Date:
Venue:
Competition: First Division.
Score:
Scorers:
Attendance: 36,409.
Teams:
Referee: Mr D.A.
Corbett (
Norman Hunter had his moments as a goal-scorer, but not very often, in a
long and distinguished career with Leeds United, but one such occasion was
against
United took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Mick Jones, who had been signed from Sheffield United just three months earlier, laid the foundations with a run on the left in which he weaved his way past two defenders before cutting in to supply Jimmy Greenhoff with a simple point-blank scoring chance in front of goal. United pressed hard to increase their advantage but Wednesday stood firm repelling a number of attacks before United found a way through the defence again in the thirty-eighth minute. Greenhoff failed to reach another pass from Jones and when Billy Bremner took up possession he lofted the ball back for Eddie Gray to head past Peter Springett in the Wednesday goal and sent United in at the break two goals to the good.
Ian Branfoot twice had a go at goal for the visitors and considering the wet pitch both sides were managing to play some good football. Wednesday were battling hard and big John Ritchie put them back in the game when he scored in the sixty-fifth minute. Don Megson crossed from the left and Ritchie bundled the ball in after Ian Branfoot’s shot had been blocked. Jim McCalliog tested Gary Sprake to the full a couple of minutes later with a cross shot that the keeper managed to parry to safety. The Owls were staging a forceful rally and they reaped the reward when lively winger Jack Whitham levelled the scores at 2-2, beating Sprake with a sudden low shot from fifteen yards. Then Hunter entered the fray with his last gasp winner.
The goal, which came in the final two minutes of the match, was described in
the YEP as having come ‘like a giant electric shock’ to the crowd and ‘more
like a nuclear explosion’ to Wednesday. Johnny Giles rolled a free-kick to
Hunter, who ran on to it at full speed to smash a first time shot into the
Wednesday net. Not even a John Charles’ drive went in like that shot, it was
claimed. Whatever the merits of the shot were, the goal earned United their
second victory over Wednesday inside five days, following a 1-0 win at
Hillsborough, thanks to a Johnny Giles penalty. It sent United into third place
in the First Division, four points behind leaders Manchester United and just
one adrift from second placed
The goal-scorers:
