare him any further damage at the hands of the robust Chesterfield midfield and replaced him with Phil Stamp who might be expected to dish a bit back. Five minutes later this move did not look so clever as Chesterfield grabbed a goal back out of nowhere when Chris Beaumont got on the end of a headed flick by Davies and rifled past Gary Walsh. Now the underdogs pushed forward with Andy Morris thrown on in place of Curtis to add even more height to the attack. Chesterfield forced a series of corners as 'Boro began to hang on desperately but when Curtis Fleming booted an effort from Dyche off the line the Spireites challenge was spent and 'Boro limped into the next round. Surely they are a team everyone would be happy to get in the 4th round. Full Time: Middlesbrough 2 Chesterfield 1
Liverpool (1987-88) v. Nottingham Forest (1978-79) Liverpool: M.Hooper, S.Nicol, G.Gillespie, G.Ablett, S.Staunton, C.Johnston, S.McMahon, J.Molby, J.Barnes, P.Walsh, P.Beardsley. subs: B.Venison, N.Spackman. Notts Forest: P.Shilton, V.Anderson, L.Lloyd, K.Burns, F.Clark, M.O'Neill, A.Gemmill, I.Bowyer, J.Robertson, T.Francis, T.Woodcock. subs: C.Barrett, G.Birtles. This was just like old times for Cloughies 1978 vintage Forest. Cup ties against Liverpool were run of the mill for Forest back in their day and the 1980's Anfield outfit would hold no terrors for them. Indeed Liverpool were badly affected by withdrawals from players playing for other sides in this competition. Grobbelaar, Hansen, Lawrenson, Houghton, Wark, Whelan and Aldridge were all unavailable to Kenny Dalglish which left Liverpool looking less intimidating than usual. Liverpool looked to impose themselves on their visitors early on but although Peter Beardsley and Paul Walsh were full of tricks and darting runs they looked somewhat lightweight against the forthright challenges of Larry Lloyd and Kenny Burns. John Barnes was also looking to get after Viv Anderson but the long, gangly limbs of Anderson were proving useful in keeping the winger in check. Whenever Forest looked to break it was John Robertson they looked to down the left flank. The chubby winger was not getting too much change out of Steve Nicol, however, and the game quickly descended into stalemate. Steve McMahon tested Peter Shilton from 25 yards but the save was comfortable and Beardsley skipped away from Lloyd on one occasion but fired his drive well over. Half time came with the home side and supporters equally frustrated. Half Time: Liverpool 0 Nottingham Forest 0 Liverpool were hoping that they would find inspiration attacking the Kop end in the second half and Shilton was called upon to make splendid saves to deny Walsh and Barnes. As play became slightly more stretched, however, the main danger began to come from the lively Woodcock and Francis. Gary Gillespie was up to the challenge of keeping Woodcock in check but Gary Ablett was in all sorts of trouble against Francis. Francis twisted and turned the hapless defender twice along the right hand touchline before squaring for Ian Bowyer to slam in a shot that was only just too high. Then he escaped his marker from a Robertson centre but Mike Hooper was off his line quickly to block as the striker got his shot away. With the clock ticking down the home side finally mounted some serious pressure but Shilton remained big and strong between the posts. Barnes saw a curling effort clawed out of the top corner and Gillespie had his head in his hands after the keeper reacted sharply to tip over his header from a left wing centre. Beardsley skipped sweetly away from Lloyd and Burns in the very last minute but his snap shot flew just wide of the post and once again Clough's team had come away from Anfield with a draw. Full Time: Liverpool 0 Nottingham Forest 0
Newport County (1981-82) v. Stoke City (1971-72) Newport: M.Kendall, K.Elsey, G.Davies, K.Oakes, J.Relish, N.Vaughan, N.Bailey, S.Lowndes, K.Moore, J.Aldridge, D.Gwyther. sub: A.Waddle. Stoke: G.Banks, J.Marsh, D.Smith, A.Bloor, M.Pejic, T.Conroy, J.Mahoney, P.Dobing, G.Eastham, J.Greenhoff, J.Ritchie. sub: M.Bernard. Newport's compact (ie. tiny) Somerton Park ground was heaving for the visit of Stoke City, a side considered experienced ten years earlier and not looking any younger as they stepped out in 1982. The Welsh side made a bright start with Nigel Vaughan and Steve Lowndes prominent in midfield. Stoke had three ball playing midfield players in their line up and John Mahoney had his work cut out as the only real ball winner in the visitors quartet. Despite being without Tommy Tynan because of his decision to represent Plymouth Argyle, County were a definite threat up front with the veteran Dave Gwyther throwing his considerable weight around and the youngster John Aldridge darting around with real menace. Aldridge had been spoiled for choice as far as this competition was concerned and had opted for Newport over Oxford, Liverpool and Tranmere. He looked in the mood to make his mark and not be left regretting what might have been. The striker slipped an instinctive shot just wide from one Gwyther flick on with Gordon Banks rooted to the spot and then twisted to send in a header under pressure that the legendary keeper had to tip behind for a corner. When Kevin Moore sent the kick across Grant Davies rose highest in the crowd to head home from ten yards out. It was the perfect start for Newport. Newport really had the bit between their teeth and went after another goal rather than sit on their lead. Lowndes tested Banks from 25 yards and Aldridge brought a superb reflex stop out of the keeper with a cheeky effort at the near post from a Moore centre. Peter Dobing fired an ambitious effort over the bar from distance in a rare Stoke raid but a proper perspective was put on the scoreline five minutes from half time when Aldridge outpaced Alan Bloor before slamming a shot high past Banks for Newport's second. The home supporters sent their team back to the dressing rooms at half time to roars of approval while the visitors trudged off shellshocked. Half Time: Newport County 2 Stoke City 0 The home side could not maintain the pace they had set in the first half after the break and after a hesitant beginning Stoke began to gain control. George Eastham shot narrowly wide and John Ritchie forced Mark Kendall into his first testing save of the afternoon with a well directed header. Terry Conroy began to cause problems for John Relish on the wing and with an hour gone one of his centres somehow evaded a crowd of players in the middle but was gobbled up at the far post by Jimmy Greenhoff and the lead was halved. Tony Waddington sent on Mike Bernard for Eastham and although this looked a defensive move it actually helped Stoke gain even greater control of the midfield and their pressure intensified. Conroy sent in a blistering shot on the run which Kendall tipped over at full stretch and then the keeper made another fine save to deny Greenhoff his second. The Newport keeper was giving a display even Gordon Banks would have been proud of, snatching the ball from the feet of Ritchie when the forward was sent clear and then getting down to a powerful header from the same player. Colin Addison sent on Alan Waddle in place of Gwyther but for all the game running of the new man and Aldridge Newport were struggling to get the ball out of their own half. Dobing weaved his way past a couple of challenges but was again denied by a dramatic save from Kendall and when the keeper was left grounded after parrying a Conroy effort at full stretch Davies was in the right place to block on the line from Ritchie's follow up attempt. As Stoke piled on the pressure in the last five minutes Kendall tipped away efforts from Denis Smith and Mike Pejic as the visitors attacked from all angles before surpassing all his previous efforts by arching backwards to flick away a dipping effort from Greenhoff that was destined for the top corner. It had been a famous day for Newport County as Gordon Banks, for once, found himself overshadowed by the inspired Mark Kendall. Hallelujah. Full Time: Newport County 2 Stoke City 1
Oldham Athletic (1989-90) v. Liverpool (1965-66) Oldham: A.Rhodes, D.Irwin, E.Barrett, P.Warhurst, A.Barlow, N.Adams, N.Henry, M.Milligan, R.Holden, A.Ritchie, F.Bunn. subs: J.Hallworth, I.Marshall, R.Palmer. Liverpool: T.Lawrence, C.Lawler, T.Smith, R.Yeats, G.Byrne, I.Callaghan, G.Milne, G.Strong, P.Thompson, I.St John, R.Hunt. subs: I.Ross, W.Stevenson, A.Arrowsmith. There were some puzzled looks on the faces of the Liverpool party as they stepped out onto Boundary Park and found that the mud they had expected had been replaced by some fangled new invention called plastic. Bill Shankly shook his head and said something in Scottish while the likes of Tommy Smith and Ron Yeats wondered whether the surface would hurt much when they went sliding in on it. Smith decided to give the pitch a test run right there and then in his suit and came up with one of his trouser legs missing. The home side knew their best chance was to strike early before the visitors had got accustomed to the plastic pitch and they were quickly onto the attack when the game began. Rick Holden was soon testing Chris Lawler who looked uncomfortable whenever he was asked to turn quickly while Andy Ritchie was proving elusive for Smith and Yeats. Ritchie headed just over from a Holden centre before the winger cut inside to send in a shot that Tommy Lawrence pushed away at full stretch. Lawrence, "The Flying Pig", looked more rotund than usual having put on his kit and his tracksuit bottoms over his civvies in an effort to avoid the horrendous burns that Yeats and Smith were suffering as they consistently lunged into tackles on Ritchie and Frankie Bunn. Bunn was not getting much change out of Yeats but when Ritchie sent in a low drive that Lawrence could not hold he was on hand to slam in the rebound to give Oldham the lead. Two minutes later the crowd was in raptures as Ritchie headed into the top corner after an overlapping run and centre by Dennis Irwin, a man who should really have been having to look after Peter Thompson but was finding ample opportunity to join in the fun further forward. Lawrence punched clear efforts on goal from Mike Milligan and Paul Warhurst as Oldham continued to pour forward from all angles and Holden sent another drive inches wide. With half time approaching and Liverpool having apparently weathered the worst of the storm Nick Henry broke into the box on the end of a cute through ball from Ritchie and shot past Lawrence to give the Latics a three goal lead. Half Time: Oldham Athletic 3 Liverpool 0 It can be assumed that Shankly spent half time issuing some forthright opinions and instructions and the most notable change was the speed in which the visitors fed the ball out to their wingers, Thompson and Ian Callaghan. Thompson set about running at Irwin and quickly showed that he could make life uncomfortable for the full back while Callaghan was keen to drift inside and link up cleverly with Roger Hunt and Ian St John. Suddenly Liverpool looked at home on the surface and most of the action was centred around the Oldham goal. St John headed over from a Thompson centre and Gordon Milne smacked in a shot that bounced over off the top of the bar. As so often it was Hunt who provided the goal Liverpool so badly needed. Callaghan fed the overlapping Lawler and his low centre was flicked home in style at the near post. With half an hour to go Liverpool still needed two more goals to force a replay but all of a sudden this looked a distinct possibility. Lawler was proving a handy attacking outlet and he almost scored himself with a strong header from another Thompson centre but Andy Rhodes was able to tip over the bar for a corner. Callaghan grazed the outside of a post with a poked effort in a goalmouth scramble and St John fired a great chance over from ten yards out. With ten minutes remaining Callaghan was tripped as he jinked away from Andy Barlow and Lawler belted home the penalty to set up a frantic finale. Roger Palmer, on for Bunn, almost clinched it for Oldham with a glancing header but it was mainly all Liverpool now. Hunt was denied twice by Rhodes, Thompson shot wide of the far post cutting in from the left and Yeats had a header cleared off the line by Irin from a corner. The last chance fell the way of St John, put through the defence by Callaghan, but with only Rhodes to beat the Scottish international slid his shot the wrong side of the post and Liverpool were out. There could be little doubt that had the game been played on grass then Liverpool would have got at least a draw but on the plastic they had gone the way of so many others. As for Oldham, given home draws in the future rounds, it looked as though they might be able to make a serious impression in the competition. Full Time: Oldham Athletic 3 Liverpool 2
Bradford City (1975-76) v. Coventry City (1986-87) Bradford: B.Punton, C.Podd, J.Middleton, D.Ratcliffe, I.Cooper, G.Watson, R.Johnson, D.Hall, B.McGinley, G.Ingram, J.Cooke. sub: D.Hutchins. Coventry: S.Ogrizovic, B.Borrows, B.Kilcline, T.Peake, G.Downs, D.Bennett, M.Gynn, S.Sedgeley, N.Pickering, K.Houchen, I.Painter. sub: S.Livingstone. Both these sides were without a key man at opposite ends of the field. Bradford were without goalkeeper Peter Downsborough who had favoured Swindon Town in this competition and Coventry were without the focal point of their attack Cyrille Regis whose loyalties lay with West Bromwich Albion. Bradford were content to stay compact in midfield and looked to protect their back four. Coventry, with only Dave Bennett to provide real creativity, were able to make little impression against the organised home rearguard and Bill Punton, in the Bradford goal, was a virtual spectator. Not that there was anything to disturb Steve Ogrizovic from his crossword puzzle either. Garry Watson banged a shot well over from distance and that was about it in an eminently forgettable first half. Half Time: Bradford City 0 Coventry City 0 Both sides came out looking slightly more adventurous but defences still held sway. Cec Podd, outstanding at right back, covered quickly when Bennett escaped down the right and sent over a dangerous low ball while Gerry Ingram headed just over from a Billy McGinley centre at the other end. For ten minutes just past the hour mark Coventry began to force the pace and Mickey Gynn was just wide after darting into the box, Keith Houchen headed straight at Punton from ten yards out and Nick Pickering shot just past the far post cutting in from the left. It seemed as though the visitors were beginning to take control but a long crossfield ball by Podd suddenly had McGinley racing down the left wing and when his centre deceived Ogrizovic Joe Cooke was left with the simplest of headers into an empty net. Coventry sent on Steve Livingstone in place of Greg Downs and started lumping high balls at the somewhat vertically challenged Bradford defence but Cooke now slipped back into a defensive position and was instrumental in keeping the visitors at bay. Houchen shot weakly when found in a yard of space inside the box and Punton was able to plunge onto a poked effort by Bennett at the end of a mazy dribble as the home fans began to whistle madly for the end of the game. One last corner found the head of Brian Kilcline but under pressure from four Bradford defenders his effort lobbed harmlessly over the bar and the Bantams were home. It had not been the most memorable of cup ties but nobody in Bradford was complaining as they set off for a night out on the town in their flared jeans and purple 48 lace up doc martens. God help any Coventry fans from the 80's with a new romantic haircut that crossed their paths on the way back to the town centre. Full Time: Bradford City 1 Coventry City 0
Wrexham (1977-78) v. Oxford United (1985-86) Wrexham: D.Davies, A.Hill, G.Davis, J.Roberts, A.Dwyer, M.Thomas, L.Cartwright, M.Sutton, B.Shinton, G.Whittle, D.McNeil. sub: A.Griffiths. Oxford: S.Hardwick, D.Langan, M.Shotton, G.Briggs, B.McDonald, R.Houghton, L.Phillips, A.Thomas, K.Brock, T.Hebberd, B.Hamilton. sub: B.McDermott. The Wrexham team of 1977-78 obviously could not be convinced that the Oxford United side coming to visit them from the future were anything other than complete cannon fodder and a guaranteed passage into the next round. Arfon Griffiths was so confident he even named himself on the substitutes bench, obviously fancying the prospect of a gentle quarter hour stroll in the park later on when the game was done and dusted. Unfortunately for Oxford this was a strong, talented Wrexham line up who were hard to handle when in confident mood and they found their backs very firmly against the wall from the word go. Mickey Thomas and Bobby Shinton were immediately causing problems with their darting runs and slick through balls and with Dixie McNeil a buccaneering presence up front the Oxford goal was immediately under severe pressure. McNeil tested Steve Hardwick twice as well as seeing efforts with head and foot fly just wide. Thomas grazed the bar with a long range effort and Graham Whittle saw Hardwick go full length to tip his drive round the post. For all the running and probing of Ray Houghton in their midfield Oxford's threat was minimal with John Roberts coping with the physical Billy Hamilton and Trevor Hebberd all but anonymous. McNeil came the closest yet with a snap shot on the turn that rebounded from the post and it seemed as though the visitors would get to half time somehow unscathed. With the first 45 all but over, however, Thomas won and took a corner down the right which Roberts met squarely with his head to give Wrexham a fully deserved lead. Half Time: Wrexham 1 Oxford United 0 Whatever Oxford's gameplan for the second half was it was immediately rendered redundant as McNeil surged onto a through ball from Shinton and buried a rising drive into the top corner before Hardwick could move. Before an hour had gone Wrexham had roared into a four goal lead as Les Cartwright slipped home a low finish after good work by Whittle and McNeil scored again with a simple header from a Thomas cross. Arfon Griffiths decided he could have a bit longer than planned out on the pitch and replaced Whittle although this led to Oxford enjoying their best spell of the game as they looked to salvage some pride from a traumatic afternoon. Kevin Brock shot narrowly wide and Hamilton forced Dai Davies into his one difficult save of the afternoon with a downward header from 12 yards. With less than five minutes remaining the visitors got their consolation when Houghton skipped into the box before squaring for Andy Thomas to score with a fierce drive. All in all, however, it had been a sobering experience for the visitors and Houghton especially who was left wondering why he had chosen Oxford over Liverpool in this competition. Full Time: Wrexham 4 Oxford United 1
Newcastle United (1975-76) v. Tranmere Rovers (1993-94) Newcastle: M.Mahoney, I.Nattrass, P.Howard, J.Bird, A.Kennedy, S.Barrowclough, G.Nulty, T.Craig, M.Burns, A.Gowling, M.Macdonald. sub: A.MCaffery. Tranmere: E.Nixon, T.Thomas, S.Vickers, J.McGreal, I.Nolan, P.Nevin, G.Brannan, K.Irons, J.Morrissey, I.Muir, C.Malkin. sub: G.Branch. With both sides playing with two wingers this promised to be a very open, attacking affair. Without John Aldridge, however, the Tranmere attack looked somewhat punchless when compared with the Newcastle pairing of Gowling and Macdonald. The visitors made a fine start with Pat Nevin teasing Alan Kennedy and John Morrissey skinning Irving Nattrass on a couple of occasions also. There was no end product, however, and after a few typically 1970's challenges from the full backs the influence of the Tranmere wingers began to wane. Just as the visitors were beginning to lose their early verve Newcastle found inspiration from their own tricky little winger Stewart Barrowclough. Even given the increased licence that came with the era the Tranmere full back Ian Nolan was unable to handle him. Time and again Barrowclough jinked his way to the byeline to send over crosses and with Gowling and Macdonald prowling a goal began to look inevitable. Somehow the wingers' centres always seemed to be just out of reach of their intended target, however, and the game reached the half hour goalless. Then another cross from Barrowclough evaded both strikers only to be met with a resounding finish at the far post by Mickey Burns and Newcastle finally had the lead. By half time Tranmere were desperately trying to stay in the tie as Eric Nixon had to deal with a close range Gowling header and a long range missile from Macdonald. The interval came with one goal still the margin but with little hint of how the visitors might get back into the game. Half Time: Newcastle United 1 Tranmere Rovers 0 Tranmere fought valiantly to try and turn the tie around after the break with challenges flying in from Brannan and Irons in the midfield and Tony Thomas at full back. Chris Malkin's pace was unsettling for the somewhat immobile Howard and Bird but whenever the speedy forward gained a sight at goal his radar was well off target. Nevin tried a cheeky chip from the angle of the box but the ball floated over the angle with Mike Mahoney backpeddling furiously. The real danger remained at the other end and the noted Superstars sprinter Malcolm "Supermac" Macdonald looked a real threat as spaces began to open up. He surged away from Vickers to send in a shot that bounced to safety from Nixon's chest despite knocking the keeper off his feet. Minutes later he sent a piledriver into the Gallowgate. The killer goal came when Macdonald threatened to burst through again and although McGreal halted his charge with a desperate challenge the loose ball fell for Gowling who shot low and true past Nixon. There was no way back for Tranmere and in the final twenty minutes it was just a case of how many more Newcastle would score. The answer to that question was one, Gowling again left with a simple finish after Barrowclough had once more skipped through the rubble of the Tranmere defence. So a team not unaccustomed to cup upsets had overcome its' first banana skin in comprehensive fashion and could look forward to the next round with renewed confidence. Full Time: Newcastle United 3 Tranmere Rovers 0
Everton (1984-85) v. Ipswich Town (1980-81) Everton: N.Southall, G.Stevens, D.Mountfield, K.Ratcliffe, P.Van Den Hauwe, T.Steven, P.Reid, P.Bracewell, K.Sheedy, A.Gray, G.Sharp. sub: A.Heath. Ipswich: P.Cooper, G.Burley, T.Butcher, R.Osman, M.Mills, J.Wark, F.Thijssen, A.Muhren, E.Gates, A.Brazil, P.Mariner. sub: K.Beattie. These two great sides were only seperated by a few years but had never really met each other in their prime before and this cup tie was expected to be a classic. Goodison Park was positively throbbing for the visit of Ipswich Town and the game got under way at a frantic pace. It was the visitors setting the pace, however. The passing and movement of the Ipswich midfield was too sharp for the Everton warriors Reid and Bracewell who scurried around the pitch eagerly trying to kick people but without success. The floating Eric Gates was also proving difficult to pick up as he went about demonstrating that Peter Beardsley was not the first Englishman to operate in the hole. It was Gates who sent in the first meaningful effort on goal after ten minutes, a searing, dipping drive from twenty yards that brought a magnificent leaping response out of Neville Southall. Encouraged Ipswich continued to push forward. John Wark slipped a shot inches wide after arriving late in the box onto an Alan Brazil flick while Paul Mariner tested Southall again with a powerful header. Little was being seen of the Everton attack. Although the Ipswich midfield was somewhat narrow Everton could not get their wide players into the game and Russell Osman and Terry Butcher were meeting the aerial challenge of Gray and Sharp with some comfort. Arnold Muhren curled a free kick just over the bar and Southall made another fine stop when getting down smartly to a low effort from Brazil. Just before half time there were loud penalty appeals as Gates went down under a challenge from Derek Mountfield after combining with Brazil but the referee was happy to turn a blind eye. Half Time: Everton 0 Ipswich Town 0 Having survived the first half onslaught the home support were expecting better things after the break but were in stead stunned as Ipswich finally took a deserved lead. Muhren arrowed a ball onto the head of Mariner beyond the far post and when he nodded down towards the penalty spot George Burley, of all people, arrived to slam a low drive into the bottom corner that Southall could only stand and admire. Still Ipswich pressed. Southall tipped over another Gates piledriver and Frans Thijssen ghosted in to flick a header that brushed the far post on its' way behind. Suddenly a tremendous, though obviously desperate, roar bellowed down from the stands as the home supporters instinctively tried to wake their side from its' slumbers. Kevin Sheedy decided to try his luck from fully 35 yards and there was encouragement for Everton as Paul Cooper made a meal of the save and conceded a corner. This led to a series of corners which ended with Graeme Sharp getting above Butcher to head marginally over. Now it was more of a contest with Reid and Bracewell finally beginning to have an influence. It was only when Howard Kendall introduced Adrian Heath for Andy Gray that the Ipswich back four began to have problems, however. The darting runs of "Inchy" immediately unsettled the towering centre halves and from one of his runs Trevor Steven blazed a fine chance over the bar. With fifteen minutes remaining Heath could only be stopped at full stretch by Osman and Paul Bracewell was on hand to slam home the equaliser. Now the home fans suddenly sniffed an unlikely win but when Bobby Robson introduced Kevin Beattie in place of Gates to shore up his defence the Everton chances immediately dried up. Honours just about even and a cracking replay to look forward to but there could be no doubt which side would have taken most confidence from this encounter. Full Time: Everton 1 Ipswich Town 1
Corinthians (1896-97) v. Everton (1969-70) Corinthians: H.Harrison, E.F.Buzzard, W.J.Oakley, C.B.Ward, C.D.Hewitt, A.G.Topham, A.T.B.Dunn, A.G.Henfrey, R.C.Gosling, M.H.Stanbrough, C.L.Alexander. Everton: G.West, T.Wright, B.Labone, J.Hurst, K.Newton, A.Ball, H.Kendall, C.Harvey, J.Husband, J.Royle, J.Morrissey. First of all Fotball England have to give a massive thank you to the Corinthians for accepting our invitation to take part in this competition. The famous amateur club was still adopting its' policy of not taking part in any competitive football in 1896-97 but when we explained modern day footballs' desperate need for ambassadors of sportsmanship and positive role models for our youngsters the chaps were only too glad to help. Having said that we did find in our negotiations that these positive role models smoked like troupers and didn't mind the odd glass of port or two. Although Everton were undoubtedly firm favourites they had problems of their own to encounter in travelling back to Victorian Britain for this tie. Firstly they had to get over a gruelling 200 mile, 73 year journey which they began on board a luxury coach and completed by cycling the last 40 miles on tandems. There was also a different set of laws to get their heads round and the olde worlde offside rule proved the biggest headache. To be deemed onside a forward needed to have three opponents between himself and the goal and Joe Royle kept forgetting and found himself flagged offside after moving up against the last man. This proved vexing for Royle but also seemed to upset the Corinthians centre half, W.J. Oakley, who constantly kept advising Royle against moving so far forward. It was strictly against the Corinthians code of etiquette to catch opponents offside but here was a man who was catching himself offside. Despite C.B.Ward's best efforts to keep goalside of Royle and therefore keep him onside the forward was just too sharp for him and Oakley's "I say, old boy, that's an offside position you're moving into," kept falling on deaf ears. The determination of the Corinthians to keep the ball on the ground at all times also troubled the visitors. Brian Labone and John Hurst were accustomed to having their fair share of high balls to contest but now were constantly being tested on the ground by a series of short passing movements. Hurst looked particularly uncomfortable but Labone was in majestic form, intercepting regularly and timing his tackles to perfection when danger threatened. On more than one occasion the Corinthians were moved to spontaneous applause by his efforts. Midway through the first half, however, even Labone was powerless to intervene as R.C.Gosling slipped an inch perfect ball through for M.H.Stanbrough to slot past Gordon West. As the visitors failed to make any impression against Joe Royle's one man offside trap tempers began to fray with Alan Ball having several sly digs at opponents. The fact that the injured party would immediately apologise seemed to incense the fiery little midfielder even more and when W.J.Oakley removed his cap before heading clear a corner the visitors began to suspect that, rather than being sporting, their opponents were actually taking the piss. Half Time: Corinthians 1 Everton 0 Harry Catterick informed his players to get the ball out wide to Jimmy Husband and Johnny Morrissey in the second half and let them run at the Corinthians' full backs. If they did manage to get to the byeline then at leat Royle couldn't then be caught offside. This was good thinking by the Everton boss and Everton began to show some nice football of their own. W.J.Oakley remained equal to all Royle's efforts, however, and several dangerous centres were cleared before the forward could pounce. Having been beaten to another pass Royle went down clutching his leg and was unable to immediately resume. As he left the field for treatment the Everton players noticed the Corinthians ushering their left winger, A.G.Henfrey, towards the touchline. The bemused visitors asked what was going on and the opposing skipper, A.T.B.Dunn, explained that they never took advantage of an opponents' misfortune by playing with an extra man. The quick thinking Alan Ball hastily butted in, "Yeh, but we're losing our best player and that bloke you're taking off is crap. Why don't you take this guy off instead?" pointing towards the imposing figure of W.J.Oakley. Dunn could not but admit the justice of Ball's point and signalled Henfrey back and Oakley to the sidelines, apologising profusely for the error. Without their one centre half Corinthians were less well equipped to handle the crosses into their box that Husband and Morrissey were regularly putting over. It was up to the midfield runners to get up in support and Harvey and Ball both went close before Ball finally equalised with a low shot from eight yards out. The injury to Royle had not seemed that serious and indeed the forward could now be seen sprinting up and down the touchline in a bid to keep warm but still Everton deemed him unfit to return meaning W.J.Oakley had to remain stationed on the sidelines also smoking his pipe and reading the Times. Pretty soon Ball had added another and then John Hurst rambled forward to head home from Husband and with 15 minutes to go Everton had opened up a two goal lead. Judging it safe Catterick now sent Royle back into the action but with the return of Oakley came the return of the Corinthians dominance. A.G.Topham brought a fine save out of West, Labone cleared off the line from C.L.Alexander and then R.C.Gosling drifted past two challengers to reduce the arrears from penalty spot range. Five minutes remained and Catterick was desperately signalling for Royle to go down injured again but the forward was oblivious. The Corinthians piled forward with C.L.Alexander bringing two further saves from West and Labone making two goal saving blocks and one tremendous last ditch challenge on M.H.Stanbrough. Then in the last minute Tommy Wright poleaxed R.C.Gosling as he went to tap in after West had spilled a shot on his goalline and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. It was as blatant a penalty as you could wish to see but Ball still felt obliged to argue about the decision for a full ten minutes. When the furore had died down A.T.B.Dunn accepted his captains' responsibility and stepped forward to pass the ball into touch for a goal kick. Ball needn't have worried. If he had known his history he'd have been aware that the Corinthians considered it unsporting to score from the penalty spot. Therefore Everton progressed after an interesting tie which had provided something of a culture shock to both camps. The home side were only too happy to agree with Harry Catterick's assertion that his towering centre half Labone was the last of the Corinthians, however. Long into the night did the famous amateurs try to persuade Everton's pivot to stay in Victorian Britain and join them on their crusade. After his fourth bottle of claret he almost agreed but in the end got back on his bike for the journey home with the rest of his teammates. Full Time: Corinthians 2 Everton 3
Brighton & Hove Albion (1982-83) v. Chester City (1985-86) Brighton: G.Moseley, D.Shanks, G.Stevens, S.Foster, G.Pearce, N.Smillie, J.Case, T.Grealish, G.Ryan, M.Robinson, G.Smith. sub: T.Connor. Chester: J.Butcher, D.Glenn, B.Coy, G.Abel, M.Lane, J.Kelly, A.Holden, I.Richardson, M.Graham, S.Rimmer, P.Houghton. sub: D.Murray. There was little football on offer as a big, strong Chester side set about making life difficult for first division strugglers Brighton. Tackles were flying in all over the pitch and with no time to think decent through balls to the forwards of either side were at a premium. Although Mickey Robinson managed a header on target from a chipped ball forward by Neil Smillie the save was easy for John Butcher and the first twenty minutes passed with the fourth division side looking relatively comfortable. As the game settled down slightly the most dangerous looking attacker was Chester's Stuart Rimmer, a pacy direct runner who managed to get away from Steve Foster on a couple of occassions to create opportunities for himself which he could not convert. In general, however, the game was little more than open warfare as Andy Holden and John Kelly traded blows with Tony Grealish and Jimmy Case. All four players appeared to be enjoying themselves but their running battle meant there was no flow to the game whatsoever. Half Time: Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Chester City 0 The game desperately needed a goal and two minutes into the second half it got one. Rimmer broke away down the right and when he centred deep to the far post Peter Houghton was able to hold off Gary Stevens and set up Kelly to drive into the roof of the net. Immediately the game became a far more exciting encounter as Brighton remembered that this was actually a game of football. Gordon Smith found a yard of space to test Butcher and Robinson dragged a shot wide of the post after forcing his way between Bobby Coy and Graham Abel. Even the midfielders were starting to play and Jimmy Case flashed a fierce shot just over. Then Gerry Ryan got down the left to centre but Robinson's header was wide of the mark. Rimmer almost doubled Chester's lead on a sharp break but the game was turned on its' head with two goals inside two minutes midway through the second half. Robinson finally made a chance count after bursting onto a pass from Case and then Steve Foster headed home from Smillie's corner. With Chester reeling there were chances for Brighton to clinch victory. Smith shot over from twelve yards and Grealish chipped just too high after breaking clear of the defence. With fifteen minutes remaining Harry McNally sent on his raw teenage substitute striker Dave Murray in place of Ian Richardson as the visitors looked to claw their way back into the tie. The youngster made an immediate impact with a neat chested lay off for Rimmer which resulted in a low shot that flashed just wide and the sub then launched Foster over the touchline with an exuberant challenge which brought about the games' first booking. Graham Moseley did well to tip a header from Abel over the bar from Kelly's corner and then held a crisp shot from Milton Graham low down by his post. The game was entering injury time as Chester launched one last attack. Houghton flicked on into the box, Stevens made a last ditch challenge to deny Rimmer but as the ball bounced away Murray's first touch took him away from Foster and when the ball dropped onto his left foot he smashed a vicious drive high into the top corner of Moseley's net for the most dramatic and emphatic of equalisers. It was a jubilant away side that left the pitch moments later while the dejected home team had the prospect of a tough replay in Cheshire to look forward to. Full Time: Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Chester City 2
Millwall (1972-73) v. West Ham United (1964-65) Millwall: B.King, B.Brown, A.Dorney, B.Kitchener, H.Cripps, S.Brown, E.Dunphy, G.Bolland, D.Allder, D.Possee, A.Wood. sub: D.Smethurst. West Ham: J.Standen, J.Bond, K.Brown, B.Moore, J.Kirkup, P.Brabrook, R.Boyce, M.Peters, J.Sissons, J.Byrne, G.Hurst. sub: B.Dear. Well, here it was. The game the Metropolitan Police had been dreading coming out of the hat. Rivalry in the East End between these two clubs had always been intense at any time. Throw in a time gap of eight years and things were only made worse. A police operation involving officers from all eight years had been designed to identify potential trouble spots and problem individuals. This had narrowed things down to the whole of London and the home counties while the only person not thought to be a threat to security on matchday was the Queen of England. It was somewhat frustrating to the police that it was widely believed that she had never intended to attend the match in the first place. To say the atmosphere was volatile inside the Den as kick off approached would be understating the situation to a significant degree. Although many West Ham fans had had their mock, cardboard hammers removed outside the ground by the police supporters of both clubs had managed to smuggle in plenty of the genuine articles, along with an impressive array of other offensive weapons. Millwall were first to attack as the referee showed a surprising leniency in the tackle. Each time Harry Cripps or Barry Kitchener emerged from bone jarring lunges at the opposition with or without the ball blood curdling roars went up from the terraces. Inspired by the atmosphere Millwall went looking for the opening goal. Derek Possee broke through a couple of tentative chalenges to shoot just wide and Alf Wood saw a strong header tipped to safety by Jim Standen. From the corner Barry Kitchener was not far away with an unchallenged header. The ferocity of Millwall's start could not be maintained and from the quarter hour mark the visitors began to get into the game with some neat passing movements through midfield usually involving Martin Peters and Johnny Byrne. The heavy pitch as much as the heavy Millwall defenders were responsible for thwarting these moves and the Hammers were blunted by the inability of their wingers, Peter Brabrook and John Sissons, to impose themselves on their full backs. Indeed the next attack was set up by Cripps who was watched by Brabrook as he chugged forward to send over a deep cross which Wood again got to ahead of Ken Brown only to head back across goal and wide of the far post. On the half hour though Millwall got their reward. Doug Allder got the better of John Bond in a challenge and simply drove the ball towards the middle from out wide. Standen came to collect but fumbled and Possee was on the spot to nudge home. With the Den in a frenzy Gordon Bolland banged a shot just over the bar as Millwall looked to press home their advantage. Possee looked to have broken clear moments later only to be halted by a perfectly timed challenge by Bobby Moore and both sides were perhaps reasonably happy with the state of affairs at half time. Half Time: Millwall 1 West Ham United 0 West Ham were more positive at the start of the second half and finally looked to carry a real threat as Geoff Hurst began running at Kitchener and Alan Dorney. Twice the powerful front runner smacked in fierce drives but both times the agile Lions' keeper Bryan King was arching backwards to turn them to safety. Then a piece of magic from Byrne opened up the home defence. The classy forward invited three defenders towards him and when the expected challenge came in he was suddenly goalside of all three white shirts. With the defence spreadeagled he played in the rampaging Peters and his finish was emphatic. The celebrations of the visiting fans' made the atmosphere extremely tense but this intensified massively when Hurst was suddenly bursting through, seemingly from the Millwall kick off, to blast the Hammers ahead. It's sad to report but arguments, skirmishes and all out battles began to rage across the terraces and with the football almost forgotten it took a fantastic save from King to keep Millwall in the game when Brabrook eventually dodged a lunge from Cripps to run on and smash a tremendous effort towards goal. As the police began to regain some sort of order the home side regained composure and managed to force their visitors back again. Derek Smethurst came on for Steve Brown and his clever probing helped ask more questions of a West Ham defence that had gained increasing control. Smethurst cleverly backheeled to provide Wood with a chance but Standen was out quickly to block and Allder headed weakly at the keeper when Possee crossed from the right. With the clock ticking down the Millwall pressure reached boiling point. Cripps came forward to sting Standen's palms with a 30 yarder and Possee blasted high from the edge of the box after a Wood charge was only half dealt with. There was tremendous whistling from around the ground as the referee was encouraged to blow his final whistle. This, it turned out, was not from the West Ham supporters but from the massed ranks of policemen who were not looking forward to the prospect of a replay at Upton Park. Overtime it might have been but there was no riot gear in those days, just the trusty truncheon. The boys in blue were to suffer a cruel blow, however. In the last minute the linesman signalled dubiously for a Millwall corner when it seemed as though Possee had got the last touch and from his centre Kitchener rose highest to send the game to a replay. The fact that their two teams were going to meet again in a few days time did nothing to dampen the fans' enthusiasm for a night of brawling around the East End and it can be safely assumed that the Old Kent Road was not the best place in London to enjoy a quiet pint or take your girlfriend for a first date on this occasion. Full Time: Millwall 2 West Ham United 2
Derby County (1971-72) v. Burnley (1959-60) Derby: C.Boulton, R.Webster, C.Todd, R.McFarland, J.Robson, A.Durban, T.Hennessey, J.McGovern, J.O'Hare, K.Hector, A.Hinton. sub: R.Davies. Burnley: A.Blacklaw, J.Angus, B.Miller, A.Elder, J.Adamson, B.Seith, J.Connelly, J.Robson, R.Pointer, J.McIlroy, B.Pilkington. sub: G.Harris. Derby were at a big advantage going into this tie. Not only were thay at home but manager Brian Clough had first hand experience of what to expect from this talented Burnley side. The Clarets, of course, knew nothing of the Rams. Clough's main concern was obvious as both Alan Durban and Terry Hennessey kept eyes on schemer Jimmy McIlroy. With the visitors playmaker subdued little was seen of the potent wingers John Connelly and Brian Pilkington. Derby were missing one of their main sources of inspiration in Archie Gemmill but they certainly enjoyed a monopoly on possession during the first half. Alan Hinton drilled a shot just wide and Kevin Hector saw Adam Blacklaw made a fine reaction stop from a close range effort. The home side also looked a threat from set pieces as they won a series of corners and Roy McFarland brought another top save out of Blacklaw with a leaping header. Ray Pointer headed tamely at Colin Boulton from a rare Connelly centre but Derby took a deserved lead on 38 minutes when John O'Hare burst through to lay on the simplest of chances for Hector who was inevitably in the right place at the right time. John McGovern came close to extending the lead with a 25 yard shot on the stroke of half time and the visitors were glad to get in only one goal behind. Derby County 1 Burnley 0 Burnley had looked neat and tidy up to the final third but had totally lacked a cutting edge in the first half. The second period saw a definite change of tactics. Instead of looking to go through McIlroy the visitors now began to hit longer, raking passes towards the wings and this made an immediate difference. Connelly and Pilkington had the legs on John Robson and Ron Webster and with Connelly putting over some dangerous centres and Pilkington always eager to come inside and strike for goal Burnley's threat was suddenly very apparent. Pointer wasted another clear headed chance when supplied by Connelly and Jimmy Robson was only inches from connecting with a low ball across from the same source. Pilkington then sent in a fierce drive that Boulton turned away at full stretch. Derby were now reduced to attacking on the break and O'Hare almost broke clear only to be crowded out at the last by Jimmy Adamson and Brian Miller. Jimmy McIlroy was having one of his quietest games in a Burnley shirt but when Connelly broke away next and came in right along the goalline the Irish maestro was in position to accept the cut back and bury the equaliser high into the roof of the net. Clough sent on Roger Davies in place of Durban and his side became more direct as they strove to regain the initiative. Burnley were in full flow by this stage, however, and Adamson along with Bobby Seith had an iron grip in the midfield. Ray Pointer was certainly not having his best day in front of goal and missed the target twice more when well placed but Brian Pilkington made no such mistake when he was supplied cutting into the area from the left hand side and duly spanked a crisp drive inside the far post. Derby were desperate in their efforts to respond and again there were corners to defend but Burnley were now confident in all areas and the home sides' last chance came and went when Davies lofted a shot high over the bar after being set up by Hector 18 yards out. A game of two halves if ever there was one and by the end few could deny Burnley their right to a place in the next round. Derby County 1 Burnley 2
Liverpool (1981-82) v. Leeds United (1971-72) Liverpool: B.Grobbelaar, P.Neal, A.Hansen, M.Lawrenson, P.Thompson, S.Lee, R.Whelan, G.Souness, T.McDermott, K.Dalglish, I.Rush. sub: A.Cohen. Leeds: G.Sprake, P.Reaney, J.Charlton, N.Hunter, T.Cooper, P.Lorimer, B.Bremner, J.Giles, E.Gray, M.Jones, A.Clarke. sub: P.Madeley. Clash of the Titans. Leeds travelled forward in time by a decade and found themselves pitted against the next generation of themselves. Both sides were accustomed to winning, both had a swagger about them that bordered on arrogance, both had a nasty streak. This tie was whet with anticipation. Liverpool had one problem area. Alan Kennedy had chosen to represent Newcastle in the competition so Bob Paisley was left with a decision to make at left back. He eventually decided to keep his awesome central pairing of Lawrenson and Hansen while asking Phil Thompson to fill in at left back. It could be safely assumed that Paisley was not convinced about this choice as Avi Cohen made the bench in case "Pinocchio" should be found wanting. For Leeds the potential weak link remained Gary Sprake in goal. Don Revie would be hoping that his keeper would not repeat his 1960's Anfield trick of throwing the ball into his own net. Whether the 1980's Koppites would serenade him with a version of "Careless Hands" also remained to be seen. It did not take long before the Scottish clansmen Souness and Bremner were spoiling for a fight. Bremner got his dig in first, catching Souness a painful blow across the back of the ankles after the Liverpool man had made a pass. Souness retaliated with a more obvious lunge at Bremner's knee which led to a mass confrontation in the centre circle. Norman Hunter waded across to put his weight about but Ronnie Whelan stepped in to tell "Bite Yer Legs" that everyone had now seen Francis Lee give him a good hiding walking off the Baseball Ground and knew that he was in fact a "soft lad". Hunter stepped back shaking in terror. Like Scrooge he had been shown his own future and it was a terrifying sight. The prospect of the Reaper himself seemed preferable to the image of Franny Lee raining haymakers on him in the Baseball Ground quagmire. Don Revie recognised the situation and immediately withdrew his jellied hardman with the ever versatile Paul Madeley. It was no problem for Madeley to step into the back four and he instantly looked at home against the rangy youngster Ian Rush. Jackie Charlton was not finding things so easy against the slippery Kenny Dalglish whose ability to turn quickly when right up against the towering defender proved difficult to combat. Charlton advised Dalglish to "keep your flipping arse out of my shorts" but to no avail and therefore found it necessary to send him into orbit the next time he threatened to turn away from him. It was not all Liverpool, however. Thompson was not finding it easy to handle Peter Lorimer who was quick to move inside and the makeshift left back was unsure whether to follow his man or leave him to the defenders inside. On the other flank Eddie Gray was causing Phil Neal all kinds of problems with his clever dribbling skills and providing consistent service for his strikers. "Sniffer" Clarke was not getting much joy out of the imperious Mark Lawrenson but Mick Jones was causing Alan Hansen some trouble with his robust approach. Both sides were loathe to concede chances, however, and efforts from distance by Lorimer and Terry McDermott were the closest either side came in the opening half hour. Then Eddie Gray left Neal on his backside down the left hand byeline and rolled across a chance that Lorimer buried in a blur at the far post. Suddenly Liverpool were hanging on and when Hansen fouled Jones, Johnny Giles curled the free kick against the post with Bruce Grobbelaar scrambling across goal desperately. Madeley headed over from a corner and then Grobbelaar had to make a reaction stop by the foot of his post to deny Clarke when he finally got a yard of space on Lawrenson from a driven Lorimer centre. Half time was a welcome relief to the home team. Half Time: Liverpool 0 Leeds United 1 For ten minutes Leeds remained in control without really threatening but then Liverpool began to take charge. Souness was being allowed some home town licence to boot Bremnner to a standstill and Ronnie Whelan was not backward in putting in a few challenges either. Souness played a smart ball through for Rush but his shot rolled a foot past the post under challenge from Madeley and McDermott brought a fingertip save from Sprake with a 20 yard drive. Dalglish remained the real danger. Whenever he received possession in and around the box Charlton was unable to take the easy option of dropping him on his big Scottish backside which meant that Dalglish was basically free to do as he chose. Several times he speared dangerous balls across the face of goal which were scrambled clear or blocked and three times sent in efforts which flew fractionally off target with Sprake a spectator. For all the pressure Leeds still led, however, and Jones had the chance to kill off the tie when sent clear by Gray but his shot was too close to Grobbelaar who dropped down smartly to save. Avi Cohen came on for Thompson to hopefully prove himself more adept in helping the attack as Liverpool poured forward in search of an equaliser. Rush headed over from Sammy Lee's quickly taken free kick and Souness buried a shot into Sprake's midriff from around the penalty spot. With just five minutes to go Leeds conceded. McDermott surged from midfield exchanging passes with Whelan before feeding the ball into Dalglish. The centre forward turned Charlton one way and then the other and having drawn two more defenders towards him slipped a short ball through to McDermott who had continued his run and was now clear. Faced with Sprake the perm haired midfielder drilled a low shot into the corner and was immediately submerged under a sea of perms. Jackie Charlton looked across at all the red shirted players with girls' hair cuts kissing each other and thought about wading in with fists flying. He considered the replay at Elland Road and thought better of it. That would be a better time to see just what these guys were made of. Of course the replay wasn't absolutely certain yet and both Dalglish and Whelan had chances to win it for Liverpool in the closing stages but both fired wide from just inside the box. There were plenty of players nursing sore and bruised bones as they left the pitch contemplating a replay in four days time. Full Time: Liverpool 1 Leeds United 1
Swindon Town (1979-80) v. Manchester City (1967-68) Swindon: J.Allan, J.Templeman, B.Tucker, K.Stroud, A.Ford, I.Miller, R.McHale, C.Kamara, B.Williams, A.Mayes, A.Rowland. sub: C.Bates. Man City: H.Dowd, T.Book, M.Doyle, G.Heslop, G.Pardoe, M.Summerbee, A.Oakes, C.Bell, T.Coleman, F.Lee, N.Young. sub: J.Crossan. This was a Swindon Town side built to attack and for the first few minutes they had City pressed back as Ray McHale and Chris Kamara bit into challenges in the midfield, Ian Miller went flying down the right wing and the dangerous front pair Alan Mayes and Andy Rowland foraged around the box for chances. Rowland's header tipped over the bar by Harry Dowd was as close as they would come during this early pressure, however. The visitors' main strength also lay in attacking and having weathered the early storm they were soon posing questions of their own. Mike Summerbee was nominally the right winger but was popping up everywhere in support of Francis Lee and Neil Young. Lee was also wandering dangerously whereas Young was happy to prowl around the middle in search of chances. Summerbee curled a shot just wide, Young lashed a left footer just too high and Colin Bell surged from midfield to shot at Jimmy Allan from 25 yards. With twenty minutes played Alan Oakes and Tony Coleman were the complete masters of McHale and Kamara and City were in command. Glyn Pardoe was able to get forward for the first time to whip in a dangerous centre that Billy Tucker could only half clear and Lee belted in the loose ball from the edge of the box to give the visitors a deserved lead. Two minutes later Bell burst through the centre again before releasing Young who scored with a crisp, rising drive from just inside the box. Things did not look good for Swindon. Before half time the home side had steadied the ship and managed some pressure immediately before the interval but Brian Williams was wide with a cross shot and Mayes screwed a shot just wide after a sharp turn away from Mike Doyle who had otherwise been a commanding figure. Half Time: Swindon Town 0 Manchester City 2 City were mainly content to sit back on their two goal lead after half time although when they did break out it was with purpose and menace. Swindon attempted to mount pressure but the City defence was having a good day. Doyle watched Mayes closely while George Heslop relished his battle with Rowland. Glyn Pardoe had the most difficult task against the strong, pacy Miller but he was an accomplished full back and mainly kept the dangerman in check. McHale sent in an effort from distance that Dowd saved easily and the keeper was likewise not extended by Rowland's header from a Miller centre. At the other end Summerbee wasted the chance to kill off his home town club by shooting over when sent clear on goal. With ten minutes to go Mayes breathed life into the cup tie with an instinctive finish in a scramble following a corner but within a minute City responded with Young heading home at the far post after Bell had made yet another driving run to centre. The fire that was beginning to ignite on the terraces was immediately doused and City strolled through the remaining minutes to claim their place in the next round. Full Time: Swindon Town 1 Manchester City 3
Arsenal (1970-71) v. Swansea City (1981-82) Arsenal: B.Wilson, P.Rice, F.McLintock, P.Simpson, B.McNab, P.Storey, G.Graham, C.George, G.Armstrong, J.Radford, R.Kennedy. sub: P.Marinello. Swansea: C.Sander, N.Robinson, C.Irwin, A.Rajkovic, D.Hadziabdic, G.Stanley, R.James, J.Charles, L.James, A.Curtis, B.Latchford. sub: M.Thompson. The Arsenal side of 1970-71, on its way to a league and cup double, could only asssume that they were facing lower division opposition in the Swansea City side of a decade later. During the warm up one or two of the Gunners shook their heads and assumed that the talented youngsters Latchford and Leighton James had obviously not fulfilled the promise they were showing in 1971 while the Swansea players indulged in a bit of sledging towards Ray Kennedy who had decided to represent Arsenal and not them in this competition. "What they doing playing you up front Razor?" Colin Irwin asked in mocking tones, "You're a friggin' midfielder." Kennedy looked at him strangely and replied "Who the hell are you and what the hell are you talking about?" Irwin had forgotten that they had yet to become teammates at Liverpool and then Swansea. Swansea knew a good start was vital in their tricky tie and roared on by a vast following they took the lead in the games' first attack. Leighton James foxed Pat Rice out wide and from his teasing centre Latchford rose magnificently above McLintock to bury a searing header into the roof of the net. The South Bank was rocking with over 10,000 visitors from the valleys making themselves heard but this only seemed to inspire an awesome response from the home side. Charlie George slammed a shot against the bar and George Graham headed straight at Chris Sander from a George Armstrong centre. Sander was getting a rare start for the Swans in the absence of Dai Davies who had opted to represent Wrexham and the understudy gifted the Gunners their equaliser on ten minutes when he misjudged another Armstrong centre and simply dropped the ball onto Kennedy's head in front of an open goal ten yards out. Kennedy had words with Irwin and then rubbed salt in the wound minutes later when he drifted away from the centre half along the goalline to square for John Radford to bang home. It was all Arsenal with Armstrong roasting Neil Robinson, Charlie George roaming all over to good effect and Kennedy and Radford totally dominating Irwin and Ante Rajkovic. Sander made a couple of saves from Radford and Armstrong but on 33 minutes the Gunners went further ahead. Irwin hauled Kennedy to the ground as he looked to be about to head home another Armstrong centre and Peter Storey smashed home the penalty. It was only bad misses from George and Radford that spared Swansea further first half punishment. Half Time: Arsenal 3 Swansea City 1 Swansea needed to come out of the blocks quickly if they were going to get back into the tie and Gary Stanley forced Bob Wilson into a diving save from 25 yards before Robbie James shot just too high from a Latchford knock down as the visitors started throwing more men forward from the midfield. Then Stanley angled a high ball in for Latchford which he headed down perfectly into Alan Curtis's stride and the forward was through on goal. Wilson came out but Curtis shot early, the ball flying past the keeper in a blur only to rebound from the far post. The rebound came out to Bob McNab who found himself in space and immediately bombed forward down the left. Suddenly he was deep in the Swansea half and Arsenal had men over. McNab drew Robinson before sending Armstrong to the byeline and he had all the time in the world to supply Kennedy with another sitter that was duly buried. This was extremely harsh on the Swans and Charlie George almost rubbed salt into the wounds with an extravagant chip that dropped onto the roof of the net with Sander beaten. Gamely Swansea continued to push forward but their luck was completely out. When Latchford barged both McLintock and Simpson to the floor in challenging for a James' centre which he then bulleted past Wilson the referee inexplicably blew for a foul. John Toshack was livid on the sidelines. With fifteen minutes to go Jeremy Charles ambled forward with little apparent intent before suddenly unleashing a tremendous drive that exploded into Wilson's chest. The keeper could not hold the ball and there was Latchford striding forward to head the loose ball into the bottom corner. This gave Swansea a glimmer of hope and five minutes later the atmosphere was at fever pitch again when Latchford scored at the third time of asking to complete his hat trick. His first effort cannoned back off the bar and when the rebound was turned back into the centre by Curtis his next effort was parried by Wilson. This time the ball dropped straight back at his feet and he lashed it into the roof of the net. Suddenly Arsenal were hanging on desperately as balls were sent into Latchford's general direction from all quarters. Time and again he won headers against the Arsenal defence but his teammates were never quite able to take advantage. Curtis came closest with a prod that had Wilson beaten but grazed the outside of the post. In their anxiety the visitors were unable to get far enough up the pitch to send in something that Latchford could go for goal from. If they had the inspired striker would probably have taken everything into the net with him but as it was the hat trick hero ended the game defeated. Full Time: Arsenal 4 Swansea City 3
Newcastle United (1995-96) v. Wycombe Wanderers (2000-01) Newcastle: S.Hislop, W.Barton, S.Howey, P.Albert, J.Beresford, K.Gillespie, R.Lee, L.Clark, D.Ginola, L.Ferdinand, F.Asprilla. subs: P.Srnicek, D.Peacock, S.watson, S.Sellars, P.Kitson. Wycombe: M.Taylor, J.Cousins, P.McCarthy, J.Bates, C.Vinnicombe, D.Carroll, S.Brown, K.Ryan, M.Simpson, A.Rammell, J.McSporran. subs: M.Osborn, M.Rogers, D.Senda, D.Bulman, R.Essandoh. There was a swagger about Newcastle as they set about the minnows from Wycombe. There was the sheer pace of Keith Gillespie down the right, the annoying Gallic flair of Daviiiide Ginolah on the left, the high as a kite Columbian tomfoolery of Faustino Asprilla and the prowling, menacing presence of Sir Lester of Ferdinand with his generous appendage. Wherever Wycombe looked there was a threat as the home side swarmed into unrelenting attack. Ginola flashed a shot wide from the angle of the box, Asprilla headed straight at Martin Taylor from a Gillespie centre and Ferdinand almost splintered the crossbar with a drive from the edge of the area. With the visitors desperate to curtail the fearsome attacking quartet they were undone on ten minutes by an unsuspected source. For once Ginola decided against taking his man on and playing a simple ball through the ragged defence found Lee Clark breaking from midfield unattended. Taylor advanced but Clark finished with a calm chip as the keeper plunged at his feet. There was no respite for the visitors with Ferdinand putting headers wide of either post and seeing Taylor do superbly to tip another effort round the post. On 34 minutes the home side went further ahead when Asprilla was sent through a square defence appealing vainly for offside and skipped around Taylor before sliding home and going off to celebrate with the corner flag. Both Robert Lee and Ginola had seen efforts rebound to safety from the woodwork before the referee blew for half time. Half Time: Newcastle United 2 Wycombe Wanderers 0 There was five minutes of Wycombe pressure at the start of the second half but when Shaka Hislop dropped onto a low effort from Andy Rammell this marked the end of the visitors threat. A tremendous slaloming run and shot from Ginola that flashed just too high signalled the start of another Newcastle onslaught that culminated on the hour with the Frenchman whipping a free kick into the top corner from 25 yards out. There followed a lull as the home side seemed to decide that enough was enough but this attitude changed when Lawrie Sanchez sent on his newly signed substitute Roy Essandoh who came off the bench to head home at the far post after good work from Dave Carroll. Wycombe were able to enjoy their moment but were then made to pay for it. Ferdinand headed home a Gillespie centre within a minute of Essandoh's goal and in the last five minutes Asprilla claimed his second with a fierce low drive and Steve Howey completed the rout with an emphatic header from Gillespie's corner. The final whistle signalled a mercy killing rather than a giant killing for a Wycombe side that had been well and truly put to the sword. Final Score: Newcastle United 6 Wycombe Wanderers 1
Plymouth Argyle (1983-84) v. Nottingham Forest (1988-89) Plymouth: G.Crudgington, G.Nisbet, L.Smith, C.Harrison, J.Uzzell, L.Cooper, K.Hodges, D.Phillips, A.Rogers, G.Staniforth, T.Tynan. sub: T.Kellow. Notts Forest: S.Sutton, B.Laws, D.Walker, C.Foster, S.Pearce, G.Crosby, G.Parker, N.Webb, S.Hodge, N.Clough, L.Chapman. sub: T.Wilson. There was a definite clash of styles in this one as Plymouth got the ball forward as quickly and as often as possible while Forest moved the ball through midfield in a controlled and elegant manner. With both sides keen to attack, however, this made for an entertaining game. Tommy Tynan was the focal point of the Plymouth attack and was proving a handful for Colin Foster but Gordon Staniforth was finding it difficult to make anything of the targetman's work against the fleet footed Des Walker. Tynan himself managed the Pilgrims best effort of the early stages with a rasping drive that Steve Sutton was happy to deflect over the bar. With Parker, Webb and Hodge all happy to run beyond the attacking fulcrum Nigel Clough, Forest looked dangerous everytime they attacked. Webb brought a fine save out of Geoff Crudgington and Hodge shot disappointingly wide after being supplied by the clever playmaker. Stuart Pearce smashed a free kick inches over the angle and Lee Chapman headed against the outside of the post from Gary Crosby's deep centre but Plymouth were having their moments too and Kevin Hodges was only narrowly wide from the edge of the box after being set up by Tynan. Indeed the first half ended in a flurry of corners for the home team but Forest stood firm and it was goalless at the interval. Half Time: Plymouth Argyle 0 Nottingham Forest 0 Forest had certainly had the better of the first half but they were obviously looking to shift up a gear after the break. The full backs, Brian Laws and Pearce, had mainly stayed at home in the first half but they were immediately pushing on when play resumed. This led to a concerted spell of pressure from the visitors but the finish was still lacking. Chapman shot weakly at Crudgington when well placed and Clough drove a daisy cutter a foot wide from just outside the box. This pressure was lifted when a headed clearance by Chris Harrison was hooked forward by Hodges and Alan Rogers was suddenly in space vacated by the overlapping Laws. The winger burst forward and with the Forest defence stretched he picked out Tynan perfectly at the far post and the reliable striker had time to chest the ball down before firing into the roof of the net. Forest were not to be panicked by going behind and stuck to their gameplan. Webb went through after exchanging passes with Clough and Chapman but Crugington smothered his low shot and then the keeper was leaping to deny Clough after a sharp turn away from Lindsey Smith. Pearce was wide of the mark with a thunderous 30 yarder while Hodge glanced a header inches wide after ghosting in onto a Crosby centre. Chances were becoming increasingly frequent for the visitors but the clock was ticking down and the home side now had only 15 minutes more to survive to pull off a shock. Once again Webb strode from midfield and after exchanging quick passes with Crosby and Clough had a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box. Crudgington was down quickly to save well to his right but when the ball squirmed free there was Chapman to tap home the rebound. Now Plymouth were looking at holding out for a replay but within a minute of equalising Forest were ahead. Pearce charged down the left to centre deep and Garry Parker arrived to head past the exposed keeper. Argyle tried to throw men forward but they were not the masters of possession and this simply left them increasingly vulnerable at the back. In the last minute a precise pass from Hodge left Clough completely clear and his low shot clipped the inside of the post before finding the net. Forest had left it late but no-one could deny they were deserved winners. Plymouth Argyle 1 Nottingham Forest 3
Manchester United (1956-57) v. Sunderland (1972-73) Man Utd: R.Wood, G.Bent, M.Jones, R.Byrne, E.Colman, D.Edwards, J.Berry, L.Whelan, T.Taylor, D.Viollet, D.Pegg. Sunderland: J.Montgomery, D.Malone, D.Watson, R.Pitt, R.Guthrie, B.Kerr, I.Porterfield, M.Horswill, D.Tueart, V.Halom, B.Hughes. This was a daunting trip back in time for second division Sunderland for a cup tie that really captured the imagination. The gates had been locked at Old Trafford 14 days before kick off but still spectators found ways of getting into the ground. And the 20,000 or so Mackems making the journey only started arriving the day before the game so the congestion inside the ground can be well imagined. The atmosphere was electric and so was the start made by United. Johnny Berry and David Pegg quickly showed that modern notions about 50's footballers not being fast are a load of nonsense as they sped beyond their full backs with alarmimg ease. Berry, especially, had Ron Guthrie on toast. Things looked bleak for the visitors as United poured forward down both flanks with eager support arriving through the middle from not just the inside forwards, Whelan and Viollet, but also the wing halves, Colman and Edwards. Sunderland needed a big man to lead the resistance and they found that man in Big Dave Watson. United instinctively looked to feed the aerial prowess of Tommy Taylor but time and again their headmaster was beaten to the punch by Sunderland's no nonsense stopper. So for all the pressure on his goal Jim Montgomery found that 20 minutes had passed without him having to do more than field a couple of back passes. The Busby Babes were not without a Plan B, however, and with Taylor apparently shackled they began slipping more dangerous balls down the channels for Viollet and Liam Whelan to exploit. This avenue of attack instantly looked more likely to bring rewards with Whelan forcing Montgomery into a splendid low save and Viollet planting another effort against the far post. When a Sunderland leg did get in the way to break up these thrusts it was still invariably Watson making the challenge. Sunderland had hoped that Dennis Tueart might be able to get at United's second choice full back Geoff Bent, Bill Foulkes having opted to play for the 1968 United vintage, but as the half wore on their dangerman was finding himself increasingly called upon to help out the desperate rearguard. Just before half time Taylor finally caught a sight of goal but his sweetly struck shot flew straight into Montgomery's stomach. Half Time: Manchester United 0 Sunderland 0 Sunderland's keeper Jim Montgomery had spent half time with his hands soaking in warm water to try and dissipate the pain inflicted by the fearsome 1950's ball and asking Dave Watson how his head was standing up to the punishment. Watson looked blankly at his keeper and wondered what he was talking about. United's pressure remained intense but as the game wore on there were opportunities for Sunderland to enjoy attacks of their own. Vic Halom grazed the crossbar with a header from Tueart's centre and Edwards had to head away from under the bar when Billy Hughes beat Ray Wood to a centre from Bobby Kerr. This still paled against the chances going begging at the other end. Viollet had three shooting chances, two beaten clear by Montgomery and one wide of the post, while Berry, Whelan and Edwards were also fractionally off target. David Pegg fizzed a low centre across the six yard box after skinning Dick Malone but a host of lunging bodies failed to make contact and Montgomery managed to reach a floated effort from Colman underneath the angle and tip it behind for a corner. Then Tueart broke away again and won the visitors a corner. The winger drilled it across and Watson rose above Mark Jones to smack a fierce header against the bar. 145,000 Mancunians breathed a sigh of relief while 22,873 Mackems stifled their roar. United responded to the let off with a spell of attacking more intense than any they had yet managed. Whelan, Edwards and Pegg were all denied by Montgomery; Taylor, Viollet twice and Whelan were all wide from inside the box and in a seven minute spell Big Dave Watson headed 43 centres away from his own penalty area. Then Eddie Colman speared a pass inside Guthrie for Johnny Berry and the flying winger was away before even Watson could react. Coming in from the angle Berry drove for the far post, beyond Montgomery's dive, and the ball was nestling in the far corner of the net. Only six minutes remained and despite sending the ex centre forward Watson up front Sunderland could not snatch an equaliser. Wood did well to tip a 37 yard header from the big man behind for a corner but when that was cleared United were through. The huge and extremely sporting 1950's crowd cheered both sets of players from the field while a small possee broke onto the pitch to chair Watson from the arena. A fitting tribute to the big mans' performance. Full Time: Manchester United 1 Sunderland 0
Manchester United (1967-68) v. Bury (1902-03) Man Utd: A.Stepney, S.Brennan, B.Foulkes, D.Sadler, T.Dunne, G.Best, N.Stiles, P.Crerand, J.Aston, B.Charlton, D.Law. sub: F.Burns. Bury: H.Monteith, J.Lindsey, F.Thorpe, J.McEwan, J.Johnston, G.Ross, B.Richards, G.Booth, G.Lamberton, J.Leeming, J.Plant. sub: A.Montgomery. Only 10 miles and 65 years seperated these neighbours and Manchester was heaving on derby day. Primitive crowd restrictions meant that there could be no repeat of the 167,873 crowd that had turned up the same day at the same time to watch United 56-57 take on Sunderland but there must have been getting on for 80,000 crammed in while another 248 watched the game live on a big screen back at Gigg Lane. A good start was imperative if the turn of the century Shakers were to get to grips with all the changes in laws and equipment that had been implemented since their day. Thankfully they found that booting the oppositions' best players was still basically allowed so when Jimmy "Punch" McEwan hoisted George Best over the touchline after two minutes the referee awarded only a throw in and ignored the Irishman's complaints that he had been fouled. Although no dangerman had yet emerged from the Bury ranks Nobby Stiles noted the referees' attitude and made sure he kicked the next opposing player who took control of the ball. This happened several minutes later and George Booth was the unlucky man. This time the ref felt moved to give a free kick while Nobby made a couple of ridiculous diving motions in the general vicinity of his felled opponent. United were taking there time getting warmed up but on ten minutes Bobby Charlton strode forward to send in a shot that whistled directly above Hugh Monteith's head and just over the crossbar. It took ten minutes before the game could be restarted as players and officials struggled to convince the stunned and somewhat frightened goalkeeper that Charlton had actually shot and that the ball hadn't simply vanished. Considering this disturbing incident Monteith did well to save a sharp header from Denis Law and to actually remain within his goal the next time Charlton lined one up from 35 yards. Again the shot was too high but the Bury defence gained no confidence from their keepers' informing them that "He's done it again. It must be some kind of voodoo." Things were not looking good for the visitors and the inevitable happened on 25 minutes when John Aston broke down the left and his centre was firmly headed in by Best coming in off his wing. There was little sign of a response from Bury and after Law and Paddy Crerand had tested Monteith the second goal came from Charlton. Sent through on goal by Crerand the balding forward took pity on the cowering Monteith and stroked the ball into the bottom corner. Half Time: Manchester United 2 Bury 0 Any hopes Bury had of getting back into the game disappeared straight from the kick off when Law turned in the third after Best's shot had rebounded from the post. From here the game became a procession of United goals and by the end a further nine had been added to bring the final tally to twelve. Charlton got four more to end with five, Law and Best both got two more to finish with hat tricks and David Sadler sauntered forward to join in the fun. In the 85th minute George Lamberton managed Bury's one shot on target and was harshly treated to see the ball slam against the post with Alex Stepney clutching at thin air. All in all not Bury's day. Full Time: Manchester United 12 Bury 0
Arsenal (2003-04) 3 v. 1 West Bromwich Albion (1977-78) 3rd Round Replays Ipswich Town (1980-81) 3 v. 0 Everton (1984-85) 3rd Round Second Replay Leeds United (1971-72) 2 v. 2 aet Liverpool (1981-82) 3rd Round Third Replay Leeds United (1971-72) 3 v. 2 Liverpool (1981-82)
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