| Memory Lane - The 1989 FA Cup Run |
| Do you remember where you were at 3pm on Saturday December 9th 1989? I do, I was on the edge of my seat at Ninian Park, Cardiff in anticipation of the biggest ever game in the history of Gloucester City AFC. |
| I was just sixteen years old (seems a long time ago now!) and I'd gone to Cardiff that day with my dad on one of the coaches run by the club. Times must've been tough way back then because we went to Wales via the Forest of Dean to avoid paying the tolls on the Severn Bridge. It was a surprisingly long journey until we reached the last Cardiff exit on the M4 and saw nine coaches meet up with the police escort to take us into Ninian Park. |
| There was waste ground right next to the stadium where we parked (I believe it's now a big athletics venue) and we were met by the imposing blue stand with 'Cardiff City Football Club' in big letters along the side. We took our seats and waited for the start of the game, and as there wasn't much of a crowd neither terrace behind the goals were opened. You might've thought it was our day looking at the advert for a local car dealer, Godfrey Harris or something similar, but it just looked like 'Godfrey' to me, in homage to our great manager! |
| This was only Cardiff's second game in the competition (they'd beaten Halesowen Town in the previous round). We'd played six games already with a 4-0 win over Mangotsfield, 2-0 at home to Barry Town in a replay after drawing 2-2 in Wales. Then Worcester came to Meadow Park, and left with their tails between their legs after losing 4-2. This was the game where Lance Morrison scored his famous bicycle kick, those stood on the right hand side behind the goal were celebrating way before those on the left! Folkestone were next, in a torrential rainstorm on the Kent coast David Payne settled it with a second minute goal, but John Shaw performed heroics to kept the City goal from being breached. |
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| Steve Talboys scores the goal that beat Dorchester in the first round proper |
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| Dorchester Town were next. They came to Meadow Park as we attempted to make history and get to the second round for the first time in history. Steve Talboys had a goal disallowed by in the 27th minute scored one for real. Lance could've put it beyond the Magpies with two chances late in the game but we held on to face Cardiff. |
| The Bluebirds took the game to us straight away. They had already had their dress rehearsal for this thanks to Halesowen, so they knew what to expect and went for the throat straight away. God only knows how they failed to score, but Wayne Noble seized upon a loose ball and brought it forward before finding Magic with a great pass. He played Stixy in and we scored! Somehow, no, great defending got us to half time still 1-0 up and then seven minutes into the second half we scored again. It didn't have the fairly tale ending that we wanted, read on for my tribute to the Tigers at Cardiff... |
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| It isn't like all of the team were heroes that day, but these four men stood out particularly. John Shaw, easily recognisable by his bald head, Nigel Green (top right) and Greg Steel (top left) kept the Cardiff attack out for 85 minutes before Morrys Scott dealt his double blow. Brian Hughes had never missed a game through injury for City, but unfortunately failed a fitness test before the game. This mean't that former Bath City midfielder David Payne (bottom left) took over the captaincy for the day. |
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| Steve Talboys challenges for the ball (left) and scores City's opener (right) |
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| Steve Talboys, a £4000 signing from Trowbridge the season before who had struggled to really settle, made his mark after just 10 minutes. A superb ball out of defence from Wayne Noble and Lance Morrison gave Stixy his opportunity. First he cut inside the defender and then put all of his weight (?) behind a shot which flew past George Wood's left hand and inside the post. |
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| Wayne Noble successfully avoids a booking! |
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| Wayne Noble tells referee Alf Buksh his side of the story. Bunter, as he was known to the fans, had a great game and was instrumental in the first City goal. He had his chances, most notably quickly taken free kick midway through the second half that Wood just managed to reach. He remained at Meadow Park until 1993 by which time he had made more than 300 appearances before turning out for a host of West Country teams including C**tenham Town, Cinderford Town, Clevedon Town, Salisbury City and Trowbridge. |
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| Chris Townsend tormented Cardiff all afternoon and capped his performance with a fine goal |
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| There is an old joke that goes something like this.. Q - What's the best thing to come out of Wales? A - The M4! Wrong, surely the answer to that one is Chris Townsend. He signed from C**tenham Town in November 1988, taking a drop of two divisions to spearhead our Midland Division campaign. Thirty goals later he'd become a legend and remembered by the Tamworth goalkeeper! The first game that I saw in the 1989/90 season was at home to Mangotsfield in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup. Chris scored twice (Brian Hughes got the other two in the 4-0 victory) but he left his mark on the game, and on the Mangotsfield captains face with his fist. He was sent off and suspended, but it was a blessing in disguise as it gave him the opportunity to rest his injured knee. However as the Cardiff game approached it looked very unlikely that he would be fit, but Brian Godfrey kept his biggest surprise until the last minute. As the teams were read out, we knew that Hughesey wasn't playing so Mr Tannoy went... 'Number eight - David Payne, Number nine - Lance Morrison' and as we were expecting Chris Hyde to fill in for Towner, 'Number ten - Chris Townsend'! |
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| Towner puts the finishing touch to his wonder goal as Ian Rogerson looks on |
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| Chris had had, at the tender age of 23, as many clubs as Jack Nicklaus but Cardiff City was actually where he started out. And as we all know, players seem to play out of their skin when they play against their former clubs, Chris didn't disappoint. He was a thorn in the side of the (old) third division strugglers all afternoon and capped his display with a fine goal from Lance Morrison's long pass. He found himself between two defenders but never lost control of the ball and slotted the ball wide of the onrushing Wood, although synics might say he should have been tackled long before the opportunity to shoot arose. |
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| David Payne, Chris Townsend and Steve Talboys celebrate with Steve Millard and his trademark tracksuit in the distance! |
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| And then Towner ran to the side of the ground where over 2000 Gloucester City fans were in raptures of delerium (where are they now!) This picture (above) is the one image that will remain with me for the rest of my life, I still remember seeing the front page of the Citizen the Monday after the game and beaming with pride. Note the 'x' shaped figure in the background, that's Ollie Millard, sadly he passed away in December 1999. |
| Of course we all know what happened next. I was sat there reflecting on the position that Bath City had been in during their previous round encounter with Fulham. The Romans were 2-0 up with only a few minutes left but somehow had managed to blow their lead as the London side pulled the game level. Surely that couldn't happen to us? Morrys Scott thought so. The eighteen year old substitute had been brought on for top scorer Chris Pike and had a major impact on the remainder of the game. He did what no other Cardiff player had managed when his volley found John Shaw off his line. Suddenly hundreds of Cardiff fans who'd been making their way out of the opposite terrace turned on their heels and with little more than two minutes left Scott pounced on loose ball in the area to pull it level. The game was to go to a replay three days later at Meadow Park, in the days before the ridiculous 'ten day wait'. We even made the nine o'clock news that evening! It caught me by surprise when Michael Burke said 'and in tonights draw will be non-league Gloucester City who today drew 2-2 with third division Cardiff City' before showing a clip of Towner's great goal. The winners of the replay were paired with first division side Queens Park Rangers, but it was never to be. In the replay Scott had the edge again as his header just beat Stixy's desperate lunge deep into first half injury time. Still, that was probably the greatest day in the club's modern history, let's hope it isn't too long before we see another! |
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| All the photos on this page are taken from The Citizen, The Pink 'Un and the Gloucester News |
