The day Arsenal survived Pompey onslaught

With Arsenal in town this weekend we go back fifty-five years to a memorable afternoon at Fratton Park.

The fourth-round draw gave Pompey a home tie with the Gunners who were top of the First Division.  The game was immediately made an all ticket affair with over 40,000 sold and the tie drew national recognition with the Match of the Day cameras present for the first time in nearly four years.

Pompey – Milkins, Smith, Ley, Hand, Blant, Munks, Piper, Trebilcock, Hiron, Bromley, Pointer Sub: Youlden

Arsenal – Wilson, Rice, McNab, Storey, McLintock, Simpson, Armstrong, Samuels, Radford, Kennedy, Graham Sub: George

Referee:  Mr R Johnson – Lowestoft

Attendance 39,659

The game was one of two completely different halves played in pouring rain which only added to the spectacle.  Arsenal had almost total control but at the interval only had a Peter Storey penalty on 35 minutes, given when George Ley punched away a goal bound effort, something that in modern day football wood have earned him a straight red card.

Watching we thought that Arsenal would break down Pompey’s resistance built around the central defensive partnership of Eoin Hand and Colin Blant.  But we were completely wrong for Pompey came out all guns blazing roared on by the huge crowd and the visitors were pushed back on their Fratton End goal with keeper Bob Wilson having to earn his keep.  Full Backs Fred Smith and George Ley pouring forward and Norman Piper spraying passes around the pressure began to build.  As Reg Betts wrote in the Football Mail – ‘Arsenal’s poise evaporated as they were flung back by the fighting Pompey side’.

The clock was ticking down and Pompey could not break the resistance until in the final minute Smith got away on the right and squared a ball across the box and reached Mike Trebilcock on the far post and then time stood still as Trebs took aim and slammed the ball into the Fratton net. Pandemonium broke out as Trebs tumbled away and the roar was probably the greatest ever heard at Fratton Park.  Seconds later with the celebrations still going on, the full time whistle went and Pompey had held the eventual double winners.

The replay was delayed due to a waterlogged Highbury pitch.  Pompey were edged out 3-2 after taking an early lead through Piper and although Ley pulled in back to 2-2 another Storey penalty, hotly disputed, won the tie tarnished for the brave blues with the sending off of Brian Bromley in the final minutes.  

For the third time in five years Pompey were knocked out by the eventual winners following Spurs in 1967 and West Brom in 1968.

Watch the goals here and watch Trebs talk to Johnny Moore about that goal here.