Reading V Arsenal 1972 cup game

[Mid Sussex Royal]

One for older fans....this game was on Big Match revisited this morning and is available on catch up for the next week on ITV 4.

Arsenal's full 1971 double winning side played (Charlie George, Frank McClintock etc) no resting players back then; we were robbed too, their goals were an own goal and shot with a big deflection.

Mods please move if on wrong board.

[Ark Royal]

Memorable. I stayed at my nan's house just around the corner in Rutland Road when tickets went on sale at the club. Got up at 3:00 am to queue and there were still people ahead of me. By the time I got my ticket, the line was up Suffolk Road, Tilehurst Road, Waverley Road, Wantage Road, and touching Norfolk Road. The club had also issued vouchers at the league game against Barrow two week before, which accounted for the unusually large crowd of 11,689.

Was at the back of a very crammed Town End and had a great view of Barry Wagstaff's equalizer. I had a photo of that goal on my wall for years after. The crowd of 25,756 was the largest Elm Park crowd I was ever in. Sill gutted that we somehow contrived to lose the game. Definitely deserved at least a replay.

[Millsy]

Awesome for us younger Royals to read, thank you.

[windermereROYAL]

That pitch, real old school game that. 54 years ago.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Memorable. I stayed at my nan's house just around the corner in Rutland Road when tickets went on sale at the club. Got up at 3:00 am to queue and there were still people ahead of me. By the time I got my ticket, the line was up Suffolk Road, Tilehurst Road, Waverley Road, Wantage Road, and touching Norfolk Road. The club had also issued vouchers at the league game against Barrow two week before, which accounted for the unusually large crowd of 11,689.

Was at the back of a very crammed Town End and had a great view of Barry Wagstaff's equalizer. I had a photo of that goal on my wall for years after. The crowd of 25,756 was the largest Elm Park crowd I was ever in. Sill gutted that we somehow contrived to lose the game. Definitely deserved at least a replay.

I went with my brother to the Barrow game to get a voucher, but then my dad went as they decided I was too young for the size of crowd anticipated.

[themwasthedays]

I'd completely forgotten about having to go to the Barrow game to get a voucher. I was only 19 at the time, and it was absolutely heaving in the South Bank. Goodness only knows how we lost. It was a deflected shot (off John Hurley) by Pat Rice a few minutes from the end which beat us, and not only that but I think their other goal was an OG by Stuart Morgan. Lucky, lucky Arsnull. In the first half we matched them & Gordon Cumming was brilliant (as was Les Chappell). You don't get an atmosphere better than a full South Bank!!!

[Jackson Corner]

Whilst l didn’t go to this game they did the voucher trick a few years later when we played Southampton in the league cup at Elm park. I think it was York for the voucher?

[Jackson Corner]

You can watch it on ITVx just put big match revisited into search. We gave them a good game very unlucky.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Whilst l didn’t go to this game they did the voucher trick a few years later when we played Southampton in the league cup at Elm park. I think it was York for the voucher?

Yep - well remembered - pretty sure it was York. Southampton I think was the last 20k plus gate at Elm Park. After the Bradford fire and Hillsborough all the ground capacities were reduced, particularly for grounds with old wooden stands.

[Beaulux]

I was at the Southampton match. 25 000 iirc.

Even though Kevin Keegan was a no-show. That annoyed a lot of people.

Nil nil btw.

[MR. CYNICAL]

Memorable. I stayed at my nan's house just around the corner in Rutland Road when tickets went on sale at the club. Got up at 3:00 am to queue and there were still people ahead of me. By the time I got my ticket, the line was up Suffolk Road, Tilehurst Road, Waverley Road, Wantage Road, and touching Norfolk Road. The club had also issued vouchers at the league game against Barrow two week before, which accounted for the unusually large crowd of 11,689.

Was at the back of a very crammed Town End and had a great view of Barry Wagstaff's equalizer. I had a photo of that goal on my wall for years after. The crowd of 25,756 was the largest Elm Park crowd I was ever in. Sill gutted that we somehow contrived to lose the game. Definitely deserved at least a replay.
[/quote
I was sat on the wall at the back of the town end, almost right behind the goal. Remember Barry Wagstaff's shot going under the bar, can't remember if I could see the goal line.

[Ark Royal]

Whilst l didn’t go to this game they did the voucher trick a few years later when we played Southampton in the league cup at Elm park. I think it was York for the voucher?

Correct. 12,271 at the York game for vouchers. 24,046 at the Southampton game.

[Jinx]

I was at the Southampton match. 25 000 iirc.

Even though Kevin Keegan was a no-show. That annoyed a lot of people.

Nil nil btw.

Their keeper, Terry Gennoe?, kept them at 0-0. We definitely should have won

I was a school kid then and nominally a Saints fan (family was all from Winchester and Eastleigh) but been to quite a few Reading games. That was the one that clinched it for me, became a Reading fan that night and never looked back

[Les Chappell's tache]

10 year old on the wall of the Southbank in front of the gantry. Old Man towards the back of the Southbank when Gooners decided to have some fun.
Cracking game. Cracking own goal header.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

10 year old on the wall of the Southbank in front of the gantry. Old Man towards the back of the Southbank when Gooners decided to have some fun.
Cracking game. Cracking own goal header.

Cracking Barrie Wagstaff lob too, the Wagstaff brothers were way too good for division 4....no idea how it took Hurley so long to get that side back up.

[South Coast Royal]

I think the game may have been in doubt or perhaps it was just the later FA Cup game v Arsenal was in doubt but the pitch was dire.
Really enjoyable to watch with just Brian Moore commentating without any male or female pundit alongside him and a good studio bit from Jimmy Hill.

I had forgotten about Peter Harman-on the day he had some really good touches against experienced top level defenders but , for whatever reasons, he didn't make it with us.
What surprised me a bit was the skill level of the Reading attacking players and seeing the likes of Wagstaff, Cumming, Habbin and Chappell proved that my memories of them being good players are right-they looked up to current Championship level players of today.

Cumming was brilliant on the day and this was a double-winning side that we were up against.

Like the previous poster I wonder how on earth we managed to get the Wagstaff brothers.

[rightroyalkneesup2]

I'd completely forgotten about having to go to the Barrow game to get a voucher. I was only 19 at the time, and it was absolutely heaving in the South Bank. Goodness only knows how we lost. It was a deflected shot (off John Hurley) by Pat Rice a few minutes from the end which beat us, and not only that but I think their other goal was an OG by Stuart Morgan. Lucky, lucky Arsnull. In the first half we matched them & Gordon Cumming was brilliant (as was Les Chappell). You don't get an atmosphere better than a full South Bank!!!

Yeah my first match we lost 2-1 but at least we scored all three goals

[skipper]

I'm officially growing sideburns as a result of watching those highlights.

I'll keep you all posted.

[royal pinner]

Now a 69 year old grandad but in 1972 an immature 14 year old wannabe hooligan. Remember this game well as big games didn’t come along that often in those days. After the game I remember Readings’s mob being chased back into town by Arsenal. I somehow got separated from the main Reading crowd and Arsenal, a nasty mob much older than us, several hundred strong, went steaming past all sheepskin jackets and Doc Martens. This was around the old central swimming pool. Then to my astonishment they came running past us clearly panicked by something ahead and that something was 4 or 5 local Hells Angels standing in the middle of the road brandishing weapons including a sawn off shotgun. The local Hells Angels were in those days a club called Wessex Freewheelers. Don’t think they were particularly football fans but probably didn’t like an outside mob in the town. There was also a rumour afterwards there had been some trouble in the town earlier where one of them attacked by Arsenal. To cap the day off I got arrested for throwing something and my Dad had to get me out of the old Reading nick in Valpy St. I just got a caution due to my age.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Now a 69 year old grandad but in 1972 an immature 14 year old wannabe hooligan. Remember this game well as big games didn’t come along that often in those days. After the game I remember Readings’s mob being chased back into town by Arsenal. I somehow got separated from the main Reading crowd and Arsenal, a nasty mob much older than us, several hundred strong, went steaming past all sheepskin jackets and Doc Martens. This was around the old central swimming pool. Then to my astonishment they came running past us clearly panicked by something ahead and that something was 4 or 5 local Hells Angels standing in the middle of the road brandishing weapons including a sawn off shotgun. The local Hells Angels were in those days a club called Wessex Freewheelers. Don’t think they were particularly football fans but probably didn’t like an outside mob in the town. There was also a rumour afterwards there had been some trouble in the town earlier where one of them attacked by Arsenal. To cap the day off I got arrested for throwing something and my Dad had to get me out of the old Reading nick in Valpy St. I just got a caution due to my age.

interesting.

Fast forward 5 years and it was the Pompey chasing a similarly aged Spizz and his pals down the Occy Road.
No Hells Angels to bail us out, but there was our Caribbean friends, all resplendently attired complete with their massive afro hair styles, waiting patiently outside a reggae record shop en-mass, that gave the chasers a ‘warm welcome’.