MAC THE MOUTH SILENCED

February 5 1972. Remember this? John Motson never looked back. "Radford...now Tudor's gone down for Newcastle...Radford again....OH what a goal!!Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford and the crowd....it's invading the pitch...and now it take some time to clear the field!" 

This was a goal that launched the career of a 26 year old BBC commentator, John Motson. Motty had been sent to cover the match probably as a snippet on BBC's Match of the Day that evening.

Football On This Day
In a Fourth Round FA Cup replay, Southern League (at the time) Hereford United defeated First Division Newcastle United 2-1, on a quagmire of a pitch at Hereford's home ground, Edgar Street. It was the first time in 23 years that a non-league side had defeated a First Division team in the FA Cup. 

Newcastle took the lead in the 82nd minute, against the run of play, with a goal from Malcolm Macdonald. With only 4 minutes remaining Ronnie Radford equalised with a spectacular 30-yard effort and during extra time Ricky George hit the winner. Amazing. The famous 'Oh, what a goal! Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford' quote was said by John Motson in his Match of the Day commentary that evening, the game being the "lead" match. 

The 26-year-old Motty was in his very early days on TV and later credited that match as being his big break-through in TV. He later wrote is his autobiography 'It changed my life because my boss on Match of the Day realised I could be trusted to commentate on a big match.' SEE BELOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OKKskhyBS8

Mottie played for a "Commentators' Eleven", a team that played matches in the South-east, for Charity and one day his XI ventured to the school I taught at, Charterhouse in Godalming, Surrey. We raised a Charterhouse XI, made up from staff, boys and Old Carthusians (plus an odd pal) and played for Charity, entertaining a decent crowd, on Big Ground, the 1st XI pitch at the school which was first played on in the 1880s. The game was a success, the result did not matter and Motty commentated throughout the game from the right wing, he played wel on a day concluded with suitable refreshments and perhaps a glass of beer in the Old Boys' bar!

Malcolm MacDonald, clearly upset by the result against Hereford, announced in his newspaper column, that he would break Ted Macdonald's record at the Edgar Street replay! 

The neat symmetry to this was that it was the first time a non-league side had beaten a top-flight club since Yeovil Town (yes, a non-league side) knocked out Newcastle's regional rivals, Sunderland, at home, in the 1948-9 FA Cup Round Four, 2-1 aet. In the next Round 5, Yeovil met Manchester United and went out gracefully, 8-0 at Old Trafford!

In the earlier Cup Round 2, Yeovil Town had beaten neighbouring Weymouth 0-4, away and in Rd1 against Romford, had won 4-0.