 |
| FEATURES |
 |
|
CUP KINGS 1965 - PART 4 - OH NO, NOT LEICESTER
Mark Platt
13 March 2005
|
|
|
Having weathered the Leicester storm Liverpool regained their composure and Callaghan went close with a dipping shot. Banks then had some difficulty in dealing with a teasing centre from Byrne and Lawler shot straight into his arms from close range. The champions fitness and stamina was beginning to tell as the game entered the closing stages and it was they who looked more likely to snatch a late winner. The hero of roundfive Ian Callaghan missed a gilt edged opportunity to snatch a winner in the dying minutes when, unmarked on the far post, he put the ball inches wide of the upright.
Nevertheless Liverpool's cup dreams remained alive and, man of the match, Tommy Smith recalls: "To get a draw down there was a great result. It was a tight game and could have gone either way." Tommy Lawrence was another Reds player singled out for praise in the press and he remembers the games as one of his best: "Shanks was very happy with me that night. It was certainly one of my better games," he says.
| Teams (replay) | Liverpool: 1. Tommy Lawrence, 2. Chris Lawler, 3.Gerry Byrne, 4. Gordon Milne, 5. Ron Yeats (capt), 6. Willie Stevenson, 7. Ian Callaghan, 8. Roger Hunt, 9. Ian St John, 10. Tommy Smith, 11. Peter Thompson.
Leicester City: 1. Gordon Banks, 2. John Sjoberg, 3. Richie Norman, 4. Bobby Roberts, 5. Ian King, 6. Colin Appleton (capt), 7. Bill Hodgson, 8. Graham Cross, 9. Jimmy Goodfellow, 10. David Gibson, 11. Mike Stringfellow. |
Liverpool and Leicester both named unchanged teams for the replay but there was a change in the line up of officials. George McCabe of Sheffield took the place of Saturday's referee Arthur Luty who did not officiate in midweek matches. The prize on offer for the winners was a semi-final date with Chelsea at Villa Park
Although Liverpool now had home advantage, Leicester had already won seven cup ties away from home that season and Roger Hunt remained wary of the danger the Foxes posed: "We knew it was still going to be tough because they were a good team away from home. They were defensive and they would hit you on the break after soaking up all the pressure. They had caught us out a couple of times like that, including the semi final at Hillsborough, so we were fully aware that just because we had home advantage the tie was far from a foregone conclusion."
The general consensus in the Liverpool dressing room however was that the hard part of the job had been done and Ron Yeats says: "We took confidence from the goalless draw at Filbert Street. We had achieved what we set out to achieve and all our players were brimming with confidence and were optimistic about seeing them off at Anfield."
One hour before kick off the gates at the Kop and Anfield Road end were closed and thousands of fans were locked out. It was the biggest crowd at Anfield for two years. The majority of those inside were baying for revenge and Tommy Lawrence recollects: "Of all the games I played for Liverpool the atmosphere that night against Leicester was the best I have played in. It was amazing. Other players talk about the atmosphere against Inter Milan but for me this was the best."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| COMPETITIONS |
 |
| Win "LFC - For Club & Country" DVD! |
 |
|
|
