Matchday Memories: On This Day 1972 – Sky Blues Score Second South Korean Success!

Programme for both S.Korean games

Bob Dennison (CCFC Caretaker)

May 28th proved a good day in three post season overseas tours for the Sky Blues. In 1963, 1965 and 1972 they got themselves a win treble in Germany, Iceland and now, as we shall see, in South Korea. In two earlier posts today we provided some details from 1963 – a Sky Blues 6-1 victory over Bad Neuenahr in West Germany (as was) and in 1965 a 3-0 win over the Iceland national side.

CCFC set out on tour from Highfield Rd

Dennis in the Sky Blue

Now we can look back at what the Sky Blues got up to in South Korea on this day in 1972.

On May 28th 1972 acting Sky Blue manager Bob Dennison was at the helm (having taken over from the departed Noel Cantwell) when CCFC took their first ever visit to the Far East touring South Korea, Japan and Thailand.

They had already beaten a South Korea national side 2-0 on the 25th when three days later, once more in the country’s capital Seoul, they took on a South Korean XI again, this time going one better and winning 3-0 in front of an impressive crowd of 30,000!

Bobby Graham in the Sky Blue

Ernie Hunt in the Sky Blue

The Sky Blues’ scorers were (CCFPA members) all Bobby Graham, ‘Ernie’ Hunt and Dennis Mortimer.

Sadly we have no further details of the game but we do know that the travelling squad for the 1972 close season Far East tour was (CCFPA members underlined):-

Bill Glazier, Neil Ramsbottom, Mick Coop, Wilf Smith, Chris Cattlin, Jimmy Holmes, Alan Dugdale, the late Ernie Machin, Roy Barry, Billy Rafferty, Bobby Parker, Colin Randell, Mick McGuire, Dennis Mortimer, Willie Carr, Quintin Young, the late Chris Chilton, Bobby Graham, the late ‘Ernie’ Hunt and Alan Green.

City take off for S.E.Asia

There four further games on the tour to come, three in Japan against various Japanese XIs and finishing with a date in Thailand with the mighty Santos of Brazil (complete with a certain world superstar, Pele)! For more information on how these games panned out keep checking back on this site on the appropriate date!