Matchday Memories: On This Day 1979 – Milne’s Men Best Man.Utd. In Sky Blue Seven Score Sizzler!

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Barry in the Sky Blue

Garry in the Sky Blue 1981

On this day (20th March) in 1979 Sky Blues fans were served up another Highfield Road cracker in Division One.

Gordon Milne‘s men held on for a 4-3 win over Manchester United after being 4-1 up with 39 minutes left! Barry Powell caught the Red Devils cold with a second minute effort followed up in quick order by a Garry Thompson strike on eight minutes. All three highlighted are now CCFPA members!

Garry slides in

Though Steve Coppell got one back after 36 minutes a Tommy Hutchison struck a goal of the season contender on the stroke of half-time to make it 3-1. Bobby McDonald netted another on 51 minutes to make it look comfortable as Garry Thompson ran United’s half a million pound centre-half Gordon McQueen ragged and Ian Wallace looked back to his best!

Tommy in the Sky Blue

Bobby in the Sky Blue

Though, truthfully, the score could have been 10-6 with the chances created a Sammy McIlroy goal at 64 minutes and a last gasp goal from Steve Coppell, giving him a double, made the final score seem closer than City’s play deserved. 

The game was in total contrast to the return at Old Trafford in mid April which finished a goalless draw! The Red Devils’ famous manager at this time was Dave Sexton who was, of course, later to take charge of the Sky Blues at Highfield Road in the early eighties. The main match details are in the graphic below:-

Apart from Donato Nardiello and two CCFC players who passed away befor their time, Les Sealey and ‘Big Jim’ Holton the rest of the Sky Blues team as well as its manager pleasingly went on to become CCFPA members. The referee was Mr. M.Sinclair.
 
Manchester United went on to finish only one place and one point above the Sky Blues tenth place in 1978-79. Liverpool took the title by eight points from runners up Nottingham Forest.
 
The relegated trio of clubs was Queen’s Park Rangers, the Sky Blues’ fairly recent landlords Birmingham City and, at the bottom, Chelsea.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young & Dean Nelson for sourcing the images and the graphic!

 

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