Matchday Memories: On This Day 1976 – Sky Blues Last Day Triple Cross Crush Clarets

Sky Blue Manager Gordon

On this day (24th April) in 1976 (now CCFPA member) Gordon Milne‘s Sky Blues visited Turf Moor on the last day of the 1975-76 Division One season. In a red letter day for our Association member, centre-forward David Cross Milne’s Men came away with a satisfyingly emphatic end-of-season victory.  David finished the season exactly as he started it, with a hat-trick! Back on the 16th August 1975 his treble, along with a goal from fellow member Alan Green stunned Goodison as the Sky Blues claimed a sweet 4-1 win at Everton.

David Cross in the Sky Blue

This time he scored all three of the Sky Blues’ goals in their 3-1 win at Burnley. David had also got City’s consolation goal against them at Highfield Road at the beginning of October when an injury time winner for the Clarets gave them the points in a 2-1 win.

The Lancashire side were already relegated and fielded four youngsters in an experimental formation. There were 11,636 fans in the homely Turf Moor enclosure. The home team were initially heartened, scoring within six minutes from their winger Derrick Parker. It was not until after the interval that the Sky Blues’ ‘Psycho’ began his one man mission!

Jim Blyth

David hit the net three minutes after the restart and the mediocre game looked likely to drift into an unsatisfactory stalemate. However, David’s brace at the death, a stunning drive on 86 minutes and a perfect header a minute later, gifted the Sky Blues a first ever win at the Burnley ground. It would be their last top flight game at Turf Moor for the next 32 years until the Clarets returned back to top flight football in 2009.

We are proud to report that Milne’s men that day all went on to become Association members. They were:-

Jim Blyth, Brian Roberts, Chris Cattlin, Jimmy Holmes, Alan Dugdale, Mick Coop, Donal Murphy, Alan Green, David Cross, Barry Powell and Tommy Hutchson

Good to see Jim, Brian, Chris, Jimmy and Tommy all back in Coventry joining our wonderful Legends Day 2023 reunion this time last year!

Joseph Brown‘s Clarets that day lined up as follows:-

Gerry Peyton, Derek Scott, Keith Newton, Mike Summerbee, Jim Thompson, William Rodaway, William Ingham, Joe Jakub, Peter Noble, Tony Morley and Derrick Parker     Referee:- Pat Partridge

CCFC 1975-76

CCFC finished the 1975-76 season in fourteenth on forty points, ten points clear of the drop and twenty points shy of Champions Liverpool (who pipped Queens Park Rangers for the title by a point).

Wolverhampton Wanderers, today’s opponents Burnley and bottom club Sheffield United were all relegated.

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.