Gray day still haunts me
SAYS WATFORD’S WEMBLEY KEEPER
STEVE SHERWOOD was a halftime guest on the pitch in February when Watford’s winner against Everton was scored by Andre Gray.
The irony was not lost on Sherwood. Games involving the Hornets, Merseyside’s bluenoses and strikers called A Gray have not always been kind to him.
In 1984, the only previous occasion when Watford reached the FA Cup final, their keeper was cast as the fall-guy when Andy Gray came barging in to score Everton’s second goal in their 2-0 win at Wembley.
It was a foul: Gray made no contact with the ball, bundling centre-half Steve Terry out of the way and knocking the ball from Sherwood’s grasp by heading his arm.
Gray’s goal knocked the stuffing out of a young Watford team.
The worst aspect was the abuse Sherwood suffered in the aftermath, including dog excrement being shoved through his postbox.
Sherwood, now 65 and a financial adviser based in Grimsby who will be at Wembley on Saturday, has no truck with Gray’s battering ram-raid, but referee John Hunting’s lenient interpretation of it still rankles.
“Of course it was a foul – and as time’s gone by, it has become looked upon as one of the most controversial goals in a Cup final,” he said.
“One replay from behind the goal showed Andy didn’t even touch the ball. He headed the side of my arm.
“Some people say I never had the ball under full control, but I had two hands on it and it’s a bit difficult to have it under full control when you are still in mid-air and falling backwards.
“It killed the game. I bear no grudges against Andy – it’s the referee who let us down. I’m sure John Hunting is a lovely guy, but in hindsight maybe I shouldn’t have expected much protection from him.
“The previous season at Brighton, Michael Robinson headbutted me for no reason – I needed six stitches over my eyelid – and Hunting didn’t even send him off. I had blood pouring into my eye.”
For Sherwood, the hardest part was the backlash.
“The day after the final wasn’t the best day of my life,” he said.
“Some of the headlines, like ‘Stevie Blunder’, pinned the blame on me and it hurt to be castigated for defeat.
“I got some unpleasant stuff shoved through my letterbox at home. My family didn’t deserve that. Now it’s time for the current team to make their own history.
“I’m a big fan of Heurelho Gomes and I’d love to see him lift the Cup in his last game.”