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Memory Lane — FA Cup Round 5

Just one game from 30 years ago as Blues looked to reach Wembley in the FA Cup and League Cup, but this spawns memories of other cup games against Shrewsbury Town... and Southampton.

Thirty Years Ago — 1983-84: FA Cup Round 5

Everton faced Shrewsbury Town in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, just three days after beating Aston Villa (2-0) in the first leg of the Semi-Final of the Milk Cup, as their twin assault on Wembley continued. Shrewsbury Town had reached this stage with impressive victories against Joe Royle’s Oldham Athletic (3-0) and Ipswich Town (2-0); both earlier ties had taken place at Shrewsbury’s home ground.

The matchday programme recalled Everton’s first ever visit to the Dell, which had occurred in the first round of the FA Cup in 1900; author Dave Juson noted there had been quite a disturbing trend for Everton at the time due to the fact that players had chosen to leave the club for pastures new and Southern League Champions Southampton had profited from that situation. Left-back Peter Meehan and winger Alf Milward two former Everton players and Southampton captain Harry Wood – who had turned down a move from Wolves to Everton in 1898 – were all in the Saints team.

As the Southern League and the Football League clubs did not recognise each other’s contracts, an unhappy player could move from either league without the necessity of a transfer fee. Heavy rain greeted the 10,000 supporters packed into the Dell and Saints took the early initiative making frequent excursions into “Toffeeland”. The game remained goalless until the final fifteen minutes and former Everton player Alf Milward opened the scoring with a beauty that had beaten the Everton keeper Muir all ends up. Arthur Turner added a second before Alf Milward struck again to ensure that Southampton (3-0) progressed to the next round at Everton’s expense. Southampton went on to reach the FA Cup Final but to no avail as they lost to Bury (0-4) at Crystal Palace.
Everton: Muir; Eccles, Balmer; Wolstenholme, Blythe, Abbott; Sharp, Taylor, Proudfoot, Settle, Gray.

Everton gained revenge the following season though, as the two sides met once again in the FA Cup. Nine of the members of the Everton team that had lost at the Dell from the previous year had been involved in this match as Joe Blythe and Robert Gray had been replaced in the side by Tom Booth and Joe Turner, this time the Blues beat Southampton (1-3) at the Dell. Everton fell behind to a goal scored by E Chadwick (25’) and it remained that way at half-time, but Jimmy Settle (48’) equalised for the Toffees, before Jack Taylor put Everton into the lead and Joe Turner (89’) scored in the final minutes to seal the victory in front of 12,000 fans. Everton lost at Bramall Lane to Sheffield United (2-0) in the next round of the FA Cup, but at least they had the satisfaction of putting their Southern rivals Southampton in their place.

It had not only been Everton’s senior players who had been doing well in the 1983-84 Cup competitions, as the youth team had recently celebrated reaching the quarter-final stage of the FA Youth Cup, virtue of their away victory at Millwall (2-3). On a heavy pitch, Millwall had taken the lead after just five minutes but Everton’s Robert Wakenshaw had restored parity shortly before half-time. In the second-half, despite having the wind behind them, Everton had once again fallen behind, but yet again Robert Wakenshaw had managed to equalize. Ten minutes from the end of the game, Paul McKenzie – who had come on as a substitute, to replace Neil Rimmer – had put Everton into the lead for the first time in the game, following another break from Robert Wakenshaw. Fifteen-year-old Graham Brindle – who had been singled out for praise by Youth Development Officer Ray Minshull – said “It was a really hard fought victory and in the last 20 minutes the lads were magnificent. “ The reward for the youth team had been a home-tie at Goodison Park against Newcastle United.
Everton Youth: Hall; Oldroyd, Marshall; Macowat, Hughes, Walsh; Hood, Fielding, Brindle; Rimmer N (McKenzie), Wakenshaw.

The first occasion that Everton had encountered Shrewsbury Town in a domestic cup competition had occurred in 1961, when the two sides had met at Gay Meadow for a Fifth Round tie in the fledgling League Cup competition. On that occasion, Everton had surprisingly been beaten by Shrewsbury Town (2-1). Peter Dolby had scored a brace for the home side and although Alex Young had been on the scoresheet for the Blues it hadn’t been enough to prevent Everton from exiting the League Cup at the quarter-final stage.
Everton: Dunlop; Parker, Thomson; Gabriel, Labone, Sharples; Young, Collins, Webber; Vernon, Harris.

Everton’s most recent previous meeting with Shrewsbury Town happened just over 12 months earlier when the sides had been drawn together in the FA Cup Fourth Round. The game had taken place at Goodison Park on Sunday, 30 January 1983. In front of 35,188, Everton had triumphed (2-1) thanks to the goals scored by Kevin Sheedy and Adrian Heath which had been enough to take the Toffees through to the Fifth Round and a home tie with Tottenham Hotspur. Shrewsbury’s Steve Cross had scored the consolation goal for the visitors.
Everton: Arnold; Stevens, Bailey, Ratcliffe, Higgins; McMahon, Heath; Sharp, King, Reid, Sheedy.

Because the match in 1983 had taken place on a Sunday, a team sheet had been issued – with a nominal price of £4 in lieu of an entrance fee, to those who had attended Goodison Park. As far as I can remember, it had been issued in order to adhere to the Sunday Trading Law’s which had been in place at that time. As well as listing both line-ups on the reverse it had a potted history of Shrewsbury Town. An abridged version follows:

Although members of the Football League only since 1950, Shrewsbury Town, have a history almost as long as that of Everton, having been founded in 1896. For many years their ground was the old Shrewsbury Racecourse. Now, of course, it is Gay Meadow.

Their best FA Cup performances have been in the very recent past: reaching the 6th Round in 1979 and again last season. The prolific Arthur Rowley holds the club scoring record of 152 goals and completed his league scoring record of 434 goals with Town, then later returned to manage the club. Since the Second World War, Town have been managed by a string of famous names: Sam Crooks, Walter Rowley, Harry Potts, John Spuhler, Arthur Rowley, Harry Gregg, Maurice Evans, Alan Durban, Richie Barker and now Graham Turner.

The Match: Sports Journalist Don Evans reported on the Fifth Round tie staged at Goodison Park and he wrote:

“Peter Reid, with a drive that threatened to find its way through the net, the crowd and into the street, dumped Shrewsbury in the Cup gutter. His mighty match-clincher came in the 60th minute and consolidated the 29th-minute Alan Irvine goal, for which Peter Reid also provided the pass. Everton got their third in the 85th minute when a hard cross from Andy Gray was turned into his own net by Colin Griffin. Reid’s goal was deserved reward for a player who was not so much a midfield general as an entire general staff...

For Everton, it is another step towards a mighty Wembley Cup final double. Having now reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, which they last won in 1966 – they now go to Aston Villa on Wednesday for the second leg of the Milk Cup semi-final already holding a 2-0 lead. In the process they have also gone 14 games without defeat, the sort of showing that could well see the club, only recently written off for honours, achieving the feat of appearing in twice as many Wembley finals this season as Liverpool.

As each cup-tie had come and gone the levels of excitement had increased, and those Evertonians who had yet to witness their team pick up silverware had begun to believe that this season they could very well see their dream of watching their team running around Wembley with a cup or perhaps two, become a reality. Monday lunchtime would see many Blues listening anxiously to their radios to discover who their team would face in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

1983-84 — FA Cup Third Round; Saturday, 18 February 1984
Shrewsbury Town @ Goodison Park, Score: 3-0 (Irvine, Reid, Griffin (og)), Att: 27,106
Everton: Southall; Stevens, Bailey, Ratcliffe, Mountfield; Reid, Steven, Heath (Sharp); Gray, King, Sheedy.

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