Posted by Exile on September 28, 2007, 1:32 pm, in reply to "This Weekend ....." --Previous Message--
ChrisB's commentary on 1964 certainly brought back a few memories! I remember the Whitby match, and thought they were far fitter and stronger than us, and unfortunately did deserve to win. As for the Chelmsford match, we did not do ourselves justice. Yes, they were from a higher league, but City were not on form that day.
Doesn't it say something about crowds when Ilford's 534 spectators was the lowest gate of the season! The league table showed Wycombe having an unusually bad season. Our own average position throughout the sixties was about 9th, and given the superiority of the Isthmian League in amateur circles City were among the top sides of the day. I always felt that the 'slide' set in after the Alvechurch FA Cup saga of 1971/72, and was only made worse by the ending of the amateur era, when money became the major factor in the non league game.
Back to tomorrow's game: I'm unable to travel down, but wish the lads every success. We've got a great team, and they'll do us proud against WSM. We have every chance of pulling off a bit of giant killing. Can't wait for the results to come through!
: September 29th
:
: NOW
:
: Back to the FA Cup again this weekend as
: City seek to reach the Third Qualifying
: Round for the first time for four years, but
: to do so they have the difficult task of
: overcoming a side two Steps higher than
: themselves in the Pyramid.
: As far as I’m aware Oxford City and
: Weston-super-Mare have never met before, and
: we have never played a Conference South team
: either so this is very much unknown
: territory for us. Weston-super-Mare for
: their part will be trying to erase the
: memory of last year’s defeat at the same
: stage of the competition by a team three
: Steps below themselves: Hungerford Town.
:
:
: THEN
:
:
:
:
: On September 29th 1964 City were involved
: in a mid-week league fixture in Essex and,
: under the headline CITY COLLECT TWO POINTS
: AT ILFORD, the following day’s Oxford Mail
: reported:
: “... City were always in command and could
: easily have doubled the score against a
: young and inexperienced Essex side who are
: only a shadow of their former greatness.
: From the start – ten minutes late because of
: heavy traffic – Tony Bradbury and Steve
: Morton had the Ilford defence in a tangle
: with their 4-2-4 plan.
: ...Oxford went ahead after 38 minutes when
: Morton pounced on a loose ball and scored
: from fully 25 yards out.
: ...Ilford, desperately anxious to please
: their 534 spectators – the season’s lowest
: gate yet – tried hard to break the City
: stranglehold but Ian Rundle confidently
: controlled the Oxford rearguard who gave few
: chances to the home side.
: ...Oxford put the matter beyond doubt ten
: minutes from the end when Woodley quickly
: brought the ball under control on the edge
: of the penalty area and lashed in an
: accurate shot.”
:
: Though several of the names on the programme
: that evening seemed permanent fixtures in
: that era, the season had actually seen quite
: a few changes with six of the previous
: year’s ‘regulars’ (Buswell, Crossingham,
: Goodison, Harris, Howlett, and Maskell)
: moving on. New signing from Alton Town John
: Shippey, who would in time become England’s
: keeper, was in goal and Welsh international
: captain John Fisher was in defence.
:
: The 1st XI had an excellent season in the
: league winning 20 matches, the same as the
: previous year, and, though they scored fewer
: goals, moved up to a final position of 5th,
: the best finish they would achieve for many
: years. Much of the credit for the victories
: would have to go to the goal-scoring feats
: of John Woodley who scored a club record of
: 64 goals during the season including six
: hat-tricks. He scored his 200th 1st XI goal
: in March. A 4-0 Boxing Day victory over old
: rivals Wycombe, and a 5-0 defeat of Bromley
: on the last day of the season (another
: Woodley hat-trick) were the high points. On
: the other hand, a 7-1 defeat at
: champions-elect Hendon in March, and a 2-1
: home defeat by Enfield, who played the first
: 20 minutes of the game with only eight men,
: were disappointing.
: In the FA Cup City fought their way through
: to the Fourth Qualifying Round. A 2-1
: defeat of Banbury Spencer (“a dismal affair;
: with a sad lack of enthusiasm”) was followed
: by a 2-0 win over Newbury Town, and a 4-2
: defeat of Hemel Hempstead, after a 1-1 draw,
: gave City a tie at Southern League
: Chelmsford City. The professionals won the
: day 6-2.
: Because of their performances in the
: previous season, City entered the Amateur
: Cup in the final Qualifying Round. City,
: with three Oxford University players
: (Bristowe, Farr and Hardcastle) in the team,
: were held 2-2 by Hertford Town at the White
: House, but won the replay 2-1. They readily
: overcame Southall 6-0 in the First Round
: Proper and then squeezed past Hitchin Town
: after a replay to set up a home tie with
: Northern League Whitby Town. The eagerly
: awaited match brought in close on 4000
: spectators, but the game didn’t live up to
: expectations and Whitby won 2-1 on their way
: to facing Hendon at Wembley in the Final,
: where they lost 3-1.
: In the Senior Cup City had two 7-1 wins:
: against Quarry Nomads in the semi-final and
: against the holders, Morris Motors, in the
: Final.
:
: The two league tables above will remind
: many (some?) supporters of the teams City
: used to face and it's interesting to think
: how they are faring now.
:
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