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A look back to 1948 and a game between Hereford United and Oxford City.
On 14 November 1948 the fourth qualifying round of the FA cup threw up a home tie with amateurs Oxford City. In recognition of the importance of the occasion, the programme price was increased from 2d to 3d. The match turned out to be one of the very best ever seen at Edgar Street for sheer excitement, entertainment, and fluctuation of fortunes.
The first quarter of an hour gave very little indication of the thrills and spills that were about to come. Jock Sinclair put United in front after 18 minutes but City shrugged off this setback and stormed downfield for inside-left James to equalise only two minutes later. The rest of the half was a ding-dong battle with play flowing from end to end. Half-time arrived with no further goals.
Charlie Thompson restored United’s advantage four minutes into the second period, and home fans then expected the lead to be consolidated as the visitors would hopefully tire – however they did not tire and it was United who found themselves hanging on as Oxford City bravely took the battle to them. Wave after wave of attack was repelled by an overworked United defence and as the minutes ticked by it looked as if United might just be able to hang on to the lead.
However City had other ideas and mounted one final desperate attack, and with the last kick of normal time right-winger Nugent scrambled in a last-ditch, but thoroughly deserved, equaliser to force the game into extra time.
Despite conceding a late equaliser, United fans were still confident that the team would prove too strong for Oxford and so they settled down again expecting to see further goals for the home side. They soon got one – but at the wrong end of the pitch - Oxford had carried on where they left off, and left-winger Wheeler put them in front for the first time after only five minutes of the extra period.
This strike seemed to spur United on and they come close on several occasions. With only one minute of the half remaining, George Tranter came up front for yet another corner and magnificently nodded United level yet again.
The second period was full of action and there were goalmouth incidents galore at both ends, with no sign of the brave amateurs tiring, the tie was very evenly balanced. With the minutes ticking by a replay was looking more and more likely. United launched one last desperate and frenzied attack, the ball was crossed from the right, Charlie Thompson flicked a beautiful header over the keeper and the crowd began to celebrate it had “goal” written all over it but incredibly, just as the ball was about to flash under the crossbar and into the net, a defender flew across the face of the goal and produced a magnificent save to fingertip the ball over the bar. The referee awarded United a penalty.
Tension mounted as Thompson placed the ball on the spot for what must surely have been the last kick of the game. An eerie silence fell over the 7,500 crowd packed into Edgar Street. Would Charlie’s nerve hold, or would the tension prove too much for him? He ran up and let rip with a rasping drive. The keeper dived. Before he hit the deck the ball was smashed into the back of the net. Edgar Street erupted. What a game it was, and what a fantastic finish!
After the game Oxford sportingly congratulated their opponents and left the field to a standing ovation. They would long be remembered by the many new friends they had made in Hereford that day.
As told to me by friend Ron Parrott
John Cutler
“Tupsley Whites”