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"Tudor's gone down for Newcastle. Radford again. What a goal! What a goal! Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford!"(John Motson, Match Of The Day. 5/2/72)
Although Hereford United had been playing in the FA Cup since 1924, and had earned a national reputation as giant killers, it was one afternoon at Edgar Street in 1972 that indelibly etched the name of the Southern League team in the annals of footballing history and which ensured their lasting fame around the world. When Hereford were drawn at home to Cheltenham in the fourth qualifying round there was little to warn of the drama in store over the next three-and-a-half months. A 2-1 victory meant a place in the first round proper for the 21st successive season. A hard fought draw at Kings Lynn was followed by a 1-0 win in the replay and a second round match against 4th Division Northampton at Edgar Street. 9,519 spectators saw a goalless draw and the replay at Northampton was also drawn 2-2. As injury time approached in the second replay at West Brom's Hawthorns ground, Hereford, trailing 1-0 seemed to be going out of the cup. But Ken Mallender's 20 yarder revived hopes and Dudley Tyler's injury time winner secured a third round tie against 1st Division giants Newcastle United at St. James's Park. Bad weather delayed the tie until January 24th, but it took just 17 seconds for the massive Hereford support in the 39,303 crowd to erupt as Brian Owen's shot beat Ian McFaul and although John Tudor and Malcolm MacDonald briefly put the Magpies ahead, player-manager Colin Addison's 25 yard shot earned Hereford a remarkable draw. What happened in the replay has long since passed into football folklore. On a quagmire of a pitch United's part-timers were trailing, with four minutes left, against a team of super-fit First Division stars, several of them internationals. Radford played a one-two with Owen and let fly from 35 yards. Spectators perched in overlooking trees risked death in their celebrations! The goal was captured by the Match Of The Day cameras and is still shown all over the world. In extra time Ricky George netted the winner and Hereford became the first non-league club to register a victory over a 1st division side since 1949. The fourth round again saw United draw first division opposition. This time West Ham United were the opponents. After drawing 0-0 in front of a capacity Edgar Street crowd, United finally bowed out of the cup losing 3-1 to the Hammers. with World Cup hero, Geoff Hurst, scoring a hat-trick for the Hammers. The game was watched by 42,271 spectators with thousands locked out. Revenge was exacted two years later when having drawn 1-1 at Upton Park in the 3rd round, United beat West Ham 2-1 at Edgar Street before losing at home to Bristol City in round four. Although 1971-72 was the season for which United will always be remembered the club has a long tradition of being involved in Cup upsets. The club played its very first FA Cup match against Kidderminster Harriers in September 1924 losing 7-2 and reached the first round for the first time in 1932-33, narrowly losing 2-1 at Third Division (North) side Accrington Stanley. 1948-49 saw the second round of the FA Cup reached for the first time, after a 3-0 first-round victory at Kidderminster in front of a mammoth 9,155 spectators. Exeter City ended United's run with a narrow 2-1 victory. The second round was again reached the following season and en route Hereford recorded their first-ever five-figure gate at Edgar Street, 10,150 seeing them gain an easy 3-0 win over Bromsgrove Rovers in the first round. United were again out of luck with the draw and narrowly lost 2-1 at Weymouth in the second round, the Seasiders going on to play Manchester United at Old Trafford in the next round. 1950-51 saw United claim the first of many Football League Club scalps in the FA Cup, when they beat a strong Scunthorpe United side with a second-minute goal from winger Billy Dodds. Hereford again failed to reach the third round when a new record Edgar Street crowd of 15,526 saw them lose 3-0 to a powerful Newport County side. The Southern League Cup was secured for the first time in 1951-52 with a two-legged victory over Guildford City and the following season, floodlit football was seen at Edgar Street for the first time. Scunthorpe United extracted their revenge over United in the FA Cup, robbing them yet again of that elusive third-round spot with a 2-1 replay victory. Hereford beat League opposition again in 1953-54, this time in the form of a 2-0 FA Cup replay triumph over Exeter City but yet again, Lady Luck came up with another away tie. Lancashire Combination leaders Wigan Athletic were the hosts and an unbelievable 24,526 crowd saw United slump to a 4-1 defeat. The attendance still stands today as a record for a crowd between two non-league clubs and it is surely one that is never likely to be beaten. In 1956-57 beat Aldershot in the FA Cup before losing 3-2 at home to Southend in the second round. They also lifted the Southern League Cup again and drew with second-division Swansea Town in the Welsh Cup when they had six Welsh internationals in their line-up. 1957-58 was United's best ever in Cup competitions. Wins over Heanor Town and Newport (Isle of Wight) set up a second-round home tie with Third Division (South) side Queens Park Rangers. In front of 10,131 fans, United romped to an amazing 6-1 victory, a winning margin that although since equalled, still stands as a record for a non-league club against a league club in the FA Cup. At last, after years of trying, Hereford United were in the third round of the FA Cup and were rewarded with a home tie against first division giants Sheffield Wednesday. A record attendance, which still stands today, of 18,114 saw the northerners win 3-0. The Welsh Cup also provided some outstanding results and three weeks after the Sheffield Wednesday game, United travelled to Ninian Park to take on second-division Cardiff City. Incredibly, United's part-timers came away with a magnificent 2-0 victory. 1965/66 saw United back to their best cup-fighting traditions, when despite no one giving them a chance against third division leaders Millwall, they pulled off a massive cup shock by beating the Londoners with a marvellous strike by never-to-be-forgotten centre-forward Ron Fogg. The result left only two non-league clubs in the FA Cup and almost inevitably they were drawn against each other, United going under 2-1 on a snow-covered Bedford Town pitch. In 1968 Hereford reached the Welsh Cup Final which saw them play Cardiff City over two legs, the Welshmen winning 6-1 on aggregate. In 1990 they again reached the final playing Wrexham at Cardiff Arms Park. Colin Robinson gave United a 34th minute lead after Darren Peacock touched on a Gary Bowyer free kick for him to crack the ball home. Wrexham levelled the scores in the 55th minute through Gary Worthington. Ian Benbow restored the lead and despite Gary Bowyer hitting a post in injury time, United couldn't add to their tally and settled for a wonderful 2-1 victory. In 1996 United made a brave FA Cup replay exit at mighty Tottenham Hotspur and in 1997 they reached the Third Round of the FA Cup for the second time in five years and were again drawn to face Tottenham, this time at home. In front of a capacity gate of 8,800, United soon found themselves 0 - 1 down due to a Ronnie Rosenthal goal. In the second half though, Dean Smith had a golden opportunity to level the scores when United were awarded a penalty in front of the Meadow End. Smith sent his penalty straight over the bar much to the horror of the home fans. This agony was forgotten minutes later when John Brough headed in from a corner to give United a well deserved 1-1 draw. The replay at White Hart Lane saw United bow out of the competition, losing 5-1 on the night. The highlight of United's first season in the Football Conference was the ironic and almost inevitable clash with Brighton in the FA Cup, following a replay victory over another League Club, Colchester United, 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the away game. Neil Grayson netted twice to defeat the "Seagulls" 2-1 and leave fans savouring sweet revenge. Another home tie followed but this time Tranmere Rovers romped to an emphatic 3-0 victory in the third round. United have not been completely devoid of success during their time in the Conference and the FA Cup, true to Hereford tradition, has provided some respite. During the 1999/2000 season, United defeated both Hartlepool United and York City at home before taking on Premiership side Leicester City, also at Edgar Street. United had by far the better of play and speedy winger Paul Parry ended a terrific run by hitting the post with only minutes to go but the "Foxes" held out for a draw. The return leg at Filbert Street saw United take the game to the Premiership outfit and go in front with a header from striker Paul Fewings A disputed linesman's decision kept Leicester in the tie when Matt Elliot scored for the Foxes from what looked to be an offside position. United fought bravely but a goal in extra-time saw Izzet score for Leicester to prevent the tie from going to penalties. (Parts of this article were written by Ron Parrott.)
Postscript:
Two seasons later we came full circle by finishing third in League Two and sealing automatic promotion to League One (the old 3rd Division) 20 years after suffering relegation from that level. (And were then promptly relegated back to the bottom tier where we remained for a couple of seasons before once again finding ourselves playing non-league football and struggling to pay the bills.) |
BOLSA STILL
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