A dejected Mick Docherty walks from the field as Swindon supporters invade the pitch to congratulate their team.
Every so often in this mad world of soccer, a game sears itself indelibly across the memory. This was one. For 120 minutes at the Hawthorns on Wednesday, the wheel of fortune swung crazily out of gear to leave us bewitched, bothered and bewildered……and breathless! There had to be a loser. And it was Burnley who lost the pot with a deuce against a three-card trick when the chips were down. Let’s get it right from the start, however. Fact 1 Those mighty men from Swindon will deservedly tread the Wembley turf. They ran out worthy winners. Some may argue that luck was on their side. I couldn’t agree more. But so was great skill and courage. That late equaliser by Dave Thomas and the shot by Frank Casper that put Burnley into the lead would have knocked the heart out of most sides. But Swindon kept pegging away an reaped their reward. And it was certainly not undeserved. Fact 2 Those Burnley “babes” will play a lot worse and win. Okay, they had a dismal first half, but that must not be allowed to overshadow their come-back bid. Every one of those young players threw everything they had into the battle, and they came so near to winning.
The psychological effect of an own-goal can be devastating, however. Until that happened, the dream of Wembley seemed a gilt-edged reality. But it was the rock on which those hopes foundered. Swindon’s tactics were plain to see, attack, attack. Every time they gained possession, they created havoc in the Burnley rear-guard. Wilf Wrigley tried desperately to keep tabs on the burly, bustling John Smith, but had rather an unhappy time. During this time, Coates Kindon and Thomas had to spend most of their time on the defensive. That left only Casper and Bellamy to offer any attacking threat. And when they did get the ball, they found a wall of Swindon defenders. Roger Smart showed how all at sea the Clarets’ defence was. When he ran through from his own half and released Smith who ran on 15 yards before unleashing a shot that put his side ahead after only 9 minutes. Only desperate defending ad some great goalkeeping from Thomson kept the score down. Noble hit a great shot that rebounded off Thompson before it was finally cleared. Burnley’s only real threat was a great header from Kindon which scraped the bar.
Whatever was said at half time worked. Thomson was pulled out, to be replaced by young Mick Docherty, and Coates moved to the wing. It was the end of the one-way traffic as the Burnley defence finally got to grips with the game and the attack began to shape up. It was Swindon goalkeeper, Peter Downsborough’s turn to cover himself in glory with saves from cracking shots from Kindon, Bellamy, Blant and Thomas. It was not until 25 seconds from the end of normal time, just when all hope for Burnley was fading, Thomas met a free kick, side stepped a ruck of players and thumped the ball into the roof of the net. In the first minute of extra time Coates ran down the wing and sent over a perfect ball for Casper. The centre forward hit it hurriedly and it rebounded to him. He made no mistake with his second effort. Then, after that Casper tonic, poor Arthur Bellamy had the misfortune to put through his own goal. Five minutes later, it was all over. when Latcham nodded the ball straight to Noble who accepted the early Christmas gift gratefully.
Score Burnley 2 Swindon Town 3 (1-1 after normal time.
Teams
Burnley Thomson (H), Smith, Latcham, Thomson (J), Wrigley, Blant, Thomas, Coates, Casper, Bellamy, Kindon. Sub Docherty.
Swindon Town Downsborough, Dawson, Thomas, Butler, Burrows, Harland, Heath, Smart, Smith, Noble, Rogers. Sub Penman.
Referee Mr J Finney