Manchester United 3–5 West Bromwich Albion (1978)
Event | 1978–79 Football League First Division | ||||||
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Date | 30 December 1978 | ||||||
Venue | Old Trafford, Manchester | ||||||
Referee | Gwyn Pierce Owen (Anglesey) | ||||||
Attendance | 45,091 | ||||||
Weather | Very cold, snow |
The first fixture between
The game was described at the time as "Game of the Century" and is still regarded as one of the greatest games of English football. The West Brom team featured three
Background
Before the game commenced, West Bromwich Albion were at the top of the First Division, while Manchester United were in 10th place. West Brom were on a roll, having won games in December 1978 against Valencia (2–0, in the UEFA Cup), Middlesbrough (2–0), Wolverhampton Wanderers (3–0) and Arsenal (2–1). United, on the other hand, were coming off consecutive 3–0 defeats against Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool and had dropped several positions in the table.
The game was televised with extended highlights on Granada Television with commentary by Gerald Sinstadt.[3]
Match
Details
Manchester United | 3–5 | West Bromwich Albion |
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B. Greenhoff 21' McQueen 30' McIlroy 32' |
Report | T. Brown 27', 45' Cantello 28' Cunningham 76' Regis 84' |
Manchester United
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West Bromwich Albion
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Match officials
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Match rules
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Legacy
The league season ended in May 1979 with West Brom finishing third and United ninth.[4]
Len Cantello's volleyed goal was voted Goal of the Season for 1978–79 on ATV's Star Soccer show.[5]
In May 2013, former players (
In The Guardian in 2013, Scott Murray described the game as the "signature performance" of Cunningham and of that great West Brom team.[9]
Nick Constable, in Match of the Day: 50 Years of Football (2014), described it as one of the greatest games ever, saying "
See also
- 1978–79 Manchester United F.C. season
- 1978–79 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season
- Len Cantello Testimonial Match
References
- ^ "Manchester United - West Bromwich Albion 3:5 (Premier League 1978/1979, 23. Round)". worldfootball.net.
- ^ "Classic Moments: Man Utd 3-5 West Brom, 1978 - Who Ate all the Pies". Who Ate all the Pies.
- ^ "Video of the Day: Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion, December 1978 - Twohundredpercent". twohundredpercent.net.
- ^ "Football Statistics Archive". RSSSF.
- ISBN 9781445616315– via Google Books.
- ^ "West Brom heroes remember 5-3 win over Manchester United". origin.expressandstar.mna.arcpublishing.com.
- ^ Lepkowski, Chris (7 December 2012). "Level of abuse was a big shock recalls West Brom legend Brendon Batson".
- ^ "Statue to honour WBA's black trio". BBC News. 1 August 2012.
- ^ Murray, Scott (27 September 2013). "The Joy of Six: Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion - Scott Murray". The Guardian.
- ISBN 9781448142538– via Google Books.