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Authors: Paul Harrison
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it, the best team wins. The Manchester United fans were screaming all kinds of abuse and throwing coins at us. I didn't care, it was the greatest moment of my Leeds career up to that point.’
Sadly, the game was marred seconds after the Bremner goal, when a Manchester United fan ran onto the pitch and knocked out referee Mr Windle with a clean punch to his head. Despite the despicable behaviour of the Manchester Red Army, behaviour that was to get much worse as the decade progressed, the night belonged to Billy Bremner and his Leeds United colleagues:
‘What happened to the referee was all wrong; the man could have been seriously hurt. That aside it was a great moment for us all, to get to a Wembley Cup final, a first for Leeds. In the dressing room after the game, I was trying to have a relaxingsmoke and a bit of time to reflect but it was pandemonium. Everyone was hugging each other and in the end I realised that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy a fag and it was a complete waste of time trying to grab five minutes for myself.
‘I had done Wembley before in a schoolboy international back in April 1958 when we beat the England boys on their own soil, but I knew it wasn't going to be remotely comparable to appearing in an FA Cup final.’
The Wembley final against Liverpool was played on a filthy, wet afternoon on 1 May 1965. The pitch, green and lush at the beginning of the encounter, resembled a mud bath at the end of ninety minutes, as the teams fought out a 0-0 draw in normal time, thus ensuring that extra time was necessary in an FA Cup final for the first time since 1947.
‘It had been a long old season for us all and I was bloody knackered at the end of the ninety minutes. The Wembley pitch saps your energy and strength. It's the Cumberland turf, it was like a sponge, and it's great in the dry, but like a quagmire when it gets damp or wet. I thought we had matched Liverpool in every area in the first ninety minutes, and in the back of my mind I wanted us to hold out for a draw and a replay at Maine Road the following week. That would give us all time to rest and do battle again.
‘I could see other players were shattered, and poor Albert Johanneson was a bag of nerves with some of the Liverpool crowd shouting racist comments at him. That unnerved him, but so did the fact that he was the first black footballer to appear in a Wembley FA Cup final. Someone, a reporter, had reminded him of the fact in the tunnel area before the game. As he walked into the dressing room I could see something was bothering him. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. So I asked him what was wrong. “Sir, they say I am special and the eyes of the world will be on me today, as a black footballer in an FA Cup final.” Most people would see that as an honour and challenge to be the best on the day. Not Albert, he shit himself and when some of the crowd made Zulu noises each time he gotthe ball that finished him. It wasn't only Albert who was struggling. As a team we had ran out of steam at the final hurdle. Just when it appeared that we could hang on for a draw, it happened, they scored.’
That initial blow came after ninety-three minutes when Roger Hunt dived in to head the Merseysiders into a 1-0 lead. The goal looked as though it had settled the tie. Both teams were clearly weary through their exertions, yet despite suffering from exhaustion and cramp, continued to strategically outmanoeuvre each other. Leeds, with nothing to lose, pushed forward at every opportunity, only to be snuffed out by the strong Liverpool rearguard. On 101 minutes, a dishevelled-looking Billy Bremner, soaked to the skin, and with one sock rolled down to his ankle, giving him the appearance of a lost waif as opposed to a professional footballer, put a temporary halt to Liverpool's somewhat presumptive celebrations. His sweetly struck shot from the edge of the penalty area flew high into the Liverpool net, past the clawing and
Sadly, the game was marred seconds after the Bremner goal, when a Manchester United fan ran onto the pitch and knocked out referee Mr Windle with a clean punch to his head. Despite the despicable behaviour of the Manchester Red Army, behaviour that was to get much worse as the decade progressed, the night belonged to Billy Bremner and his Leeds United colleagues:
‘What happened to the referee was all wrong; the man could have been seriously hurt. That aside it was a great moment for us all, to get to a Wembley Cup final, a first for Leeds. In the dressing room after the game, I was trying to have a relaxingsmoke and a bit of time to reflect but it was pandemonium. Everyone was hugging each other and in the end I realised that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy a fag and it was a complete waste of time trying to grab five minutes for myself.
‘I had done Wembley before in a schoolboy international back in April 1958 when we beat the England boys on their own soil, but I knew it wasn't going to be remotely comparable to appearing in an FA Cup final.’
The Wembley final against Liverpool was played on a filthy, wet afternoon on 1 May 1965. The pitch, green and lush at the beginning of the encounter, resembled a mud bath at the end of ninety minutes, as the teams fought out a 0-0 draw in normal time, thus ensuring that extra time was necessary in an FA Cup final for the first time since 1947.
‘It had been a long old season for us all and I was bloody knackered at the end of the ninety minutes. The Wembley pitch saps your energy and strength. It's the Cumberland turf, it was like a sponge, and it's great in the dry, but like a quagmire when it gets damp or wet. I thought we had matched Liverpool in every area in the first ninety minutes, and in the back of my mind I wanted us to hold out for a draw and a replay at Maine Road the following week. That would give us all time to rest and do battle again.
‘I could see other players were shattered, and poor Albert Johanneson was a bag of nerves with some of the Liverpool crowd shouting racist comments at him. That unnerved him, but so did the fact that he was the first black footballer to appear in a Wembley FA Cup final. Someone, a reporter, had reminded him of the fact in the tunnel area before the game. As he walked into the dressing room I could see something was bothering him. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. So I asked him what was wrong. “Sir, they say I am special and the eyes of the world will be on me today, as a black footballer in an FA Cup final.” Most people would see that as an honour and challenge to be the best on the day. Not Albert, he shit himself and when some of the crowd made Zulu noises each time he gotthe ball that finished him. It wasn't only Albert who was struggling. As a team we had ran out of steam at the final hurdle. Just when it appeared that we could hang on for a draw, it happened, they scored.’
That initial blow came after ninety-three minutes when Roger Hunt dived in to head the Merseysiders into a 1-0 lead. The goal looked as though it had settled the tie. Both teams were clearly weary through their exertions, yet despite suffering from exhaustion and cramp, continued to strategically outmanoeuvre each other. Leeds, with nothing to lose, pushed forward at every opportunity, only to be snuffed out by the strong Liverpool rearguard. On 101 minutes, a dishevelled-looking Billy Bremner, soaked to the skin, and with one sock rolled down to his ankle, giving him the appearance of a lost waif as opposed to a professional footballer, put a temporary halt to Liverpool's somewhat presumptive celebrations. His sweetly struck shot from the edge of the penalty area flew high into the Liverpool net, past the clawing and
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