MANCHESTER UNITED 2 CITY 2
City win 4-3 on aggregate
League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg
17th December 1969
attendance 63,418
Scorers
City Bowyer(17), Summerbee(82)
United Edwards(23), Law(59)
ref Jim Finney
United Stepney, Edwards, Dunne, Stiles, Ure, Sadler, Morgan, Crerand, Charlton, Law, Best – sub Kidd
City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Connor, Lee, Young, Bowyer – sub Owen(unused)
Our lead didn’t last long, though, because United scored about five minutes afterwards, when they made their first real attack. Paul Edwards went through from a defensive position and hit a great goal into the top corner of the net. We led 3-2 on aggregate with the second half still to come.
That was when George Best picked the ball up 35 yards from goal, wriggled his way through the City defence and hit a shot which Joe Corrigan first grasped, then let drop. Denis Law didn’t miss chances like those and he struck the ball into the net, bringing the aggregate score level. Yet we were still playing well and, although United had equalised, when I looked at the faces of their players it seemed to me that they still felt under pressure. They should have been registering real delight and oozing confidence, but I sensed that they weren’t able to believe in themselves, even then.
We built up another attack and a free kick was awarded against United, just outside the 18 yard box. It was an indirect free kick and, as they lined up the defensive wall, the referee still had his arm pointing skywards. When Franny Lee ran forward to take the kick, we all knew he was going to shoot, and to this day I don’t think he could explain why he hammered in a direct shot when the kick was an indirect award. But hit the ball he did, and Alex Stepney tried to save it. He could have stood and let the ball go into the net and it wouldn’t have counted but, instead he did his best to stop the shot and Mike Summerbee raced in to put the ball past him.
Naturally, Alex took some stick over that goal. But since that match I’ve spoken to a lot of goalkeepers about the incident and they all agree that when you see the ball coming at you it’s an instinctive reaction to try and stop it. Especially when it comes from behind a wall of defenders for, though it may be an indirect free kick, there’s always the danger of a deflection. I still think Alex did the right thing.
There were no more goals … we’d won the tie 4-3 over the two matches.
FROM BLUE BLOOD THE MIKE DOYLE STORY
IAN BOWYER PUTS CITY 1-0 UP
…Law, apart from his goal was just not in the match while Charlton was superbly shadowed by Connor, a job he fulfills in a most excellent manner. You didn’t see much of Connor in 90 minutes of thrills and spills. But neither did you see much of Charlton.
Peter Gardner
…The tie took a dramatic new turn in the 83rd minute. Bowyer was fouled by Morgan and Lee decided that cramp or no cramp, he was going to take the free kick. He was convinced it was a direct one, so he fired it hard on target and it led to the goal that sealed United’s fate.
Ronald Crowther
GOALS FROM EDWARDS AND LAW BRINGS THE TIE LEVEL ON AGGREGATE
FROM FRANCIS LEE, TRIUMPH, TREACHERY AND TOILET ROLLS
We were without Colin Bell, who was injured, while United made the unwise decision, in my view, to drop young Brian Kidd and bring back Denis law. I’m a huge fan of Denis, one of the greatest players in the world at his peak, but in the middle of the 1969/70 season, he was no longer at the top of his game. United brought him back into their side even though he’d suffered a string of injuries and had no hint of the form he’d possessed at his best. Young ‘Kiddo’, However, was certainly in form but, for the semi-final second leg, he was named as substitute. In our dressing room, we were more than happy about that.
Mike Doyle, who was rabidly anti-United, never missed a chance to wind up the boys from Old Trafford and, when he heard about United’s team, he offered to buy all the United players dinner if they beat us! He was so often a standout performer in Derby clashes, and the League Cup semi-final games were no different. The first game was a thriller and the game at Old Trafford continued the drama. We had the perfect start with a goal on 17 minutes, after I’d combined with Mike, Summerbee on the right. His cross was neatly controlled by Neil Young, who found space, but his shot was blocked near the line by Ian Ure, only for Ian, Bowyer to poke it in at the second attempt. We were now 3-1 up on aggregate and looking good.
United were always in it, though, and when they scored midway through the half, there looked to be a hint of good fortune about it. Pat Crerand laid on a good ball for their promising young full-back, Paul Edwards, who nudged the ball forward and let fly from 18 yards. It bobbled as he hit it and he seemed to strike it at least partly off his shin, It didn’t matter, it flew past Joe Corrigan to make it 3-2 over the two legs. The tie was still very much up for grabs and United must have fancied their chances when their gamble on Denis law seemed to pay off. Denis pounced on a Corrigan error When he spilled George Best’s shot, following a typically impressive 50-yard run, and the master forward smacks it home to make it 3-3 three three on aggregate.
Then the role of the dice on Law suddenly backfired. Just as United scented blood, Denis seemed to want to go off with a niggle. Kidd actually walked on as substitute, but Crerand bundled him off again and pulled Denis back on to the park because Nobby Stiles was receiving treatment. It was total confusion in the United dugout and Law stayed on. All this nonsense seemed to affect United’s momentum and we wrestled back the initiative. I thought about coming off myself because I thought I’d tweaked a muscle or had cramp, and I never got cramp! But trainer Dave Ewing convinced me to play on. I’m glad I did!
with time running out, Ian Bowyer was blocked off by Willie Morgan about 28 yards out. Referee Jim Finney Raised his left arm for an indirect free kick but, to be honest, I didn’t even notice that. United lined up their wall on the 18-yard line and I just ran up and let fly with my right foot. It flew straight through the ‘wall’ (they must have forgot the cement!) and Alex Stepney instinctively went to save it. He may have been unsighted as the ball zipped through the wall, but, anyway, it bounced off him and Mike Summerbee pounced to knock the ball in. had Stepney stepped aside, my shot wouldn’t have counted as the dead ball was indirect, but he didn’t, and we drew 2-2 on the night. Winning 4-3 on aggregate. We were at Wembley for a cup final for the second year on the bounce, this time to play West Brom.
Stepney, who got a lot of criticism in the papers afterwards, really had no choice but to try and save it. It could have taken a deflection off the wall and he had to make his decision in a fraction of a second. We were all relieved. None more so than Mike after he tucked in the rebound. ‘I had to score’, He told me as we ran to the Stretford End to celebrate, ‘I’d just missed a sitter from three yards before that!’…
MIKE SUMMERBEE SCORES THE GOAL THAT SENDS CITY TO WEMBLEY
I was there in Stretford end paddock there was no way Stepney could hold franny Lees shot from the free kick even though the ref indicated indirect free kick while Utd were preparing the wall , buzzer raced forward and smashed the rebound high into the net we blues were ecstatic you could hear a pin drop in Stretford end so of to snowy Wembley and a rubbish pitch to beat West Brom to win the LEAGUE CUP !