Source: TheGuardian
Chelsea v Leeds United: 1970 FA Cup final replay – live!
Launching our new twice-weekly retro live reportsBoth teams bidding for their first FA Cup after a dramatic Wembley draw Feel free to email scott.murray@theguardian.com 7.40pm GMT Leeds United go into this FA Cup final replay - the first since 1912 - hoping it won’t put the finishing touches to a triptych of misery. A season that once promised so much - an unprecedented league, cup and European treble - is coming apart at the seams. A fixture pile-up cost them their championship crown, the First Division title gifted to Everton, while Jock Stein’s Celtic bossed them in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Now this is all that’s left. Don Revie’s sensational side couldn’t end up completely empty handed, could they?But never mind the overall context of their Homeric season; Leeds won’t be happy to be contesting this replay on the merits of the first match alone. They were the better side two weeks ago, on a quagmire of a pitch at Wembley. (The pitch at the home of English football had been churned up days before its showpiece by the Horse of the Year show.) Leeds took the lead twice. On 20 minutes, Jack Charlton flapped his scrapeover at a cross; his header trickled over the goalline, half-turn by half-turn. Eddie McCreadie tried to kick it away, but took a fresh-air swipe and fell on his arse, like a drunk in a Frank Randle film. Peter Houseman equalised just before the break, his speculative long-range shot creeping into the bottom right corner under the body of Gary Sprake (who was sporting the sort of huge blond quiff not seen since ABC Television stopped making Oh Boy). Houseman celebrated by accidentally spitting all over his shirt. Continue reading......read full article
