GWLADYS
With standing packed in a very
long queue for such a long
time, I felt I was walking like
Frankenstein’s Monster when
I finally left the queue with
ticket in hand. Immediately, a
guy came up to me and asked
me to sell my ticket to him - I’ll
leave my answer to him, to your
imagination! Anyway we travelled
to London with one ticket between
us. Tickets were like gold dust
in Liverpool, and they couldn’t
be acquired for love nor money.
So many people were trying,
unsuccessfully, to buy them.
On the Friday, we had no luck in
buying one in London, but a local
in an east end pub told us to try
in the Regents Palace Hotel, by
Piccadilly Circus. So next morning,
we went there, more in hope than
expectation. However, it turned
out to be good advice, as my Dad
bought a ticket from a rugby
league fan from Leeds, who was
in London for both Cup Finals.
We were delighted to have a ticket
international
goalkeeper,
Ron
Springett, brought him down in
the penalty area. The score at half
time remained 1-0 to Sheffield
Wednesday.
Everton’s
goalkeeper,
Gordon
West, had a thigh injury which
prevented him from taking goal
kicks. As a result, Brian Harris
took them all, and never wasted
a ball in the whole match. He
found an Everton player with
every kick. Twelve minutes into
the second half, Wednesday scored
again through David Ford, and all
seemed lost for us Blues.
However, a young and unknown
striker bought from Plymouth
Argyle, Mike Trebilcock, scored
two minutes later to reduce the
arrears. Trebilcock had been a
late, and surprise, replacement
for the regular centre forward,
Fred Pickering, who had been out
injured for some weeks.
Better still was to come when,
within five minutes, Trebilcock
You could virtually touch the
atmosphere - it was that real.
The celebrations continued into,
and through, the night in London.
The streets, pubs and clubs were
alive with excitement and, to be
fair, lots of Sheffield Wednesday
supporters joined in too. There
were no problems anywhere.
I clearly recall the water in the
fountain in Trafalgar Square being
turned blue, as someone had
introduced a load of blue dye into
it! No price could be put on being
there that day - no money in the
world could have bought those
memories.
So Everton became only the
second team in the history of the
FA Cup to come from two goals
down to win, without the need
for extra time, penalties etc. No
team has repeated that feat since.
The following day’s homecoming
really was something else. Lime
Street, and the city centre, has
“The emotion that followed will live with
me forever. I saw grown men crying”
each, even though it meant we’d
be split up in the stadium.
On approaching Wembley Way, the
atmosphere was nothing less than
brilliant. It was like a carnival,
and unmatched by anything
previously.
Lots of supporters had blue & white
boater hats, and my Dad had a
label on his which said “EVERTON
FOR THE CUP - WEDNESDAY FOR
THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK”
It was all good humoured, and
both sets of supporters were in
high spirits, with not a hint of any
trouble.
The match started, and within
four minutes, Wednesday’s Jim
McCalliog had a shot which was
deflected off an Everton player,
into the net. An absolute sickener!
Everton tried hard to get on
terms, and Alex Young, the Golden
Vision, had a goal disallowed for
a dubious offside decision. The
same player was unlucky not to be
awarded a penalty when England
scored the equaliser with a fine
strike from the edge of the penalty
area. The Everton supporters were
jubilant, and a famous moment
occurred when Eddie Kavanagh
ran onto the pitch, to celebrate.
The incident has been shown, in
the media, so many times over the
years.
The Blues had the bit between
their teeth now, and were
dominating play. With 15 minutes
to go, Derek Temple raced clear,
from the halfway line, and beat
Springett with a perfectly placed
shot. I have never heard a roar like
the one that greeted that goal!
The final whistle concluded the
best FA Cup Final ever, witnessed
by 100,000 people (at least!)
The
emotions
that
followed
will live with me forever. I
saw grown men crying with
happiness, younger guys scaling
the stanchions inside the stadium,
and everyone chanting, singing,
dancing and making merry.
30
never seen so many people at any
one time. You actually couldn’t
see the pavements for the number
of people crowded onto them. All
along the victory route, the roads
were lined with thousands of
people welcoming the team back
with the FA Cup.
These were
sights and sounds that I’ll never
forget.
In later years, the great Alex Young
said that it was the best spirit he’d
ever known in any football team. I
think that sums up perfectly how
the Blues came from two goals
down to win the FA Cup, on that
never-to-be-forgotten day.