Wednesday 26th December 1973
Mansfield Town 4 Lincoln City 3 (Football League Division Four)
After Lincoln City narrowly missed out on promotion at the end of the 1971/72 season, manager David Herd then rather lost his way, and with the Imps in mid-table was replaced at the beginning of December 1972 by player-coach Graham Taylor. There was no improvement in the Imps’ fortunes, in fact the opposite, with a run of 11 games without a win, but a revival aided by the signing of one or two key players saw a final placing of 10th.
Further new arrivals in the summer of 1973 included centre half Sam Ellis and Ian Branfoot as Taylor rebuilt the back four to one that would go on to serve City well over the next few years. Things had been looking promising, with City up to fourth place after beating Crewe 4-2 at the beginning of December. However, a 1-0 away defeat to Northampton and a 2-2 draw at Sincil Bank with Chester on the Saturday before Christmas saw them in sixth place prior to the Boxing Day visit to Mansfield Town.
Managed by former Swindon Town and Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Williams, Mansfield were in their second season in Division Four after previously spending nine in the third tier. Like City, they had been on the fringe of the promotion race up to the beginning of the month but, perhaps distracted by three FA Cup games, had lost their last two in the league, including a 5-3 defeat at Scunthorpe, to slip to 10th place.
The Teams
City: John Kennedy, Ian Branfoot, Dennis Leigh, Tommy Spencer, Sam Ellis, Terry Cooper, John Ward, Peter Graham, Dixie McNeil, Jimmy McGeough, Alan Harding, John Worsdale
Mansfield Town: Graham Brown, Sandy Pate, Barry Foster, Dennis Longhorn, Colin Foster, Kevin Bird, Steve Peplow, Dudley Roberts, Terry Eccles, Clive Walker, Paul Matthews, Mick Laverick
Lincoln City
Goalkeeper for City was 33-year-old Northern Irishman John Kennedy, the longest-serving player in the squad for this match. He had been brought to the club by manager Ron Gray from Celtic’s reserve side in the summer of 1967 and had the distinction of appearing for the Great Britain team in qualifying matches for the 1964 Olympic Games.
Right back Ian Branfoot and centre half Sam Ellis had been signed for a total outlay of around £14,500 in the summer from Doncaster and Mansfield respectively. They joined left back Dennis Leigh, Graham Taylor’s first signing for the club in February 1973 from Rotherham, and Terry Cooper, who had been signed by Taylor’s predecessor David Herd from Notts County in the summer of 1972 after a spell on loan the previous season. Appointed club captain, Ellis had been ever-present in the side but had not yet really won over the supporters, some of whom thought that the best centre half at the club was Tommy Spencer, their choice for partnering Cooper in the centre.
The versatile Spencer, signed by David Herd from Rotherham in January 1972, had in fact deputised for Cooper in defence on a few occasions in the current season and had also featured at centre forward. He was now being pressed into service in midfield due to injuries to another Herd signing, Colin Symm, and the skilful Dave Smith who, in fact, and not for the first time, had recently been put on the transfer list. Also in midfield in City’s 4-3-3 formation were Irishman Jimmy McGeough and Alan Harding. The 27-year-old McGeough had been one of the most prominent players in Irish football when signed in the summer of 1972 by David Herd for £6,000 after making 147 league appearances and scoring 11 goals for Waterford. Generally disappointing in his first season, he was now holding down a regular first-team place due to the early-season injury suffered by former Scunthorpe man Terry Heath. Alan Harding, along with Heath, had been another early signing for Taylor, joining from Darlington in March 1973 in a then record deal worth £14,500.
Up front were the local-born John Ward, who had been brought to the club as a teenager by Ron Gray in 1969, and Peter Graham who, like Ellis, after being signed from Darlington for the hefty sum of £12,500 in September, had yet to win over the supporters, having failed to score in his 13 appearances so far. A player who never had any difficulty scoring throughout his career was Dixie McNeil, signed by Herd at the same time as Spencer for a fee of £9,500. With a record of 33 goals in 85 league games for previous club Northampton, he had top-scored for City with 21 in the previous season but had just seven so far this time around, one fewer than Ward.
Substitute was right winger John Worsdale, a Herd signing from Stoke City’s reserves in the summer of 1971.
Mansfield Town
In goal for Mansfield was 23-year-old Graham Brown, signed from Millwall reserves in 1969. At right back was Scotsman Sandy Pate, with Mansfield since joining from Watford in 1967 and well on his way to a record number of appearances for the club. With his regular full back partner Clive Walker required to be played further forward, 22-year-old Barry Foster had come into the side in the early stages of a career that would see him make over 340 appearances for the Stags. Recently replacing veteran Dick Edwards in the side at centre half, and playing on his 20th birthday, was former apprentice Colin Foster, no relation to Barry. Slightly older was Kevin Bird, who had won a regular place in the side midway through the previous season after being released by Doncaster.
In the centre of midfield for the Stags was the commanding figure of Dennis Longhorn in his third season after joining from Bournemouth and who would shortly be transferred to Second Division Sunderland. Returning from injury was 27-year-old Paul Matthews in his second season after several years as a fringe first-team player with Leicester City. On the right wing and making his debut on loan from Nottingham Forest was former Swindon Town man Steve Peplow, who had started his career with a couple of appearances at Liverpool. On the left wing in place of the injured Jimmy McCaffery was usual left back Clive Walker, who had started his career with Leicester, playing in a League Cup final for them before joining Northampton. He had joined Mansfield in 1969 and would eventually total over 200 appearances for them.
In attack, the powerfully built Terry Eccles had been signed from Second Division Blackburn in the summer and was currently leading scorer with 15 goals. Alongside him was the long-serving Dudley Roberts, with Mansfield since March 1968 and with six goals in the season so far.
Mansfield’s substitute was 19-year-old midfielder Mick Laverick, who had made his debut the previous season.
The Game
The Stags’ match programme was just a four-page affair due to the effect of restricted working hours caused by the ‘three-day week’ introduced by Prime Minister Edward Heath to save on electricity consumption due to industrial action by coal miners. Football was not high on the priorities for the available power and the use of floodlights had recently been banned, even including power from private generators. However, for Christmas, the country had been granted a two-day lifting of the restrictions and the game was able to be scheduled for a 3pm kick-off as normal.
Mansfield took an early lead when Clive Walker gave a great pass to Steve Peplow on the right. His ball across was missed by John Kennedy, who was not to have the best of games, and Terry Eccles bundled it into the net at the far post. Mansfield keeper Graham Brown had to make a fine save from a 30-yard shot by Jimmy McGeough but City levelled in the 33rd minute. It was McGeough again, winning a strong tackle to put Dixie McNeil away down the right, and his low cross-shot beat Brown and went into the net. Just after the break City went ahead following a long throw by Ian Branfoot which Tommy Spencer back-headed. Brown was only able to palm the ball against the bar and McNeil headed it into the net as it dropped.
Loanee right winger Peplow now took command for Mansfield, putting the ball into the area where Walker tried a backheel which struck Terry Cooper on the leg to be diverted into the net. In the 65th minute it was Peplow again who put the ball across for Eccles to flick it into the net from close range. Two minutes later Peplow scored himself, being left unmarked to head a corner into the net in the centre of the goal. At 4-2 down City were really up against it, and John Ward was withdrawn to allow John Worsdale to show a bit of speed on the right wing. It paid off three minutes from the end when the substitute broke down the line before allowing Branfoot to overlap. The full back’s powerful cross was headed in by McNeil to complete the rare feat of a player recording a hat-trick in an away match and yet finishing on the losing side. This maybe unwanted feat had only been achieved once before in City’s history, by centre forward Tommy Cheetham in an 8-4 defeat at Accrington Stanley in May 1947.
The defeat for City saw a further drop of one place to seventh and, although back in the promotion places by the end of January, a series of Sunday games brought in as a result of the energy restrictions did not seem to suit the side and they fell away to a final placing of 12th. However, with the nucleus of a good side already in place, better times were ahead.
Mansfield moved up to sixth following the win over the Imps but some indifferent results saw a fall to below mid-table and the sacking of manager Danny Williams at the beginning of March. Under caretaker manager Jock Basford and new appointee Dave Smith they could still manage no better than 17th. However, as with City, they had the nucleus of an outstanding side in place and went on to be champions the following season, finishing only one point shy of the record for the division.
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