CITY 3 BLACKBURN ROVERS 1
FA Cup 3rd Round
13th January 1934
attendance 54,336
scorers
City Toseland 2, Brook
Blackburn Bruton
City Swift, Barnett, Dale, Busby, Cowan, McLuckie, Toseland, Marshall, Tilson, Herd, Brook
Blackburn Binns, Gorman, Whyte, Imrie, Carver, Whiteside, Bruton, McLean, Harper, Duncan, Turner
…A crowd of over 54,000 paid 23,415 to witness a great City performance, even if the tie itself was not as full bloodied an affair as the fans would have wanted. Nevertheless, the early stages did prove to be fairly even with the majority of play in midfield.
Both Swift and his opposite number Cliff Binns were able to relax and watch the action for the first quarter, then City seemed to slip up and Swift realised he was heading for trouble: “Harper, the Rovers’ centre-forward broke through the light blue line in front of me. ln my nervousness I anticipated too soon and dived before he kicked the ball. To my amazement and delight, the ball hit my right hand, and stuck. The roar of the crowd, as much as the save, helped give me confidence”
The save had been a lucky one, but it was enough to settle Swift. ln the twentieth minute Eric Brook put City a goal up with a half volley, but shortly afterwards Bruton headed an equaliser. City remained the more positive side and it was clear that goal would only be a minor irritation. Ernie Toseland restored City’s lead, then made it 3-1 midway through the second half. The Daily Dispatch reporter seemed particularly thrilled with the move: “This was a remarkable goal, for Toseland after running into the penalty area got so much power behind his shot that the ball travelled round the netting and came back into play.
“It was one of Toseland’s brightest days. With Brook, he was the forward of the match. Though they were rarely extended the City defenders played very soundly throughout, and Swift made some excellent saves”
EXTRACT FROM A GARY JAMES ARTICLE IN THE CITY PROGRAMME 15TH SEPTEMBER 2002