WEST HAM UNITED 0 CITY 4
League Division 1
6th December 1969
attendance 27,440
scorers Lee(30), Bowyer(63 & 73), Doyle(88)
Ref M Kerkhof
City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Lee, Bell, Young, Bowyer – used sub Connor
West Ham Ferguson, Bonds, Lampard, Howe, Stephenson, Moore, Redknapp, Peters, Brooking, Hurst, Best – sub Boyce
A fantastic victory for City in a most enjoyable game in which the score was not a true story of the game, but which The Blues still deserved to win.
As Hugh McIlvanney wrote in The Observer “Two teams who believe that football is about eccentuating the positive, refused to be subdued by a depressing mixture of frost and mud that would have sucked the ambition from all but a handful of sides in the First Division. The result destorts the competitiveness of an exhilarating match.”
Joe Mercer was more positive, saying the flurry of snow overnight might increase the pace of the game, especially early on. However in the first half hour The Hammers looked more at ease on the slippery surface and had two half chances caused by City struggling with the surface, then on the half hour Francis Lee hit a low tentative shot at goal which Ferguson looked to have saved but went down to late like the proverbial sack of spuds, and the ball crept in to the corner to put City 1-0 up.
Early in the second half a combination of great goalkeeping and luck kept West Ham from Scoring after some incredible goalmouth incidents.
A cross from Lee and a headed goal from Bowyer however, just after the hour put The Blues in a commanding position.
Lampard should have got a goal back for West Ham but his strike came back off the bar with Corrigan well beaten.
Bowyer sealed the match with another bullet header, with just over a quarter of an hour left.
Substitute Connor then hit the cross bar, before Doyle hit a magnificent goal from 25 yards in the final minutes to record a memorable victory for The Citizens.