Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City

Date : -  Saturday 6th May 1962

Venue : -  Wembley Stadium

Crowd : -  100,000

Weather : -  Dry.

Referee : -  J. Kelly (Chorley)

Score : -

Goalscorers : -

Burnley : -  Banks; Chalmers, Norman; McLintock, King, Appleton; Riley, Walsh, McIlmoyle, Keyworth, Cheeseborough.

Tottenham Hotspur : -  Bill Brown; Peter Baker, Ron Henry; Danny Blanchflower, Maurice Norman, Dave Mackay; Terry Dyson, John White, Bobby Smith, Les Allen, Cliff Jones.

What was supposed to be a triumphant march to the Double got there, but not quite in the fashion everyone had expected, as a tired Spurs struggled to overcome what was a ten man Leicester City side for 72 minutes of the game.

The game started with the crowd optimistic of seeing Tottenham Hotspur become the first team in the 20th Century to lift the League and Cup double, having already secured the Championship prior to this match.  Some early forays saw Cliff Jones speed away up the right wing, but nothing came of it.  In the third minute, a Mackay long-throw was cleared back to him on the left wing and he crossed long to Dyson at the far post and the winger's header back to John White set up a chance which the Scotsman fired over the bar from 12 yards out.

Leicester briefly threatened as Tottenham kept the Foxes pinned in their own area for the first ten minutes.  When McIlmoyle hit a shot on goal that looked as if it was going wide and a deflection took it wider and then they had a free-kick on the edge of the box for a late Mackay tackle, but the danger was cleared by the Spurs defence.  City fans were obviously not happy with some of the Tottenham tackling, as they booed every time a free-kick was awarded.  McIlmoyle was proving the sole threat and when a diagonal ball was played into him on the left corner of the box, he hit his 11th minute shot first time, but it cleared Brown and the crossbar.  Leicester were pushing forward with Appleton in midfield picking up the ball 40 yards out a minute later and striding forward, he hit a 30 yard effort wide of Brown's post.

Cliff Jones took a boot in the chest from City's Walsh and then in the 18th minute, Len Chalmers won a challenge with Bobby Smith and as he emerged with the ball, Les Allen slid in to tackle him, catching him on the shin.  The defender turned his knee as he fell and this left the Leicester player on the floor.  He needed two minutes of treatment by both trainers before he made his way to his feet, but he was unable to take any more meaningful part in the game and was stuck out on the left wing, where he moved about with great difficulty.  There were no substitutes to replace players in these days.

Chambers' injury seemed to put Tottenham off their game and Leicester gained the upper hand.  Striker Hugh McIlmoyle was giving the Spurs defence a difficult time and the Tottenham attack appeared to lack inspiration to break down the re-organised Leicester back line, with John White putting a shot into the side-netting.

Dyson floated a header wide on 19 minutes and White played a ball down the left wing for Jones, but he was unable to keep it in and clattered into the bank of photographers just beyond the touchline.  From the next attack, Allen put in a low cross from the left, which Richie Norman almost turned into his own goal, but managed to scramble it wide for a corner.  White then nut-megged his opponent and put in a fierce right wing cross which Appleton headed out for a corner, but he needed a splash from the trainer's magic sponge, such was the force it hit his head.

Leicester were not going to let the injury disrupt them and just before the half hour, both Norman and Blanchflower had to throw themselves in front of shots on the edge of the penalty area.  Then it was Spurs in attack again and Dyson brought a low save out of Gordon Banks in the City goal and as he went to kick the ball out, Bobby Smith knocked the ball away with his foot to a chorus of boos from the Midlanders' fans.  Tottenham were finishing the half strongly with Smith flicking the ball to White with the outside of his boot and the resulting shot went a yard wide.

Then in the 38th minute, a low right wing cross from Dyson was converted at the far post by Jones, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.  It was a disappointing decision, but Tottenham had a similar chance a few minutes after, when Smith took Allen's cross with his head and put it over, with Jones coming in behind him in a better position to head the ball.  Right on the half time whistle, Leicester produced some good set-up play and presented a shooting opportunity to Riley, but his effort went well wide.

After the interval, Leicester had a good chance when McIlmoyle made strides into the area and only a fine interception by Baker denied him a shooting opportunity.  Nothing came of the corner, but a free-kick six minutes into the half saw Riley cross for McIlmoyle to win a header, but it was too high.  Then it was Spurs' turn, with two attacks in quick succession.  The first was a free-kick headed down by Norman for Allen to take a first time shot, but he dragged it a long way wide and then in the 12th minute, Dyson cut in from the left wing to fire a shot into Banks' midriff.  There were cries for a penalty when Jones was brought down on the edge of the area, but from a yard outside the box, Dyson played the loose ball through to Smith, who struck a shot from a tight angle into the side-netting.

The match was still ebbing and flowing, with Leicester then attacking through a McIlmoyle effort that went well wide, when he was well placed centrally and Riley running from 30 yards out to the edge of the area, where he let fly with a drive that went just wide of Brown's left hand post.

With 66 minutes on the clock, Spurs put together a good move when White's left wing cross was knocked back into the danger area by Smith and Terry Dyson flew in with a header that should have hit the target but rose over the bar.  It was a brief respite for Leicester, as in the 67th minute, Tottenham finally broke through the resilient Foxes defence.  Les Allen had possession on the right wing and played the ball infield for Dyson, who played a straight ball to Smith's feet in the box.  The England striker took the ball and in one movement turned and hit a shot past a diving Banks from about six yards out.  The relief in the crowd and among the players was palpable.

Just after the goal, Dyson should have made it two, but, from underneath the bar, somehow managed to put it over the goal, but City were not finished yet and a cleared free-kick fell to McLintock on the edge of the Spurs box, which the Scot hit true, but two yards wide.  It preceded a break-away at a time when Tottenham were passing the ball well and showing some of the flicks and movement for which they had been famed in the League.  John White played in Smith on the right wing and the centre-forward's cross to the far post was superbly met by a diving header from Terry Dyson that hit the back of the net for 2-0.

The game was virtually over, so the gallant Chalmers left the field with ten minutes remaining and the space opened up for Tottenham to pass past Leicester.  A move from the back to the front of the team saw Dyson cut in from the right wing to unleash a shot at Banks, which he caught well and with five minutes to go, Allen moved through the centre of the pitch to hit a head high shot that Banks knocked down to keep the score at 2-0.

While Ron Henry had a superb game at left back, intercepting attacks and making forward passes to his winger, it was Maurice Norman who had the last say, with a brave header to stop a full-blooded shot from Frank McLintock, that preserved Tottenham's clean sheet and at the final whistle saw the team write a chapter in footballing history as Double winners 1960-1961.

Guest of Honour presenting the FA Cup was HRH Duchess of Kent.