Queens Park Rangers vs Reading

HOOPS
GARY, our run to the FA Cup final
was 40 years ago now but it only
seems like yesterday, doesn’t it?
In many ways it does, you wonder
where the 40 years have gone. So
much has changed but really it
doesn’t seem that long ago.
Looking back at the semi-final
against top-flight West Bromwich
Albion at Highbury, all the build-up
before the game was about Albion’s
in-form striker Cyrille Regis. The
pundits said he was unstoppable…
West Brom were a good team with
some extremely talented players.
However, big Bob Hazell was brilliant for
us in marking Cyrille out of the game.
Cyrille was an outstanding centreforward
but Bob played really well – he
didn’t give him a sniff all afternoon.
Clive Allen scored the only goal for us
in the 72nd minute when he blocked a
clearance by West Brom defender Ally
Robertson and the ball cannoned into
the net. Would you say it was a scruffy
but glorious moment?
The game started well for us, but it
could have gone either way before we
got a little bit of a fluke goal! The ball
flew in off Clive’s knee. I remember,
with about 10 minutes to go, one of
their lads had a shot and I was right
behind him. He arrowed it at the goal
and how it missed I don’t know! I
thought to myself: “Oh my God! How
did that not go in? We must be in the
final now!”
Rangers had tremendous support at
Highbury – our fans filled the whole
of the famous North Bank…
I remember arriving on the team coach
outside the main entrance and all we
could see were West Brom supporters.
I was thinking: “Where are our fans?”
But when we got inside, there were a
lot of QPR supporters already in the
stadium. They gave us magnificent
backing for the entire 90 minutes.
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