Erith & Belvedere   7          Davies 13, 89, Hillary 25, 48, Tubby 27, Bower 40, 55

Ely City                     3          Green 35, Flatt 65, Chaloner 75  

FA Amateur Cup 1st round replay, 19 January 1957

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, an Amateur Cup win that was described as “just like the old days”...

 

Park View was something of a fortress in the winter of 1956-57.  In the Deres’ three previous home games they’d beaten Tilbury 8-1, Cray Wanderers 6-0 and Edgware 5-1 (on the same day the B-team youths beat Bexleyheath Boys’ Brigade 22-0).  On 19 January there was a feast for a crowd described as “just like the old days”.

 

DERES OUTRUN ELY CITY

Glut of goals in FA Amateur Cup replay

ERITH AND BELVEDERE  7  ELY CITY  3

 

Erith and Belvedere had a comfortable win in their Amateur Cup first round replay against Ely City on Saturday, when 1,826 spectators – the biggest gate of the season at Park View, Belvedere – saw them win 7-3.  The home team might well have had more goals.

 

Deres were at full strength, Alec Reith obtaining leave from the RAF at the last moment and Vic Parker playing despite a broken finger.  True, Reith had to take a strenuous PT course before getting away, and maybe this accounted for his being just a wee bit under par.  Ely were not so fortunate, as the RAF did not release their centre-forward Peter Yates… even so, the visitors included six county players.

 

Both sides played good, fast football, and despite the speed, the whistle was seldom heard, for the few fouls were purely incidental and accidental.  It was amateur football at its best, and after the match the Ely club officers were loud in their praises of the victors.

 

Deres immediately set up a strong attack and Ken Tubby narrowly failed after drawing Bean out of goal, but Ely promptly retaliated and with both home backs hesitating Green raced between them, but Reith charged out and smothered the shot.

 

Employing the long ball to good effect, Deres gave Ely’s defence a worrying time, but had to be content with a corner, then Halls got away on the Ely right and put over a perfect centre, Deres saving their goal by conceding a corner.  That was the manner of the play for the next 10 minutes, and then a Tubby centre was pushed round the corner by Bean and following the corner kick two shots at close quarters were blocked and then Tim Davies opened the scoring with a header in the 13th minute [1‑0].

 

The initiative passed to Deres, whose nippy forwards were outrunning the Ely defence, and in the 25th minute they had their reward, when the forwards went down in line as Tubby took the ball down the left, centring for John Hillary to head in [2-0].

 

Two minutes later Ken Tubby scored [3-0], although he appeared to handle when bringing a high ball down under control.  Excellent shots by Dennis Bower and Tim Davies were charged down and at one time it seemed the ball crossed the goal-line before it was cleared, but the referee waved play on.

 

Ely broke away, Tony Green taking the ball away to the right and sending in a long dropping shot which Reith misjudged, as the ball went in over his head [3-1], but Deres promptly retaliated with Bower scoring [4-1].

 

Deres went away after the change of ends and within three minutes John Hillary had increased their lead with a delightful hook shot [5-1], and seven minutes later he beat three men before slipping the ball to Bower, who scored [6-1].

 

Then, in stemming an Ely attack, Bob Penney was hurt and left the field, returning a few minutes later to play at outside-left.  Tim Davies had dropped back and Tubby went to outside right with Doug Whiting inside.  The rearrangement upset the rhythm of the home team and Ely took advantage and pressed strongly.  A long shot from South dropped just below the bar, but Reith jumped and fielded well, then Chaloner took a pass from Flatt and went away down the Ely left wing, beating Ron Cox and lobbing the ball in for Flatt to nip in and head one of the best goals of the match [6‑2].

 

Having tasted blood Ely piled on the pressure, but 10 minutes went by before Chaloner ended a solo run with a drive into the net from well out [6-3].  Penney now resumed at left-back and from a clearance by him Doug Whiting, who had wandered to the left wing, sent the ball on to Tubby, who moved at speed and shot on the run.  Bean fielded the ball, but the power behind the shot brought him to the ground - he lost the ball and Tim Davies following up scored the last goal a minute before the end of the game [7-3].

 

Erith & Belvedere: Alec Reith; Ron Cox, Bob Penney; Joe Graimes, Bernard Kinch, Vic Parker; Doug Whiting, Tim Davies, Dennis Bower, John Hillary, Ken Tubby.

 

 

Even National Service didn’t stop the Deres that season – when the RAF refused to release Reith from his Hampshire base before 11am for the Amateur Cup second round tie the following week at home to Sutton, Deres club president George Balsom sent a car and driver to Hampshire to pick him up.  Sadly, a massive crowd of 3,135 saw E&B go down 2-1. 

 

The sequence continued for the rest of the Amateur Cup: in the third round Sutton lost in a replay to Tooting & Mitcham; in the fourth round Tooting lost to Corinthian-Casuals; in the semi at Highbury Casuals lost 4-2 to Wycombe Wanderers.  In the final at Wembley, Wycombe lost 3-1 to the mighty Bishop Auckland, who thus won the trophy for the third season running, the last of their record 10 wins.