Category: Match of the Month

Bolton Wanderers v Bristol City, 1969

Match of the Month

This Second Division fixture at Burnden Park on 1st November 1969, captured on film by an unknown cameraman, saw a 3-1 win for the home side. Bolton Wanderers, founder members of the Football League and FA Cup winners in 1958, had been a First Division side from 1935 until relegation in 1964. Under club legend…

By Paul W November 2, 2019 0
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Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest, 1979

Match of the Month

The visit of European Cup holders Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur for a First Division fixture in October 1979 saw one of the goals of the season at White Hart Lane. Glenn Hoddle, the young Spurs midfielder earning a reputation for spectacular strikes, scored a masterpiece on his 22nd birthday to beat England goalkeeper Peter…

By Paul W October 27, 2019 0
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Watford v Kaiserslautern, 1983 UEFA Cup

Match of the Month

Watford completed a meteoric rise from the Fourth Division to the First between 1978 and 1982, under future England manager Graham Taylor. The Hertfordshire club then finished second behind Liverpool in 1982/83, and embarked on their first-ever European campaign the following season. They drew tough opponents in the First Round, Kaiserslautern, founder members of the…

By Paul W September 28, 2019 2
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Manchester City v Oldham Athletic, 1988

Match of the Month

Manchester City today are multiple Premier League winners, a hugely successful global brand and very, very wealthy. It’s hard to imagine them competing against their impoverished neighbours Oldham Athletic, currently languishing in the fifth tier of English football, the National League – let alone struggling to beat them. Yet a look at their head-to-head record…

By Paul W August 24, 2019 2
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England v Uruguay, 1966 World Cup

Match of the Month

After the excitement of the preparations and build-up, the 1966 World Cup Finals kicked off at 7.30 p.m. on Monday 11 July 1966 at Wembley. After the low-key opening ceremony, described as “colourful but simple”, the Finals were officially declared open by the Queen. Hosts England took on Uruguay, twice winners of the tournament, in…

By Paul W July 11, 2019 1
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Belgium v USSR, 1986 World Cup

Match of the Month

Belgium v USSR was a seven-goal thriller in the Second Round of the 1986 World Cup, played at León’s Nou Camp stadium, Mexico. The nations had met at the previous World Cup in the second group stage in a much more cautious encounter, edged 1-0 by the Soviets at Barcelona’s Nou Camp in July 1982…

By Paul W June 15, 2019 2
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Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur, 1982

Match of the Month

Liverpool clinched another Football League title, their fifth in seven seasons, with a win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on the 15th May 1982. It had taken a phenomenal run in the second half of the season for them to reclaim the title from Aston Villa, confirming their status as the First Division’s dominant team…

By Paul W May 4, 2019 0
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Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 1983

Match of the Month

Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers was a clash between founder members of the Football League, whose very first meeting was on 22 September 1888. The two sides have just met for the 130th time, in the Premier League, but this match at Burnley’s Turf Moor found them in the Second Division as they fell on hard…

By Paul W April 2, 2019 0
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Cardiff City v Real Madrid, 1971

Match of the Month

Cardiff City v Real Madrid was a famous night at Ninian Park in March 1971, as the Second Division side took on the Spanish giants in the first leg of a European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final tie. Cardiff, who knocked out French side Nantes in the previous round, had cup pedigree – their 1927 FA…

By Paul W March 10, 2019 0
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Hull City v Scunthorpe United, 1983

Match of the Month

Unthinkable today, but the BBC’s flagship highlights programme, Match of the Day, once regularly featured football from outside the top division. This snippet from February 1983 shows the cameras visiting Humberside for a Fourth Division encounter between Hull City (who commentator Tony Gubba insists on calling ‘Hull Tigers’ long before that was seriously proposed) and…

By Paul W February 23, 2019 0
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