Watney Cup out on loan, here’s how Rams won it
THE Watney Cup is back in the news, more than 50 years since Derby County were the first winners.
Derby beat Manchester United in the final in 1970 and the piece of silverware has been in a trophy cabinet at Pride Park Stadium.
The Cup has now been loaned for a short time to Stoke City, who were the last winners in 1973 when they beat Hull City.
The Watney Cup was a pre-season competition that ran for only four years and was contested by eight teams, two from each division, that had scored the most goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League the previous season and who had not been promoted or had qualified for one of the European competitions.
Each club received an equal share of the gate receipts and TV revenue, as well as £4,000 for entering the competition. Derby made a profit of £13,910 before deduction of players’ bonuses.
Andy Ellis’ book ‘ Brian Clough and Derby County From Glory to Disaster - The Inside Story as Told by the DCFC Board Meeting Minutes’ shows that the Rams manager (Brian Clough) and assistant (Peter Taylor) received a bonus of £250 each for winning the competition. It was agreed that a donation of £250 out of the match proceeds be distributed to local charities.
Here’s how the Rams became the first winners.
Watney Cup First Round Fulham 3 Derby County 5 (after extra time, 3-3 after 90 minutes)
August 1, 1970
Derby fought back from 3-1 down to beat Fulham 5-3 in extra time.
The heat and humidity on a baking afternoon at Craven Cottage were unbearable and one was astonished to see the teams playing in clinging long sleeved shirts but they kept up a remarkable pace until, in extra time, Fulham crumbled.
It looked like being a walkover early on. Inside three minutes Kevin Hector glided through on the left and pulled the ball back from the byline to John O’hare, who flicked it in.
Steve Earle equalised for the home side before Vic Halom, who won the FA Cup with Sunderland in 1973, scored twice to put Fulham in control.
Goals from Hector and Alan Durban levelled matters at 3-3 and Hector put the Rams ahead in extra time before the goal of the game.
Durban, 30 yards out and slightly to the right of goal, hit a low pass into the penalty area. Hector darted to the right, then, as the ball arrived, back-heeled it sharply and Durban still running flat out, cracked it firsttime into the opposite corner before leaping high with the sheer joy of achieving something so perfect. Fulham: Webster (M); Moreline, Callaghan; Dunne (Tranter, 57), Matthewson, Brown; Conway, Halom, Lloyd, Barrett, Pentecost. Derby County: Green; Webster (R), Robson; Durban, Mcfarland, Mackay (Daniel, 100); Wignall, Carlin, O’hare, Hector, Hinton (Mcgovern, 60).
Referee: R Matthewson (Manchester). Attendance: 18,500.
Watney Cup semi-final Derby County 1 Sheffield United 0 August 5, 1970
John Mcgovern’s fine strike was enough to see off Sheffield United at the Baseball Ground and book Derby County’s place in the Watney Cup final.
The goal came in the 29th minute. United cleared a corner and the ball dropped to Mcgovern outside the penalty area. The midfield man brought it under control as a man came at him, swerved away from a challenge and hit a shot into the top corner.
The United team featured the talented Tony Currie and Alan Woodward.
Derby County: Green; Webster, Robson; Durban, Mcfarland, Mackay; Mcgovern, Carlin, O’hare (Wignall, 46), Hector, Hinton.
Sheffield United: Hodgkinson; Badger, Hemsley; Flynn, Colquhoun, Powell; Woodward, Barnwell, Addison (Dearden, 68), Currie, Reece.
Watney Cup Final Derby County 4 Manchester United 1 August 8, 1970
Manchester United, with Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law in their team, were no match for Derby County.
The Rams ran out 4-1 winners in front of more than 30,000 at the Baseball Ground.
One 20-minute spell in the second half brought back memories of the home annihilations of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool the previous season, with four and five-man moves, all involving simple firsttime passes to men running perfectly into spaces, carving the United defence to pieces.
Alan Durban was outstanding, Willie Carlin covered every blade of grass and John Mcgovern never stopped running and finding space.
The front three of Kevin Hector, John O’hare and Alan Hinton were in exciting, thrustful mood, while Dave Mackay sauntered imperiously through the game.
Roy Mcfarland was the man of the match – ruthless in the tackle and dominant in the air, without ever losing the elegance that is his trademark, the Derby Evening Telegraph reported.
The Rams’ goals came from Mcfarland, Hinton, Durban and Mackay.
The cup was presented by FIFA president Sir Stanley Rous.
Derby County: Green; Webster, Robson; Durban, Mcfarland, Mackay; Mcgovern, Carlin, O’hare, Hector, Hinton.
Manchester United: Stepney; Edwards, Dunne; Crerand, Ure, Sadler; Morgan (Stiles, 57), Law (Fitzpatrick, 25), Charlton, Kidd, Best. Referee: K Walker (Maidstone).
Attendance: 32,049.
■Participating teams in 1970:
First Division: Derby County and Manchester United; Second Division: Hull City and Sheffield United; Third Division: Fulham and Reading; Fourth Division: Aldershot and Peterborough United.