Romford                   0

Erith & Belvedere   0

            10 October 1970

Erith & Belvedere   1          Radmore 82

Romford                   1          Tough 80

            13 October 1970

Erith & Belvedere   0         

Romford                   1          Chandler 57 

19 October 1970 – at Aveley

FA Cup 2nd qualifying round and two replays

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, an FA Cup epic against a strong side from the Southern League.

 

1970-71 was a heady season for the Deres under the management of Roy Dwight.  An unbeaten August established a club record 22 league games without defeat, and during and after that run Gary Cooper scored in eight consecutive Deres games, also a club record.  When the run came to an end Cooper made up for it with a hat-trick in the next game.  And the one after that brought very tough opposition, a team who in the previous round had beaten Rainham 11-0.

 

WHITEHEAD’S INJURY MARS DERES’ GREAT PERFORMANCE

 

Deres’ great performance in holding Southern League Premier opponents Romford in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup was marred in the last minute when Alan Whitehead was taken to hospital following an incident involving home defender Howe.

 

The officials in charge seemed to be the only people who apparently were unaware of the incident and no action was taken.  Whitehead left hospital the same evening, the injury not being as serious as it first appeared.

 

Erith dominated play in the first 20 minutes with their clever interpassing.  During this period Romford had 10 men in defence but when they settled, Deres’ back four of Danks, Greatorex, Davenport and Dent, with Everitt behind them in great form, defended stoutly.  It could be said that bad finishing on Romford’s part cost them the game.

 

Ray Radmore and Gary Cooper tried hard in Deres’ attack, but they were up against a quick tackling defence that gave very little away.  Deres opened brightly and Whitehead was soon prominent with a good run down the left wing, Don Butterfill shooting just wide from his cross.

 

Whitehead was again in action with a shrewd pass to Nobby McAlpine who centred to Ray Radmore who was just unable to control sufficiently to force in a shot.

 

It was all Deres in the early stages and in one attack Keith Gurr fired in a good first time shot that went just wide.

 

In the first real Romford threat Everitt did well to save at the feet of Obeney who had overlapped on the right. In another attack Tough made a break on the right but he was shadowed all the way to the bye-line by Roger Dent, and in the end shot tamely over.  Then Tapping fired a low centre that completely deceived both defenders and attackers.

 

Everitt made a brilliant diving save from a centre by Andrew, and at the other end a pass from Radmore to McAlpine found the little winger clear, but Howe blocked his shot at the expense of a corner.

 

In the second half Deres’ defence stood firm, but Chandler, clean through, shot wildly over.  Everitt came out to smother a shot from Tough, but when the goalkeeper was deceived by a high cross, Glyn Danks was there to make a timely clearance off the line.

 

Deres: Kevin Everitt; Glyn Danks, Brendan Greatorex, David Davenport, Roger Dent, Keith Gurr, Don Butterfill, Nobby McAlpine (Graham Jones), Ray Radmore, Gary Cooper, Alan Whitehead.

Romford: Smith; Obeney, Howe, Sorrell, King, Bickles, Andrew, Freeman, Tough, Chandler, Tapping.

 

 

ERITH AGAIN HOLD ROMFORD

 

In front of their biggest crowd for years, 1,170, Erith and Belvedere held Southern League side Romford to a 1-1 draw after extra time in an FA Cup 2nd qualifying round replay at Park View on Tuesday.

 

The crowd had 80 minutes to wait for the first goal when Tough put the visitors one up with a hotly disputed goal.  It looked all over but two minutes later Radmore put the match into extra time and the teams fought out a stalemate.  The replay will be at Aveley on Monday (7.45).

 

 

GALLANT BID FAILS

 

Deres finally succumbed to their Southern League opponents in this FA Cup second replay, played at Aveley on Monday before a crowd of 1,287.

 

They gave their more senior opponents a hard game, and for a period in the second half, after Romford had taken the lead, they tried desperately hard for an equaliser that just would not come.

 

During this period the Southern League side employed nine men in defence, and were hard pressed to keep Erith from equalising.

 

It was an even first half, and Ray Radmore was a dangerous leader for Deres, and he was unlucky with one great drive following a run by Butterfill.

 

Twelve minutes after the break, and in driving rain, came the all-important goal.  The ball came across from the right and Everitt and two defenders appeared to miss the cross, and left Chandler with an easy chance.

 

Deres brought on Alan Whitehead in place of Don Butterfill, and the move almost succeeded when Whitehead took a corner on the left, and from this Graham Jones’ power header was brilliantly saved by Smith.

 

Deres: Everitt; Danks, Greatorex, Willie Watson, Dent,

Gurr, Butterfill (Whitehead), McAlpine, Radmore, Cooper, Jones.

 

 

Remarkably, Romford’s tie in the next round also went to two replays, before they went out to Walton and Hersham.  Since we like to know about these things, Walton beat Sutton 1-0 in the 4th qualifying round before going down 5-2 home to Telford in the first round proper.  Telford lost 6-2 at Swansea, who beat Rhyl 6-1 in the third round before losing 3-0 at Liverpool in the fourth.  Liverpool beat Southampton 1-0 in the fifth, Spurs 1-0 in a quarter-final replay and Everton 2-1 in the semi at Old Trafford, before losing 2-1 to Arsenal’s double winners at Wembley.