On This Day – 10th April

The inaugural FA Cup Third Place Play-Off took place on this day in 1970 between losing semi-finalists Watford and Manchester United. The match was played at Highbury as a neutral venue. Manchester United were the match 2-0 in front of a crowd of only 15,105. United had lost to Leeds in their semi final and […]

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On This Day – 7th February

George Best went on a personal crusade against Northampton Town on this day in 1970, scoring six goals for Manchester United in an 8-2 win. United utterly dominated the FA Cup Fifth Round tie, played on a mudbath of a pitch at Northampton’s former County Ground home. A record crowd of just under 22,000 saw […]

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Historic Matches No.4 – Italy 4 West Germany 3

This ‘Historic Match’ was between West Germany and Italy in the 1970 World Cup Semi Final in Mexico. It is known as ‘The Game of the Century’ and is widely considered one of the greatest World Cup matches of all time. The match really came to life in Extra Time. It was only then that […]

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On This Day – 4th November

Joe Royle’s penalty is saved by Wolfgang Kleff The 1970/71 season was the first to see penalty shootouts used to separate teams that were level on aggregate and away goals. It was on this day in 1970 that the first shootout was played in the competition between Everton and West German side Borussia Monchengladbach. Both […]

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On This Day – 5th August

The first ever penalty shootout in England took place on this day back in 1970, with Manchester United beating Hull City at Boothferry Park in the Watney Cup.United won 4-3 in the shootout to win the semi final, with Hull goalkeeper Ian McKechnie saving Denis Law’s penalty. He then went from hero to villain by […]

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On This Day – 25th May

Bobby Moore gets lead away for questioning by the Colombia authorities Bobby Moore was arrested in Colombia on this day 50 years ago in the build-up to the World Cup in Mexico.The England captain was accused of stealing a bracelet in a jewellery shop called ‘Fuego Verde’; situated inside the lobby of the hotel where […]

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On This Day – 29th April

It was on this day 50 years ago that Chelsea and Leeds United played out one of the dirtiest matches in English footballing history. The two were contesting the FA Cup Final Replay which Chelsea won 2-1 in extra-time to lift the FA Cup for the first time in their history. The game is mainly […]

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On This Day – 10th April

Football has long been used for experiments over the years. Golden Goal, Silver Goal and kick-ins replaced throw-ins in the 1994/95 season in the lower leagues in England, Belgium and Hungary. One experiment trialled in the first five seasons of the 1970’s was a Third and Fourth Place Play Off between the two losing semi-finallists […]

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