Memory Lane Gary Moore

[Mick]

Mick it was the 26th Feb and a Saturday afternoon , Billy Best's goal was a great lob over the Workington goalkeeper Mike Rogen , I think that it was ment to of been played the Friday night before but was changed to the Saturday because of the power strikes when a lot of games were rearranged , the week before West Ham played Hereford United in the FA Cup on a Monday afternoon .

Thanks for that, I was going by the usually reliable sufc db . I went to that West Ham game too as work was affected by power outages (my excuse anyway). Dudley Tyler of Hereford was making his name in the game, shortly to be signed by West Ham.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

Mick it was the 26th Feb and a Saturday afternoon , Billy Best's goal was a great lob over the Workington goalkeeper Mike Rogen , I think that it was ment to of been played the Friday night before but was changed to the Saturday because of the power strikes when a lot of games were rearranged , the week before West Ham played Hereford United in the FA Cup on a Monday afternoon .

Load of us from Leigh/Southend went to that West Ham game, (think they won 3-1?), as it was either half term, or Belfairs was closed due to power cuts?.

 

[AndyT]

Of course, that was the game after the famous win against Newcastle United.

Whilst Googling, I came across this wonderful short film on the match against West Ham, mentioned above :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb7xm-QUBwU

 

[LCBB72]

Load of us from Leigh/Southend went to that West Ham game, (think they won 3-1?), as it was either half term, or Belfairs was closed due to power cuts?.

It was half team ,I remember Teresa had the Monday and Tuesday off , not like now when the schools shut for a whole week ,

 

[AndyT]

Yep, checking it again the match itself was a Monday (14th February).

Researching it a little more, Hereford played Newcastle in the replay on Saturday 5th, then played West Ham the following Wednesday (9th) and that replay on the 14th, so 3 games in 9 days against First Division opposition, which is quite something for a non-league side.

On that film it looked packed, so I just checked and the crowd was 42,271, on a Monday afternoon, which is remarkable! :omg::thumbsup:

 

[LCBB72]

Yep, checking it again the match itself was a Monday (14th February).

Researching it a little more, Hereford played Newcastle in the replay on Saturday 5th, then played West Ham the following Wednesday (9th) and that replay on the 14th, so 3 games in 9 days against First Division opposition, which is quite something for a non-league side.

On that film it looked packed, so I just checked and the crowd was 42,271, on a Monday afternoon, which is remarkable! :omg::thumbsup:

And the West Ham game would not of been ticket only ,you just paid your money at the turnstyle .

 

[AndyT]

When you see that sort of crowd, you realize how far down the FA Cup has gone from those days when it was something quite special.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

When you see that sort of crowd, you realize how far down the FA Cup has gone from those days when it was something quite special.

Very true. Back then, FA Cup attendances were per normal for all clubs. It meant a lot more than today, and although we all wanted a home tie, get drawn away and we still went in decent numbers.
One that comes to mind, was Exeter away in the 1st rd in 76. We went in a mini bus, which left The Elms at 11pm on the Friday evening, and travelled overnight. I wrote an article on the weekends 'adventures' back on here several years back.
Apart from us, we still had a couple of coaches from the supporters club down there.
Drew 1-1, and the replay was 2 days later at the Hall. Not like this rubbish today, when you have to wait 10 days!.

 

[LCBB72]

When you see that sort of crowd, you realize how far down the FA Cup has gone from those days when it was something quite special.

It still means a lot to most clubs that are below the top six in the premier league .