Hertford Town        2          Higgs 31, Smith 66

Erith & Belvedere   1          Grimwood 60

 

Erith & Belvedere   0

Hertford Town        0           

Athenian League Memorial Shield Final, 4 and 11 May 1968

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, a final that slipped away from us during a run of success.

 

Four years out of five from 1966-70, the Deres brought home the Kent Amateur Cup.  In the odd year out, 1967-68, we had a more important cup final to contest – our league cup competition, a/k/a the Athenian League Memorial Shield.

 

CUP FLARE-UP AS DERES’ “GOAL” IS DISALLOWED

 

Erith and Belvedere have a difficult task next Saturday when the two teams meet at Belvedere for the second leg.  They have to score two goals without reply if they are to lift the Memorial Shield for the first time in 18 years.

 

Saturday’s game was not Deres’ best day and they often found themselves in trouble against the fast Hertford forwards.  O’Neill had a cross hooked off the line after five minutes, but otherwise Deres showed little danger.  Johnson lobbed a ball from the wing that landed on top of the netting, and then Crawford had to make a hasty clearance from Garrod.

 

Seconds later Sansbury lifted a nice ball over, but again the goalkeeper collected as Grimwood and Johnson dashed through.

 

Whyte, coming from behind, managed to scrape the ball away from Clay and took it to the right before centring for J Higgs to score from close range in the 31st minute.  This was a bad setback and it called for more effort from Deres, but the effort was a long time coming and chances were not taken.

 

After the break Hertford won a series of corners from which the ball was almost wildly cleared or fumbled away.  Deres made a break down the middle and Burke’s shot was blocked on the 6 yard line.  Then Johnson ran down the left, drew the ball back and centred, Crilley fumbled the clearance and Bob Grimwood smashed it in.

 

Deres piled on the pressure, throwing panic into the Hertford defence, but six minutes later Hertford were again in the lead with a hotly disputed goal.  The ball was passed to Higgs, level with the six-yard line, and the linesman’s flag went up for offside; the referee waved play on.  The ball was then passed back to J Smith, who had an easy task to tap the ball home.  Arguments from Deres players brought the referee’s book out as a warning, and ugly scenes threatened as the referee made further bad decisions.

 

With three minutes left the referee disallowed what appeared to be a perfectly good goal by Colin Johnson.  A linesman flagged after the referee awarded a goal and the man in charge changed his mind on seeing the signal.

 

Deres: Chris Howes; Terry Nelson, Bob Baker, David Burke, Dennis Crawford, Steve O’Neil, Paul Sansbury, Colin Johnson, Bob Grimwood, Micky Clay, Dickie Bernard. Sub: Colin Whiskin.

 

DERES LOSE IN FINAL AS TOWN HOLD ON TO LEAD

 

Deres slid slowly but surely to defeat in the Memorial Shield final at Park View on Saturday – and they only have themselves to blame.  They started the game facing a one-goal deficit from their 2-1 defeat in the first leg at Hertford – and with the pitch a mudbath, all looked set for a high-scoring game.

 

But Deres failed to penetrate a tough, strong and sometimes over-keen Hertford defence.  The home side were given plenty of space to build in midfield, but Hertford’s own “Iron Curtain” came down in front of goal.

 

Early on Deres seemed to master the conditions better.  They sensibly concentrated on long accurate passing rather than hopeless attempts to run with the ball.  Radmore, Sansbury and Bernard were particularly outstanding in the first half as they set up a stream of promising attacks with pinpoint passing.  But it all came to nothing against Hertford’s impenetrable wall.

 

At the other end Deres had a lucky let-ff when skipper Dennis Crawford, in trying to clear from a Hertford free-kick, deflected the ball towards his own goal with Howes caught on the wrong foot.  The ball rebounded from the post and was scrambled away by Bob Baker.

 

Deres’ one clear-cut chance was wasted when leading scorer Colin Johnson was put through on the right, but shot into the side-net as the goalkeeper advanced.  In better conditions Johnson would have scored.  Hertford almost netted in a breakaway raid as winger Don Whyte jinked past three defenders, but he too shot into the side net as Chris Howes dived desperately.

 

After the interval Hertford were well on top and but for some plucky defence, notably by Howes and Nelson, Deres might have conceded several goals.  Three ties in quick succession Howes bravely flung himself into the path of an advancing forward and danger was averted.  Deres were strangely dejected and for much of the half were pinned down away from the Hertford goal, and the late switching of Grimwood for Radmore failed to wake them up. 

 

Hertford lost in the final last year and were determined to win the trophy for the first time in the club’s history.  Deres mounted a furious last-minute assault, spurred on by their frustrated fans.  Johnson was only just wide after a smart move between O’Neil and Sansbury, and Sansbury’s fierce shot was deflected for a corner.  But this was not Deres’ day.

Deres: Howes; Nelson, Baker, Burke, Crawford, O’Neil, Sansbury, Johnson, Ray Radmore (Grimwood), Clay, Bernard.