Matchday Memories: On This Day 1970 – Smart Sky Blues Slam Sad Saints At Highfield Rd.

On this last day of March (31st) in 1970 the Sky Blue, managed by Noel Cantwell were facing a Division One fixture with Southampton at Highfield Road coming of the back of a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur and four 1-1 draws against Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Burnley (all at home) and at Manchester United‘s Old Trafford in their last game.

Brian Joicey in the Sky Blue

A crowd of 25,431 at Highfield Road watched the best home performance to day as the Sky Blues stunned the Saints with a 4-0 win. City had fought a goalless draw on the south coast at the Dell back in mid October. The win left us sixth with four games to play.

John in the Sky Blue

Now CCFPA member Brian Joicey grabbed himself a brace, his first on 22 minutes from a back header after his shot spun in the air. John O’Rourke doubled City’s score three minutes later tapping in after (now CCFPA committee man) Dietmar Bruck pulled the ball back.

Neil Martin

The third Sky Blue goal of the first half came from centre-forward Neil Martin after 37 minutes. Neil buried a header from Mick Coop‘s looping cross. Brian Joicey completed the rout with his second sixteen minutes from the end with a cheeky shot under Saints’ keeper Eric Martin.

Both teams can be seen in the graphic below. The referee was Mr. M.Kerkhof.

Cantwell’s Sky Blues line up with the following team:-

Bill Glazier, Mick Coop, Chris Cattlin, Ian Gibson*, Jeff Blockley, Dietmar Bruck, ‘Ernie’ Hunt*, Willie Carr, Neil Martin, John O’Rourke* and Brian Joicey.

We are pleased to say that every single member of the team this day later went on to join CCFPA. Sadly those three players asterisked ‘Gibbo’, ‘Ernie’ and John have since passed away.

Brian Joicey, John O’Rourke and Neil Martin

There were only four league matches left for the Sky Blues this season and they were very much a mixed bag with a 4-1 away win at Nottingham Forest and a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers but a 3-0 home defeat by Stoke and a 4-0 thrashing at Newcastle United in their last game. Nevertheless, this was the Sky Blues best ever season in the top flight and a sixth place finish ensured they would be playing in the UEFA Cup the following season – their first in Europe! Southampton finished nineteenth three points and two places above the drop.

CCFC 1969-70

Sunderland and bottom club Sheffield Wednesday had to face the drop to Division Two. Everton took the title by nine points from Leeds United!

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images (& Dean Nelson the graphic).