Talks to Leicester City wing wizard Steve Lynex about their 1982 FA Cup run It’s Filbert feat! Seven goals, three keepers ... and a Fox in the box called Lineker
THE last time that Leicester City reached the FA Cup semifinals, a pint of beer was just 58p and a ticket to see the movie of the year E.T. was £1.60.
The year was 1982.
And to get to the last four the Foxes came through one of the more astonishing matches in the great competition’s history.
“That’s the match I get asked about most on Facebook,” said City legend Steve Lynex. No wonder.
“There was a question on A Question of Sport,” remembered Lynex, now 62.
“It was, ‘In which FA Cup quarter-final were there seven goals scored – and two goalkeepers who didn’t concede any?’.”
Lynex (left) knew the answer.
He was one of the THREE players who went in goal for Leicester against Shrewsbury at Filbert Street in March, 1982.
Mark Wallington started the match between the posts, his 331st successive appearance for Leicester.
But after a collision with Shrews striker Chic Bates left him with a hole in his thigh and fuzzy-headed, he didn’t know much about the goals that flew past him to put the visitors 2-1 ahead.
Gloves
Wallington fought back tears after Leicester boss Jock Wallace hauled him off and, with no goalkeeper on the bench in those days, the gloves were thrown to Alan Young.
“Youngy was the enforcer,” said Lynex of the Scottish centre forward.
“If you were having trouble with someone, the next thing you knew, they were on the floor. Youngy had sorted it. He played in goal during training and seemed the obvious choice. And nobody fancied arguing with him!”
Minutes later, 30,000 fans were celebrating the sight of Shrewsbury defender Colin Griffin rolling the ball past his own keeper, leaving the scores level at 2-2 at the interval.
Leicester found themselves looking for another keeper after Young himself was left dazed... and this time Lynex stepped up.
He recalled: “I volunteered straight away. Jock wasn’t too sure. He wanted Youngy back in goal as soon as possible, I think!”
Lynex was only 5ft 9in – and his day job was to supply the bullets for Gary
Lineker (right) then just 21.
“If Gary missed nine chances, it didn’t bother him,” said Lynex of the future
England legend. “He would put the 10th chance away. He was fearless. I always thought he would do well.”
Once Young had recovered after around 10 minutes, Lynex was soon back doing what he did best.
His cross picked out Jim Melrose and he poked home for 3-2.
That goal knocked the stuffing out of Shrewsbury. Lineker grabbed a fourth and Lynex crossed for Melrose to head home a fifth. “The whole game, the atmosphere, everything, just blew us all away,” said Lynex.
He has just taken over managing Wrens Nest in the West Midlands League and says teenage son Sam has the potential to be even better than he was.
“We had no superstars in that team then,” Lynex added. “We just battled for each other and we never gave up – that was the Leicester way.”
To the bitter disappointment of their fans the Foxes had ran out of miracles, and in the semi-finals they were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham at Villa Park.
Lynex carried on carving out chances for Lineker and then Alan Smith, and in 1984-85 the trio scored 59 goals in all competitions.
That summer Lineker left for Everton, and Smith headed to Arsenal in 1987, though the big moves eluded Lynex.
Money
He added: “I finished playing with Cardiff, a few years before the Premier League started and the big money came in.
“I earn more money now working in property maintenance than I ever did playing football.
“But I’ve got no regrets about it. I got to do what lots of people would love to do.”