When Tottenham won the Cup in 1967 to go with third place in the table it was to cap a marvelous season that saw us playing some splendid football. From a year that carries many personal memories as I clocked up endless train/coach miles we look back at that Cup campaign that finished with our third Cup win in seven seasons. The Third Round saw us travel to Millwall, then in the Second Division. The Den was a fortress where Millwall had a tremendous record and fans who guaranteed a hostile welcome. On a muddy pitch (right) Tottenham fought out a 0-0 draw with both sides having chances. The replay was another close affair and was decided when a Greaves shot came back off the goalie for Gilzean to score the only goal. Portsmouth in the next round also put up a tough fight but Spurs were always the better side. Gilzean opened the scoring early in the second half. He made the tie safe a few minutes later and Greaves popped in a third. Portsmouth pulled one back late on but a packed Shelf was chanting ‘were gonna win the cup.’ Left - Gilzean is outnumbered by Pompey defenders. The fifth Round and Bristol City came to The Lane and like the previous rounds gave Tottenham a fight before Tottenham won 2-0. Greaves opened the scoring after ten minutes. Spurs should have finished the tie off. Then early in the second half City were given a penalty. Jennings saved but the kicked was retaken because of incursion. Right - Mackay leads the side out in the Semi. City changed kickers, the ball flew wide and the biggest danger was past. Then in the dying moments Spurs had a penalty and there was never any doubt as Greaves popped in his second of the afternoon in a performance I remember one paper describing as ‘unpolished.’ Left - Full Time in the semi. After just a few minutes Spurs had won a throw in and a City player picked the ball up and threw it into Dave Mackay’s face. Mackay grabbed the player by the throat and was telling him what he thought as the ref ran up pointing to the stands and we feared the worse. Mackay later said he thought he was going to be sent off and screamed at the opponent ‘tell him what you did go on tell him.’ And to my surprise he did and the ref let the moment pass. The quarter final saw us travel to St Andrews and Birmingham City in the first game outside London. A tough game ended goalless and Jennings needed to make a great save near the end which the home side appealed was over the line. Before the replay their captain made the headlines in all the papers saying the tie would be decided by one goal. Spurs won 6-0. Terry Venables, who didn’t score too many opened the scoring in the opening moments and then shocked the home fans with a second midway through the half. Gilzean headed a third and the tie was over at the break. Greaves added two more and just before the end Frank Saul who came in for in for Cliff Jones at Birmingham got the sixth. Right - Nicholson leads the side out in the Final In the semi final it would be Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough. Forest and ourselves were sitting second and third in the table at that point. In an excellent game it was Forest who looked the better side early on but Jimmy Greaves gave Spurs the lead. Frank Saul added a second after the turn around and despite Forest giving us a few scares we were Wembley bound. Left - Robertson opens the scoring in the final. Chelsea provided the opponents in the first ever all London final in a game where Chelsea never really threatened and where both teams main strike threats were closely marked it was left to midfielder Alan Mullery just before the break to try a shot from outside the box. This was blocked and fell to Jimmy Robertson whose first time effort gave us a deserved lead. Spurs had the better of the game and in the second half the ball came to Saul from a long throw by Mackay who turned and fired home a second. Chelsea did pull one back close to the end but Tottenham never looked likely to let their fifth FA Cup triumph slip away. It was a long way from the best they had played in a wonderful season but it was our Cup for the third time in seven seasons. Above - Alan Mullery, Dave Mackay, Cyril Knowles and Jimmy Robertson Mackay (the man many wrote off when he broke his leg a second time) and Jones won their third Cup winners medals. It being the first year that subs had been available in the final, even if neither side used them. Jones played in four of the Cup games and Phil Beal one. Right - Sunday morning and Nicholson and Mackay at the Town Hall. The winning side was Jennings, Kinnear (possibly man of the match in the Final), Knowles, Mullery, England, Mackay, Robertson, Greaves, Gilzean, Venables & Saul. Tottenham had finished third in the table, behind Forest on goal difference. Apart from a few ‘dodgy’ performances in September and October Spurs had played well and had gone undefeated from January 14th to the end of the season. I still think but for those dreadful few weeks we would have won the double again but still a season worth remembering. Top image - Cyril Knowles, Frank Saul and Mike England.
COYS Keith Harrison. t- Keith 16024542 f - https://www.facebook.com/keith.harrison.9659 You can my full archive at - View Full Bio
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Features
Flying Down to Rio History of T.H.F.C. Tribute to Bill Nicholson Talking Tottenham Early Legends The Road to Turin International Connections Hotspur Towers Most Read Articles
The 100 Year War Interview with Marina Sirtis A Long Dark Shadow By Royal Appointment School Report: An Insight into the Younger Eric Dier Dear Jimmy All Change At Spurs Hotspur Towers History Of THFC: Part 1 Passage to India: Rohan Rickets Thanks For The Memories Our Tommy Carroll The AVB Files: Part1 The Lilywhites You The Jury The Hand Of Hugo Connection - Argentina Creating a Reputation One Hotspur Archives
August 2018
Categories
All
|