sortiwa
There is nothing wrong with a fluke in sport. Cliff Thorburn will forever have a place in Crucible history, having achieved the first 147 at the venue in the World Championship. But how many people will recall that the first of his 36 balls was a fluke? From good luck to “good luck, mate” in a little over 15 minutes of pure theatre.
Football is no different. There are numerous examples of fortune playing a key role in memorable matches: Jimmy Greenhoff’s winner in the 1977 FA Cup final that denied Liverpool the chance of a treble; Darren Bent’s beach ball goal; Tommy Boyd in France 98; Bruno Bellone’s penalty at Mexico 86.
Step forward Andy Rogers, whose goal against Derby at the Baseball Ground added another chapter to Plymouth’s fairytale run to FA Cup semi-finals in the 1983-84 season. There is a lot of ground to cover before Rogers scored directly from a corner in the 17th minute of the quarter-final.
The team from the Third Division entered the competition in the first round proper. An extra-time win in a replay against Southend started the journey, and it took an 86th-minute winner from centre-back Lindsay Smith to see off Barking in the second round. A last-gasp Tommy Tynan equaliser at Home Park against Newport kept the dream alive, with Rogers scoring a later winner in the replay; a come-from-behind victory against Darlington took the Pilgrims to the last 16. If the previous rounds had been taxing, their fifth-round tie at top-flight West Brom proved a walk in the park. Plymouth were deserving 1-0 winners in front of 5,000 travelling fans at the Hawthorns.
Taking the club to the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in its history was a remarkable achievement by manager John Hore. The Cornishman had returned to Plymouth as manager in October 1983, having impressed in his stint as player-manager at Bideford where he had won the Western League twice. With more than 50 applicants for the position, Hore’s decade-long playing career at Plymouth and 441 appearances naturally helped.
“They knew about me, knew I was keen, knew I’d work hard and knew I’d work without a contract,” said Hore. Despite their middling league form, the cup run was creating a feelgood factor around the city, with an offer of a two-year contract rumoured for Hore. A win over Derby in the quarter-finals would go a long way to boosting Hore’s status.
When the teams drew 0-0 at Home Park, it looked like Plymouth had missed their chance. Derby were lucky to escape from Devon with a replay. Plymouth, in front of a crowd of 34,365, swarmed all over Peter Taylor’s woeful team. The Guardian reporter Russell Thomas called the stalemate “a gross injustice”, with Taylor frank in his assessment: “I thought we had won the pools today and I’m delighted to have a second chance.”
Taylor was thankful his goalkeeper Steve Cherry had been in such fine form, yet one moment in particular emphasised Plymouth’s lack of fortune on the day. With eight minutes remaining, Cherry tipped an effort by Gordon Staniforth on to his left-hand post and turned to see the ball bounce across the goal line and on to the other upright. Somehow Derby held on.
Hore was bullish before the replay. “We are far from dead and buried,” he said. “We’ll go up there on Wednesday and give it all once more.” With the winners drawn to play Watford at Villa Park in the last four, more than 4,000 Plymouth fans made the trip to Derby in the hope the club would be the sixth from the third tier to reach the semi-finals.
The eventual matchwinner nearly missed the game. Rogers had suffered a rib injury three weeks earlier, with a cold complicating matters, requiring him to go for an X-ray. “All the coughing and sneezing of the past few days must have aggravated the trouble because I finished Saturday’s match with a pain in my ribs,” Rogers said. “Luckily I’ve been given the all-clear.”
Rogers had an interesting backstory. After being released by Peterborough, he had trained as a teacher and played part-time for Hampton before Southampton plucked him from the Isthmian League. But the winger found it hard to work his way into a Saints team packed with stars. “There were always players like Kevin Keegan, Mike Channon and Alan Ball,” Rogers said. “I had to rely on injuries to get the odd game, usually in place of Mike. But I always knew I would be back in the reserves when he was fit again.” A £50,000 move to Plymouth in 1981 proved a turning point.
His moment of glory arrived in the 17th minute of the replay. David Phillips had already gone close for the visitors with a long-range effort, as Plymouth continued where they had left off four days earlier. When Derby’s Steve Powell headed Rogers’ cross slightly behind him, full-back John Barton really should have prevented the corner. His sliced clearance proved costly.
Rogers sent in an inswinging corner with his right foot, as the incomparable Barry Davies described the moment. “Uzzell is on the near post, comes away, and Cherry in trouble, and it’s straight in.” A delighted Rogers ran down the wing in celebration, as thousands of delirious fans celebrated behind Cherry’s goal.
Cherry understandably looked distraught, Davies noting that the hero from Saturday was now seeing a different side of the sport. Getting caught under the ball, Derby’s keeper was unable to backpedal quickly enough to deal with a fantastic delivery, as the ball curved into the net. Rogers must have been just as shocked as Cherry.
“I just put the ball down for a corner, kicked it and it went in clean as a whistle,” said Rogers after the match. “It was a pure fluke. If I could do that sort of thing on purpose, I certainly wouldn’t be playing in the Third Division. The funny thing is that this morning in training I took three corners just to practise taking them and I messed all three up. They were three of the worst corners you could hope to hit. The manager said: ‘Don’t bother taking any more, it’ll be alright on the night,’ and that’s the way it turned out.”
Plymouth’s win was fully deserved. Twice Smith would hit the woodwork, as Derby’s mix of inexperienced and slightly past their peak players failed to land a blow. Crudgington, Nisbet, Uzzell, Harrison, Smith, Cooper, Hodges, Phillips, Tynan, Staniforth, Rogers. Eleven names that made history for Plymouth Argyle.
“I am proud as punch,” said Hore. “I had a feeling we would win after the disappointments of Saturday. It’s a great night for everybody who made the trip from Devon. Wembley is now only one game away – anything is possible for us.” The players were treated to an overnight stay in a hotel, and there were a few bleary-eyed heroes welcomed home when the coach arrived back at Home Park.
“My dream now is to play Southampton in the final,” said Rogers. “What a day that would be.” He was not granted his wish – Watford won the semi-final 1-0 and went on to face Everton at Wembley – but what a time to be alive for anyone associated with the club. And they had gone one stage further than Exeter had managed in 1981.
The cup run must have seemed like a distant dream for Hore by the end of the year. He kept Plymouth in the Third Division and earned that two-year contract but was sacked in November after a poor start to the following campaign. Nevertheless, his short reign will forever be remembered for a cup run that captured the imagination of the public and saw Plymouth get within one game of Wembley.
This article is by Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog
Source link