The magic of the Cup
Albion's epic run to the Third Round started at the unlikely setting of obscure Hertfordshire club Wooton Blue Cross in September of 1984, in the First Qualifying Round. Albion's England semi-pro duo of Doug Newton and Stewart Mell were both on the scoresheet as Albion cantered to a 4-0 victory to set a Cup bandwagon rolling which ran over Stevenage Borough, Willenhall Town and Wycombe Wanderers to set the juices flowing at the prospect of drawing a big league club in the First Round Proper. And who did Albion come out of the hat with? Staines Town! Nevertheless, the Burton public's appetite for Cup football was not diminished, as 4,021 turned out to see a bullet-like 40 yard free-kick from Doug Newton (Which is still talked about today) send Albion through to the Second Round, and a trip to Fourth Division Aldershot. Hardly a glamour fixture but again the Brewers fans made the trek to the Recreation Ground en masse, sensing an upset. They weren't disappointed. Nigel Simms was the unlikely scorer of the first goal for Albion. The defender, a miner like Phil Annable, and similar in style too also became one of the clubs longest serving players, continuing to turn out in Albion colours well into the 90's (the 1990's that is, not his 90's!), and "Simmo" could hardly have chosen a better moment to score a rare goal. When Stewart Mell added a second there was no stopping Albion's progress to a titanic Third Round clash.
Albion players celebrate beating Aldershot to make it to the Third Round, 8th December 1984 - manager Warnock far right
In those days of course, the Third Round Draw was made in Sports Report on a Saturday tea-time, so many Albion fans waited behind to find out who they would be paired with, and there was no sense of anti-climax this time. When Albion's ball did finally drop out of the legendary velvet bag, it was accompanied by that of Leicester City, a First Division club, and near neighbours of the Brewers. It was a massive draw for the club, and Eton Park could not hope to hold the numbers who would want to watch it, so rather than concede home advantage, the Albion board got permission to hire out Derby County's Baseball Ground.
After all the usual cliches had been dispensed with ( the piece on Football Focus about what funny jobs the players have, etc), the match itself certainly had no shortage of drama, and not all of it on the pitch. A striker by the name of Gary Lineker (yes children, he wasn't always just a contestant on "They Think It's All Over") fired Leicester into the lead after 16 minutes, but the mighty Brewers sparked hopes of a major upset seven minutes later, David Vaughan's shot bobbling on the frozen Baseball Ground pitch and under keeper Ian Andrews to send the Albion fans into ecstasy. That's when the real fun started!
1- David Vaughan stuns Leicester by firing in past keeper Ian Andrews to level the score at the Baseball Ground , January 5th 1985 , as the Brewers fans packed into the Popside at the old BBG prepare to celebrate his goal (2)
Albion and Leicester fans probably numbered about 10,000 each, with the remainder of the 22,000 crowd being made up by Derby fans hoping to see their rivals Leicester beaten. (I remember even then, as a nine year old, taking a dislike to Derby fans and wondering why there were some people wearing stupid Rams scarves when they weren't even playing. ) Anyway, these were of course the "dark days" of English soccer, when a trip to a football ground would inevitably lead to you losing some piece of your anatomy to a skinhead thug with a union jack tattoo (or at least that's what the tabloids would have you believe). Well, whether because of Derby elements in the Leicester section of the ground, or because they didn't like being scored against by a non-league team, the City fans decided to, like, have a riot, and so Albion keeper Paul Evans at the Osmaston End goal behind which they were massed, ended up with a piece of wooden seat raining down on his head from a great height, and was out of action for several minutes for treatment, as the police tried to quell the disturbances.
Evans later claimed that the biggest day of his career had been ruined, as he spent the rest of the game in a daze. Whether because of this incident or not, Leicester went on to put another five past the Brewers keeper, Lineker netting a hat-trick, as City romped to a barely deserved 6-1 victory. But that was not the end of the story. The national press, eager as ever for a good hooligan story, fuelled a campaign to have the match replayed, as the scores had been level when Evans had been hit, and the incident had had an adverse affect on his performance. Surprisingly, the FA agreed, citing as precedent a recent European match between Celtic and Rapid Vienna which had been replayed due to a similar incident. So, Albion could have another crack at causing an upset. Unfortunately, no fans would be able to witness it- the match would be played at Highfield Road behind closed doors. So a frostbound Friday afternoon in Coventry, in front of some pressmen and a handful of ball boys, was the surreal setting for what was, technically, one of the biggest matches in the clubs history. Brewers fans with understanding bosses (or teachers) had to rely on local radio commentary to follow the fortunes of their heroes. In the event Albion went down by a single Paul Ramsey goal - a more fitting scoreline, but a bizarre end to an epic Cup run.
Maradona...Klinsmann...Simmo...Gary Lineker has played alongside all the greats. (l-r Nigel Simms, Gary Lineker, Steve Dolby, Alan Smith) - Albion v Leicester, Highfield Road, Coventry, Friday 10th January 1985
An eerily empty Highfield Road provides the surreal backdrop for one of the biggest matches in Albion history
Route to the FA Cup 3rd Round, 1985
| Date | Rnd | Opponents | V | Att | Score | Scorers |
| Sep 15 | 1Q | Wooton Blue Cross | A | 243 | 4-0 | Newton, Mell, McJannet, Graham |
| Sep 29 | 2Q | Stevenage Borough | A | 695 | 2-0 | Froggatt, Redfern |
| Oct 13 | 3Q | Willenhall Town | H | 1,275 | 2-1 | D Vaughan (pen), Kania |
| Oct 27 | 4Q | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 978 | 1-1 | Kabia |
| Oct 31 | 4Q(r) | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 3,442 | 2-1 | Mell, Froggatt |
| Nov 17 | 1 | Staines Town | H | 4,021 | 2-0 | Mell, Newton |
| Dec 8 | 2 | Aldershot | A | 4,486 | 2-1 | Simms, Mell |
| Jan 5 | 3 | Leicester City | H* | 22,492 | 1-6 | D Vaughan |
| Jan 11 | 3 | Leicester City | N# | - | 0-1 |
* Played at the Baseball Gound, Derby # Played behind closed doors at Highfield Road, Coventry