Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Montgomery wears the family name with pride
WHEN you hear the name Montgomery together with goalkeeper in the same sentence it is hard not to think of Sunderland’s record appearancemaker Jimmy.
The goalkeeper in Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup final-winning team, Jimmy Montgomery, is a legendary figure on Wearside.
It would be no surprise then that his cousin’s grandson has gone on to make a career of his own between the sticks. However, it was not a direct path into the professional game for Forest Green stopper James Montgomery.
“It was probably the last position I tried,” the 24-year-old told the official Forest Green website.
“I started playing when I was about three or four, going to different soccer schools and played Under-8s when I was six.
“I was a striker originally, but as I started getting older I started getting a little bit slower.
“On the off chance, one of the lads from school hurt his ankle and I said I would put the gloves on and I had a good game and my school teacher said I should give it a try. The next year, the last year of school and first year of college, I was picked up by Middlesbrough and stuck with it from there.”
The Forest Green goalkeeper is actually named after his father rather than the goalkeeping hero, but admits that he can barely talk to anyone in his home town of Sunderland without being told stories of his relative and one save in particular.
It came in the second half of the 1973 final against Don Revie’s formi- dable Leeds side, who had Terry Cooper – father of Forest Green manager Mark – in their squad, but out with a broken leg.
Jimmy was crucial to Sunderland lifting the trophy at Wembley with what is described as the best doublesave ever, first denying Trevor Cherry’s header before somehow pushing Peter Lorimer’s close-range follow up onto the bar.
“Everyone always talks about that save,” says James. “Once you see it you can’t get it out of your head. He is a Sunderland legend.”