IN the build-up to Worcester City celebrating their 120th anniversary celebrations this Saturday, the Worcester News is going to take a look back through the archives for some of the more memorable days in the club's history.
Starting on Monday (today) the Worcester News will pick a different game to re-live, using some of the best images and comments from those involved.
The first and probably best place to start is back in 1959, the year Worcester City recorded their best ever run in the prestigious FA Cup.
Yes, it was the year that City conquered the mighty Liverpool and Milwall on their way to the fourth round, which remains the club's only appearance that deep into the competition.
That game was against Sheffield United and it attracted the biggest crowd ever at St George's Lane, a whopping 17,000 in attendance.
Having come off the back of the highs of beating Liverpool, City would go on to struggle to match those levels of performance as Sheffield proved too good.
Against both Millwall and Liverpool, City had been out of the blocks quickly and had scored vital early goals.
This time the opposition seized the initiative and dictated the pace of the game from the very first kick. Inside the first ten minutes City’s usually reliable defence had been caught out of position at least four times, and it was no surprise
when the visitors scored in the ninth minute through Kevin Lewis - the youngest player on the pitch at 17 - was unmarked and calmly stroked home a left wing cross.
At that point, it seemed like a case of how many more goals United would get, but City gradually adjusted to the pace that the visitors had set and held out until half-time.
In fact, as the first period was drawing to close, Harry Knowles had City’s best chance of the match, hammering the ball against the goalkeeper’s chest.
He then shot tamely into Hodgkinson’s arms with Tommy Skuse screaming in the middle for the ball to be squared to him.
When Harry finally did lay on a chance for Tommy, the City youngster blazed the ball over the crossbar when he only needed to prod it into the net. “His inexperience stuck out like a sore thumb,” said the Worcester News and Times reporter.
City never got another look-in and after the game, all that City boss Bill Thompson would say was: “The further you go in this Cup, the harder it is when you fall. The end had to come some time. We’ve no complaints – the better team
won.”
The headline in the Evening News and Times the following Monday really said it all: “Worcester’s Gallant Cup Battlers Hadn’t Met This Class of Player Before.”
Stay tuned for more dives back through the history books as the Worcester News builds up to the celebrations on Saturday around the MFL Premier game with Shifnal Town.
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