Monday, November 07, 2005

Motty gives Bulls seal of approval

Neil Connor, of the Sunday Mercury, had a chat with football's most famous commentator, John Motson, about FA Cup glory. Unsurprisingly, there was little positive talk about Midland teams except for Hereford United.

Another Midland side to get the Motty seal of approval is Hereford United, who performed the first modern-day giant killing when the nonleague club beat Newcastle United 2-1 in February 1972.

Anyone of a certain age can remember Motty's immortal words: "Radford... now Tudor's gone down for Newcastle... Radford again...oh, what a goal! Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford! And the crowd are invading the pitch..."

Cue hundreds of scruffy teenagers waving their hands in the hair in delirium in their new parkas.

Everyone has heard the story that this was one of Motson's first games, and the result clearly still has a massive affect on him.

"The giant-killing, I think, is the heartbeat of the FA Cup," he said.

"I was at Exeter a year ago when they drew with Manchester United and forced a replay.

"But when I started out I stumbled across the Hereford and Newcastle game in my first season. And Ronnie Radford's goal has now become the most played goal on television. That was a remarkable game."