Southend v Manchester City FA Cup 4th Round 1955/56

SOUTHEND UNITED 0 CITY 1

FA Cup 4th Round

28th January 1956

attendance 29,500

scorer Hayes

ref E Crawford

City Trautmann, Ewing, Little, Barnes, Leivers, Paul, Spurdle, Hayes, Johnstone, Dyson, Clarke

Southend Threadgold, Williamson, Howe, Duthie, Stirling, Lawler, Lockhart, McCrory, Hollis, Baron, McGuigan

From TRAUTMANN THE BIOGRAPHY by Alan Rowlands Eric Thornton of the Manchester Evening News telephoned Southend to find out some facts about the club and was amazed to hear that the match might be postponed. Thorntontravelled down to Southend, arriving in torrential rain that had been pouring over Essex for days and in his words "I booked a taxi for the ground and gazed upon a fantastic scene. Workmen were digging up the pitch. The chairman, a farmer, was watching the operation and he explained that the ordinary drains were not taking sufficient water. A zig zag trench was being cut across the pitch. The pipes were being opened, and tons of cockleshells were being tossed into them before the soil was shovelled back all over again." When Thornton's story appeared in the Evening News the nationals picked up the story and the Southend tie became the story of the fourth round. The City team arrived in Southend on Friday 27th January, the day before the match, and were more than a little worried about the pitch. The press with predictable headlines, had screamed about the pitch being a great leveller and they were looking for a shock win by the third division side. The Manchester players' trepidation was confirmed when they saw the playing area for the first time and the 'Sand And Cockleshell Heroes' headlines began to loom before them. Roy Paul wrote afterwards "The pitch was dreadful to play on and most of the lads came off with skinned knees caused by sand and shells. One man got us through the match, Bert Trautmann. Many people consider Trautmann's display that day . the finest exhibition of goalkeeping they had ever witnessed. The 25,000 crowd were in awe of his breathtaking reflexes, the Southend players were used to playing on a quagmire and City could not master the conditions. Shots flew at Trautmann from every angle, he was diving headlong at opposing forwards with heartstopping bravado and he caught, punched or tipped away everything the United forwards threw at him. Joe Hayes broke away to score the only goal and Manchester were through to face Lverpool in the 5th round. As the players were trudging wearily off the pitch, Paul commiserated with one of the Southend players, particurlarly about a penalty decision in which the referee had denied them. "Don't worry Roy, Bert would have fucking saved it anyway!"

JOE HAYES SCORES THE WINNER

  FROM AN ARTICLE BY HOWARD SOUTHWOOD, PUBLISHED IN THE SOUTHEND PROGRAMME 23RD SEPTEMBER 1986

TORRENTIAL rain turned the Roots Hall pitch into something closely resembling a ploughed field, water lay in huge pools all over the surface. Fans and officials were amazed that referee Mr. E. Crawford  from Doncaster gave the thumbs up to a pitch which hardly looked Iikely to become the setting for one of the most gripping Cup clashes ever seen in the town. · ...The match turned into an epic one which is still talked about when long standing Southend fans meet in the pub. ...A then record 29,500 people packed into the ground like sardines and witnessed one of the most amazing goalkeeping displays of all time. City’s former German Paratrooper Bert Trautmann chose that unlikely setting to turn in what he later described as "possibly the finest performance" of his career, no Blues fan present would argue with that. He twisted and dived to keep out a more or less incessant barrage of shots and headers, the most memorable being a save from a Roy Hollis shot which had goal stamped all over it. lt seemed doubly cruel that the 23rd minute goal which eventually beat Southend was one of the softest seen at the ground before or since. Little Joe Hayes stabbed the ball goalwards through the sticky mud.  Harry Threadgold had it covered until it struck full-back Arthur Williamson and trickled over the line. Hardly a goal in keeping with the pulsating action which kept supporters enthralled for 90 nail-biting minutes, ...City’s Welsh International Roy Paul said afterwards: "This was the toughest match so far for me. City will never have a tougher game either in Cup or League. These Southend boys gave everything they had in the second half and then kept coming." The then Southend boss Harry Warren told Pressmen: “Our boys  fought magnificently. I am very proud of them. Manchester City had the luck and Trautmann".