Hungarians collapsed in despair – Wolves were in the final
CLIVE CORBETT looks back on Wolves’ UEFA Cup exploits of fifty years ago, with the club looking to build on a 2-2 draw in Hungary
FOLLOWING their success in Budapest, Wolves returned home to suffer three league defeats within eight days, scoring just once and conceding five.
At Highbury they were hunting for a league double and monopolised the play at Highbury, taking a deserved lead through John Richards. There were 28 minutes on the clock when keeper Bob Wilson parried the young striker’s blockbuster but was given no chance with his follow up.
Wolves held on to their slender lead until 12 minutes from the end, but in a three-minute burst George Graham (booked in the first half) netted twice to give the Gunners both points. It was the fourth time in five visits to London that season that Wolves had lost.
On the following Wednesday Chris Garland put Chelsea ahead within 55 seconds to set the Londoners on the road to a 2-0 victory that was clinched by a Peter Osgood goal on 55 minutes. A miserable week was completed on Saturday 15th when Phil Parkes spilled Ally Brown’s shot for namesake Tony (taking over at centre-forward from Jeff Astle) to score the game’s only goal within a minute of the start of the home match with West Bromwich Albion.
Resolute
Wolves had the better of the play but despite having Derek Dougan back after injury they lacked a cutting edge against an Albion side that threw up a resolute defensive wall.
When Dougan went close with a header and referee Matthewson waved aside a penalty appeal after Dave Wagstaffe had been tripped, it was obvious that it was not going to be Wolves’ day. It was their third consecutive Molineux defeat.
The slump left big question marks over Wolves’ ability to finish off Ferencvaros, especially when the team sheet had a particularly inexperienced look. Alan Sunderland and Gerry Taylor occupied the full back berths, Steve Daley played at number 11 in place of the suspended Dave Wagstaffe and youth teamers Rod Arnold, John Rutter, Peter Eastoe and Mike Stephens joined fit-again Hugh Curran on the bench.
The Wanderers were given a timely boost by the news that John Richards had been chosen to represent England Under-23s on a summer tour that would take in matches in East Germany, Poland and the USSR. Bizarrely, although the second leg match was to be filmed, it would not be shown on TV in this country with highlights being recorded for transmission in Hungary only – different times.
Greek referee Christos Michas got the game under way and for the third Molineux match in a row the deadlock was broken within sixty seconds, but this time the early
goal went Wolves’ way. Wolves, attacking the North Bank end, saw the kick-off go back to Frank Munro whose long right-footed pass was met by John Richards just inside the box. A Hungarian defender managed to scramble the ball clear via Ken Hibbitt’s chest but only as far as Dougan. The number ten found Alan Sunderland near the halfway line on Wolves’ right, and under severe pressure from Richards at the near post keeper Bela Voros missed the cross into the penalty area.
The ball ran free to Steve Daley who fired home jubilantly from a tight angle, as Phil Morgan reported: “The ground erupted as much in tribute to the two young ’uns as to the realisation that Wolves were 3-2 up on aggregate.”
In spite of falling behind the visitors were full of menace. They almost drew level on five minutes when a free kick was deflected past the Wolves wall to find Lajos Ku eight yards out. He unselfishly chose to slide the ball through to Florian Albert who netted, only to be judged offside.
Soon afterwards Laszlo Branikovits struck a left footer that Phil Parkes deflected up on to the bar, and as Ku closed in, the keeper’s raised feet put him off sufficiently to allow John Mcalle to tidy up. Gerry Taylor also hooked a prod from Mucha off the line.
Wolves, though, entered a relative comfort zone just a minute before half-time with a second goal. A left-wing corner eluded Dougan but Jim Mccalliog chased hard to retrieve the ball and sent in a cross that found Munro totally unmarked on the left-hand edge of the sixyard box. His header was far too powerful for Voros who could only help the ball into the roof of the net.
However, just after the restart, Lajos Ku brought Ferencvaros back into it when he was put in on the left-hand side of the area more or less exactly where Daley had been 45 minutes earlier. Ku passed the ball leftfooted across Parkes and into the far corner.
There was more unwelcome excitement to come on 49 minutes when the visitors were awarded a penalty for hands against Alan Sunderland. Istvan Szoke passed up the chance to take the tie into extra time when he tamely tapped a penalty to the middle of the goal. Lofty was again the hero as he virtually stood still to left foot it away.
Weak
As Mcalle came to congratulate his keeper a number of Hungarians collapsed to the ground in despair at Szoke’s weak effort. Their demoralisation was clear for all to see and it was fitting that almost the last action of the tie was Lofty’s towering interception of a
right-wing cross.
The crowd gave the skilful Hungarians a standing ovation as they left the pitch but Wolves had qualified for the first ever UEFA Cup final in front of a somewhat disappointing attendance of 28,662 on the same night that Aston Villa sealed the Third Division championship. Wolves’ opponents would be Tottenham Hotspur, who overcame AC Milan, drawing 1-1 away to seal a 3-2 aggregate win.
Celebrated
Molineux erupted as Wolves took the lead in the first minute of play
If the semi-final victory was heartily celebrated there was no obvious hangover on the following Saturday when the rot of three straight league defeats was brought to an end at Leeds Road, Huddersfield. Phil Parkes put in another good display to keep out the Terriers who had the best of the play and needed the points to help them escape the drop to Division 2.
Steve Daley’s 78th minute winner all but relegated the team that Bill Mcgarry had represented as a player and indeed victory should have come as no real surprise given Wolves’ post war record there of nine wins and one draw out of thirteen played.
Another success, this time by 3-1, was registered at Nottingham Forest the following Tuesday when goals from Danny Hegan, John Richards and Kenny Hibbitt virtually put the East Midlanders down.
But with little left to play for in the two remaining league games, the Wanderers’ preoccupation was the first leg of the UEFA Cup final, against Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux just eight days later.