COCKNEY CUP GOES UP NORTH
THERE are reasons why Tottenham and Chelsea do not get on with each other. Lots of them.
There was the time Spurs helped send Chelsea down from the top flight in 1974-75 and more recently, the north Londoners had their bid for the 2016 Premier League title ended by a ferocious 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Then there was ‘The Cockney Cup Final’ when Spurs lifted the FA Cup – with the help of a pair of former Chelsea heroes.
The 1967 final was the first to be played out by two London clubs. Spurs were looking to lift the cup for the third time in seven years and in Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, they had two former Chelsea players in their line-up.
Greaves, who scored in the 1961 final for Spurs against Burnley, went into the ‘Cockney Final’ as the competition’s leading scorer that season, with six goals in seven matches.
Chelsea had been without star striker Peter Osgood since he broke his leg earlier in the season and Tony Hateley was brought in from Liverpool for £100,000 to replace him.
Hateley got the goal that beat Don Revie’s Leeds at Villa Park and took Chelsea to Wembley for the FA Cup final at long last, after they had suffered semi-final anguish in the previous two seasons.
Mike England did a good job of keeping Hateley quiet at Wembley, Ron Harris put the shackles on Greaves and it was a pair of unsung heroes who won the cup for Bill Nicholson’s (above) north Londoners in front of 100,000 fans.
Spurs went ahead in the 40th minute. Alan Mullery tried his luck from 25 yards out, his shot was blocked and the ball looped to the edge of the area when Jimmy Robertson was waiting.
Robertson instinctively swung his right boot and sent his volley bouncing into the bottom corner of the net.
Spurs doubled their lead when Frank Saul converted a half chance after 68 minutes.
Chelsea pulled one back with five minutes left when Bobby Tambling beat keeper Pat Jennings to John Boyle’s cross, but the cup headed back to north London again.