Rovers' FA Cup Story 1946-47 to 2016-17 Part 2: Performance
May 27, 2017 6:14:58 GMT
Curly Wurly likes this
Post by GasMacc1 on May 27, 2017 6:14:58 GMT
Bristol Rovers Killed More Giants Before 1970
From 1946-47 to 1968-69, Rovers encountered 14 clubs from the next division up…and knocked out seven of them!
In Division 3 (South), en route to the quarter-final in 1951, Rovers conquered two clubs from Division 2: Luton and Hull.
These Pathé News clips show some of the goals!
1951 Round 4: Luton - George Petherbridge pre-figures Billy Bodin to score the winner at Luton.
1951 Round 5: Hull - The surface at Eastville was remarkable even by the standards of 1951! It didn’t stop Josser Watling, though!
Having reached Division 2 ourselves, we beat a Portsmouth side at Eastville in 1955 that would go on to finish third in the First Division; only goal average denied them second place.
Perhaps that 1955 giant-killing would feature more in Rovers FA Cup folklore if it had not been followed in 1956 by the victory over Manchester United. The fact that United proceeded to win the League that season underlines the magnitude of Rovers’ win.
The picture shows Barrie Meyer putting Rovers two goals up before half time against Manchester United on Saturday 7th January 1956 in front of a 35,872 crowd at Eastville.
The win over the Busby Babes did not lead to an extended run in the 1956 competition as Rovers went out in the next round in a replay away at Doncaster.
But the achievement in beating First Division Burnley in a fourth round replay at Turf Moor in 1958 was the springboard for a journey - via Ashton Gate - to the quarter-final that season.
Back in Division Three in the Sixties, Rovers beat two teams from Division Two: Norwich in 1964 and Bolton in 1969. The former set up a trip to Old Trafford to face Best, Law and Charlton; the latter, a visit to Goodison Park.
The seven defeats against clubs from one step up the ladder were: Fulham (1948), Huddersfield (1953), Chelsea (1955 - the year they went on to win the League), Preston (1957 and 1960), Villa (1961) and Bristol City (1968).
So, between 1946-47 and 1968-69, against teams in the division above us, Rovers recorded seven wins and seven defeats: a 50% win ratio.
In modern times, however, we faced sides from one division up on nineteen occasions, but recorded wins against only three of them: Bournemouth (2007), Crawley (2014) and Southampton (2008).Three wins from the 19 ties represents a miserable 15.8% ratio.
Arguably, when we’ve had to look at opponents even further up the tables (more than a single division above us), the modern era has been better than the post-War period.
The win against Derby in 2002 was the only time Rovers have beaten a club three tiers higher in the pyramid, a feat not possible before 1968-69 as we never dropped as low as the fourth division!
When in the third tier, between 1946-47 and 1968-69, Rovers were pitted against teams from division 1 on only five occasions.
The single Rovers win came in 1952 against a Preston team that had reached 5th place in Division One in their first season back in the top tier.
This “Giant-Killers” write-up contains much of interest:
Link to Giant Killers Report Rovers v Preston 1952
“The drama began long before a ball was kicked when smoke was seen rising from the back of the stands. Quick thinking Rovers fans dashed in to save the day, the stand and almost certainly the tie by extinguishing the flames before they could take hold”.
“The pitch was little better than a bog of ankle deep mud in places and Preston simply couldn't play their game on it or adapt to suit it. Rovers, by contrast could and knew to keep the ball off the mud as much as possible”.
“A long ball to Lambden occupied the attentions of two North End defenders, neither of whom dealt properly with the danger and gave Geoff Bradford the space to slot home the opening goal”.
“The referee pointed to the penalty spot. The game stopped as the man in black was surrounded by a host of furious Rovers players incensed at the injustice of the decision and imploring him to go and talk to his linesman. Referee Chadwick discussed the situation long and hard with his assistant in front of a hushed crowd before turning and signalling that the offence was committed outside and not inside the penalty area. Preston’s free kick came to nothing and a huge roar greeted it like a goal”.
“With fifteen minutes to go, a Rovers corner turned into an almighty scramble with boots flailing in all directions before Vic Lambden prodded the ball home”.
In the previous season, Rovers had suffered the first of four defeats against teams two levels higher, in the post-war period up to 1969-70. Pathé News recorded the quarter-final replay at Eastville against Newcastle in 1951.
Newcastle went on to win the cup, the first of three Final wins in five years.
Huge crowds saw us lose to Manchester United (55,722 at Old Trafford in 1964), Arsenal (35,420 at Eastville in 1967) and Everton (55,294 at Goodison Park in 1969).
Since 1969-70, Rovers beat Leicester at the first attempt, at Eastville in 1986; then, 22 years later, defeated Fulham in a replay at the Memorial Stadium. Those are the only times in that period that we’ve knocked out teams from two divisions above us. We lost against Leeds, Ipswich(1985), Luton(1986), Gillingham(2002), Derby(2007) and Birmingham, when there was a similar gap between our status and that of the opponents.
From 1946-47 to 1968-69, Rovers encountered 14 clubs from the next division up…and knocked out seven of them!
In Division 3 (South), en route to the quarter-final in 1951, Rovers conquered two clubs from Division 2: Luton and Hull.
These Pathé News clips show some of the goals!
1951 Round 4: Luton - George Petherbridge pre-figures Billy Bodin to score the winner at Luton.
1951 Round 5: Hull - The surface at Eastville was remarkable even by the standards of 1951! It didn’t stop Josser Watling, though!
Having reached Division 2 ourselves, we beat a Portsmouth side at Eastville in 1955 that would go on to finish third in the First Division; only goal average denied them second place.
Perhaps that 1955 giant-killing would feature more in Rovers FA Cup folklore if it had not been followed in 1956 by the victory over Manchester United. The fact that United proceeded to win the League that season underlines the magnitude of Rovers’ win.
The picture shows Barrie Meyer putting Rovers two goals up before half time against Manchester United on Saturday 7th January 1956 in front of a 35,872 crowd at Eastville.
The win over the Busby Babes did not lead to an extended run in the 1956 competition as Rovers went out in the next round in a replay away at Doncaster.
But the achievement in beating First Division Burnley in a fourth round replay at Turf Moor in 1958 was the springboard for a journey - via Ashton Gate - to the quarter-final that season.
Back in Division Three in the Sixties, Rovers beat two teams from Division Two: Norwich in 1964 and Bolton in 1969. The former set up a trip to Old Trafford to face Best, Law and Charlton; the latter, a visit to Goodison Park.
The seven defeats against clubs from one step up the ladder were: Fulham (1948), Huddersfield (1953), Chelsea (1955 - the year they went on to win the League), Preston (1957 and 1960), Villa (1961) and Bristol City (1968).
So, between 1946-47 and 1968-69, against teams in the division above us, Rovers recorded seven wins and seven defeats: a 50% win ratio.
In modern times, however, we faced sides from one division up on nineteen occasions, but recorded wins against only three of them: Bournemouth (2007), Crawley (2014) and Southampton (2008).Three wins from the 19 ties represents a miserable 15.8% ratio.
Arguably, when we’ve had to look at opponents even further up the tables (more than a single division above us), the modern era has been better than the post-War period.
The win against Derby in 2002 was the only time Rovers have beaten a club three tiers higher in the pyramid, a feat not possible before 1968-69 as we never dropped as low as the fourth division!
When in the third tier, between 1946-47 and 1968-69, Rovers were pitted against teams from division 1 on only five occasions.
The single Rovers win came in 1952 against a Preston team that had reached 5th place in Division One in their first season back in the top tier.
This “Giant-Killers” write-up contains much of interest:
Link to Giant Killers Report Rovers v Preston 1952
“The drama began long before a ball was kicked when smoke was seen rising from the back of the stands. Quick thinking Rovers fans dashed in to save the day, the stand and almost certainly the tie by extinguishing the flames before they could take hold”.
“The pitch was little better than a bog of ankle deep mud in places and Preston simply couldn't play their game on it or adapt to suit it. Rovers, by contrast could and knew to keep the ball off the mud as much as possible”.
“A long ball to Lambden occupied the attentions of two North End defenders, neither of whom dealt properly with the danger and gave Geoff Bradford the space to slot home the opening goal”.
“The referee pointed to the penalty spot. The game stopped as the man in black was surrounded by a host of furious Rovers players incensed at the injustice of the decision and imploring him to go and talk to his linesman. Referee Chadwick discussed the situation long and hard with his assistant in front of a hushed crowd before turning and signalling that the offence was committed outside and not inside the penalty area. Preston’s free kick came to nothing and a huge roar greeted it like a goal”.
“With fifteen minutes to go, a Rovers corner turned into an almighty scramble with boots flailing in all directions before Vic Lambden prodded the ball home”.
In the previous season, Rovers had suffered the first of four defeats against teams two levels higher, in the post-war period up to 1969-70. Pathé News recorded the quarter-final replay at Eastville against Newcastle in 1951.
Newcastle went on to win the cup, the first of three Final wins in five years.
Huge crowds saw us lose to Manchester United (55,722 at Old Trafford in 1964), Arsenal (35,420 at Eastville in 1967) and Everton (55,294 at Goodison Park in 1969).
Since 1969-70, Rovers beat Leicester at the first attempt, at Eastville in 1986; then, 22 years later, defeated Fulham in a replay at the Memorial Stadium. Those are the only times in that period that we’ve knocked out teams from two divisions above us. We lost against Leeds, Ipswich(1985), Luton(1986), Gillingham(2002), Derby(2007) and Birmingham, when there was a similar gap between our status and that of the opponents.