Date:
Venue: Wembley
Stadium,
Competition: FA Charity Shield.
Score:
Scorers:
Attendance: 67,000.
Teams:
Referee: R. Matthewson (
This was the first game United played under the short term
management of Brian Clough and he led the reigning champions onto the Wembley
turf to face Cup-winners
The game would be more famous for the sending off of Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan and after marching off bare-chested the pair were given a lengthy suspension for bringing the game into disrepute, which did not help United’s chances of retaining their championship nor the aspirations of Brian Clough.
The game ended all square and
From the
sneaky stamping of toes, to the outrageous tackles from behind that give FIFA
nightmares, charity was in short supply in 1974. In a thoroughly enjoyable, ill-tempered affair Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan became the first British players
ever to be dismissed at Wembley and took their
clothes off for good measure.
The
unashamed display of violence came to a head when Bremner
and Keegan were dismissed after the hour for trading punches in true playground
style. In the climate of tough
1970s football, both players felt they had been harshly treated and for no good
reason took off their shirts, flinging them on to the Wembley
track. One spectator refused to
enjoy the fun. He tried to have the red-headed Bremner
and feather cut-flaunting Keegan charged with a breach of the peace, but a
magistrate refused to issue a
summons.
The FA were less lenient, fining both players £500 and banning them
until September meaning they
would miss a staggering eleven matches. It was the first Charity Shield ever to be shown on
television, and the chairman of the disciplinary committee, Vernon Stokes, admitted that the punishment
might not have been quite so severe if the
match had not been played at Wembley and shown to the
viewing millions.
With the players too busy
kicking each other to notice, the match petered out to a 1-1 stalemate Phil Boersma had opened the scoring for
The game
went to penalties and, with the scores balanced precariously at 5-5 in sudden death,
Match Action:
Brian Clough leads out the
Bremner and Keegan clash
Bill Shankly and Brian Clough are not amused
Clarke and Jordan tussle with Thompson and
Hughes
David Harvey misses the vital penalty
Hughes with
the Shield
Duncan McKenzie leaves the field with his momento
Teams:
Players:
Phil Boersma scored
the