Forgive the presumption, but this article comes with the understanding it will be most embraced by those who remember FA Cup third round day as a truly significant date on the yearly football calendar.
The seasonal entry into the competition of first and second clubs shifted the FA Cup on to a heightened level of interest, this in a time long, long before squad rotation and fixtures strung out all across the weekend. The gloom of a post-Christmas, January Saturday afternoon was dispelled by the glow of what the next ninety minutes had in store – many ties, despite the 3pm kick off time, played under floodlights from the first whistle.
For some notables, setting out on their FA Cup venture for the season offered the prospect of redemption for faltering league form, a good cup run sustaining interest in a campaign threatening to run into mid-table buffers. Or worse.
With the passing years has come a complete change of attitude toward the FA Cup, the overwhelming preoccupation of clubs in the top two divisions (dependent on their standing), is to finish in the Premiership top four, stay in the top flight or reach it – the FA Cup and any associated glory in going far in the competition, sacrificed on the altar of outrageous fortune.
Indeed, who needs the excitement of a sell-out sixth round home tie when staying put or promotion will send the Premiership gravy train rolling in your direction.
As previously stated, it was not always thus, the FA Cup in effect signaling start of the second half of the campaign. With it came opportunity to rectify ambitions for the season that had gone awry, help restore some fading glory – or simply atone for embarrassing recent exits at the hands of lowly opposition.
All of which applied, one way or another, to a host of renowned FA Cup redoubtables when fifty years ago they embarked on their FA Cup journey of the 1972-73 season.
Round three on Saturday 13 January 1973 was played out in damp conditions beneath ominous slate grey skies (such was the weather at Molineux where your genial host at SAMTIMONIOUS.com was present) – the afternoon proving dismal in more ways than one among some hoping for better………
Selected third round FA Cup ties of Saturday 13 January 1973:
The top three in Division One, each of whom given their good form and recent pedigree were all a solid bet for cup success, faced ties that looked tricky but not unduly testing.
League leaders Liverpool, beaten finalists in 1971, were sent to Turf Moor where Division Two pacesetters Burnley awaited, the clash between those leading their respective divisions ending in stalemate. At Anfield three days Jimmy Adamson’s men kept Liverpool at bay for a further half hour but eventually succumbed to a John Toshack brace and late strike from Peter Cormack.
Like Liverpool (UEFA Cup), third in the table and cup holders Leeds (Cup Winners’ Cup) had European ambitions along side their league and FA Cup desires – yet needed not one, but two replays before finally dispensing with Division One strugglers Norwich City.
Despite labouring on the league front, the Canaries had recently won through to the League Cup Final, the resolve shown in reaching Wembley apparent in a Carrow Road encounter where David Cross netted for the hosts with Peter Lorimer doing likewise for Leeds – the Elland Road return also found Norwich in no mood to yield, Cross (again) and Johnny Giles doing the honours as another draw ensued.
Clearly Leeds had no intention in taking matters any further than a best of three and when the two sides decamped to Villa Park with January 1973 almost over, England international striker Allan Clarke fired home a hat-trick inside the first twenty minutes. With Mick Jones and Lorimer also making the scoresheet, Don Revie’s side wracked up a resounding 5-0 triumph – and having won a league fixture at Carrow Road nine days before (the sides met four times in seventeen days), Leeds finally brought this prolonged round three saga to a close four days before fourth round Saturday.
Neither were second placed Arsenal in the habit of losing early 70s FA Cup ties, defeat to Leeds in the most recent final their only reversal in the past two seasons. But the 1971 winners often needed two goes in seeing the job through – goals from Frank Worthington and John Farrington earning Leicester City a Highbury draw in cancelling out those by George Armstrong and Ray Kennedy.
Given all the extra FA Cup fixtures they played in this era, Arsenal seemed to revel in a replay – and although Farrington netted again for the Foxes, Arsenal fought on from Filbert Street due to efforts from Eddie Kelly and John Radford.
North London rivals Spurs, having already booked one Wembley visit by progressing to the League Cup Final, made comfortable progress by accounting for non-league Margate in business-like fashion – the Southern League side commendably staging the tie at their Hartsdown Park ground despite the obvious financial benefits in reversing the fixture to White Hart Lane.
Goals from England internationals Martin Chivers (2), Martin Peters and Cyril Knowles were added to by those from John Pratt and Jimmy Pearce, any notion of an upset negated as the visitors hit six without reply – Spurs therefore maintaining a presence in the FA, League and UEFA Cups.
There was another Southern League/top league meeting at Chelmsford City who played host to high-flying Ipswich Town. The margin of victory was not so emphatic, goals from Colin Harper, David Johnson and Bryan Hamilton too much for the home side who did manage a late consolation through former Tottenham man Roy Woolcott.
While there never seemed any likelihood of a major shock at either Margate or Chelmsford, the most surprise result of the day occurred at the County Ground – where second division Swindon Town were able to put aside recent upheaval in ousting Birmingham City.
During the past six weeks Swindon, due to mounting pressure on their finances, had sold talisman winger Don Rogers to first division basement dwellers Crystal Palace, seen manager Dave Mackay depart for ‘personal reasons’ (although by now was back in the game as manager of Nottingham Forest), five matches without a win dropping them into the lower reaches of Division Two.
Yet second half goals from Joe Butler and Ray Tracey (penalty) enabled them to account for the St Andrew’s side who were finding life tough on their recent return to the top flight, defeat in Wiltshire extending their winless run to seven matches.
At St James’ Park three times 1950s winners Newcastle engaged in their first FA Cup tie since the third round humbling at non league Hereford the previous year. But third division Bournemouth were unable to create any Tyneside turmoil, John Bond’s Cherries picked off by an own goal and customary Malcolm Macdonald effort.
The gap in league standing was even greater at London Road where league champions and European Cup challengers Derby County overcame fourth division Peterborough United, Brian Clough’s outfit winning through by virtue of a Roger Davies goal.
In many respects things were closer at Goodison Park where second division Aston Villa, making a good impression on returning from Division Three the previous season, went down to the odd goal in five before a gate of over 42,000.
Securing victory through goals from Rod Belfitt, Mick Buckley and Joe Harper, (Geoff Vowden and former Liverpool man Alun Evans replying for Villa), Everton, like Newcastle, were in need of FA Cup continuation to realign a stop-start season – the same also applying to Manchester City and Stoke City, who met again just two weeks after an all-square Boxing Day Maine Road meeting.
It was a similar story in Moss Side to the one on Merseyside, the home side edging through from a five goal feast. On target for Malcolm Allison’s side, Mike Summerbee, Rodney Marsh and Francis Lee made for an impressive scoring roster, a Jimmy Greenhoff brace unable to prevent the visitors tumbling out – defeat quashing any hopes of silverware going the way of Stoke, who the year before had lifted the League Cup.
In winning their only major honour to date, The Potters had overcome Chelsea in the final – who themselves needed FA Cup advancement due to fitful league performances and recent League Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Norwich.
Making a south coast visit to second division Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea made their player-for-player superiority count with two Peter Osgood goals, although both sides would find their number reduced on a Goldstone Ground afternoon that was more grapple than gripping – the referee booking nine and issuing marching orders to Albion defender George Ley and Chelsea skipper Ron Harris.
Captain of the Stamford Bridge outfit when they won the cup in 1970, Harris was not the only FA Cup winner to be dismissed that day – at Molineux Tony Dunne, a member of victorious Manchester United side of 1963, was ordered off as they suffered defeat to Wolves.
Behind to a second minute strike from home skipper Mike Bailey, a 40,000 crowd saw Wolves dominate the opening the 45 minutes, spurning a number of chances to settle things before half-time. In the charge of Scot Tommy Docherty for only the fourth time since being appointed on December 22 (United still to win for their new boss), the visitors displayed the waywardness that cost Frank O’Farrell his job and had left them hovering just above the relegation zone.
After the break they produced a more rousing display, but any semblance of FA Cup romanticism in regard to Bobby Charlton and Denis Law (each in their final season with the club), ending their Old Trafford days with a last Wembley hurrah receded further when Dunne, on as a substitute, was sent from the field following his part in a confrontation with Wolves winger Steve Kindon.
Shortly after Dunne’s departure, with the final whistle Law and Charlton also trooped off, the trio, the three remaining members of the cup winning team from ten years before, each having just played their last FA Cup tie in a Manchester United shirt – the early goal from Bailey securing safe fourth round passage for in-form Wolves while leaving United with only the league programme to occupy them.
At about the time Dunne was heading to the dressing room, Bob Stokoe, six weeks into his tenure as manager of midtable, second division unit Sunderland, made a final throw of the dice in trying to salvage a draw on their visit to Notts County.
Trailing the Division Three side to a first half Les Bradd goal, Stokoe, (who had already seen goalkeeper Jim Montgomery deny Bradd a second with a save described as ‘miraculous‘ by one press box observer), went for broke in switching centre-back Dave Watson from defence to attack – the move paying dividend when the makeshift striker headed a late leveler in securing a Roker Park replay.
The FA Cup of 1972-73 had not heard the last of Stokoe, Montgomery and Watson……………
FA CUP ROUND THREE – 1972-73 (13/1/1973):
Burnley 0 Liverpool 0 (R 3-0); Watford 0 Sheffield United 1; Reading 2 Doncaster Rovers 0; Notts County 1 Sunderland 1 (R 2-0), Sheffield Wednesday 2 Fulham 0; Grimsby Town 0 Preston North End 0 (R 0-1); Wolves 1 Manchester United 0; West Bromwich Albion 1 Nottingham Forest 1 (R 0-0, 3-1);
Luton Town 2 Crewe Alexandra 0; Everton 3 Aston Villa 2; Swindon Town 2 Birmingham City 0; Stockport County 0 Hull City 0 (R 2-0); Newcastle United 2 Bournemouth 0; QPR 0 Barnet 0 (R 3-0); Portsmouth 1 Bristol City 1 (R 4-1); Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Chelsea 2; Norwich City 1 Leeds United 1 (R 1-1, 0-5); Plymouth Argyle 1 Middlesbrough 0; Bradford City 2 Blackpool 1; Millwall 3 Newport County 0;
Carlisle United 2 Huddersfield Town 2 (R 0-1); Crystal Palace 2 Southampton 0; Scunthorpe United 2 Cardiff City 3; Port Vale 0 West Ham United 1; Margate 0 Spurs 6; Charlton Athletic 1 Bolton Wanderers 1 (R 4-0); Arsenal 2 Leicester City 2 (R 1-2); York City 0 Oxford United 1; Peterborough 0 Derby County 1; Chelmsford City 1 Ipswich Town 3; Orient 1 Coventry City 4;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.