CITY 3 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 2
League Division 1
14th August 1968
Attendance 35,835
Scorers
City Lee(30), Summerbee(43 & 51)
Wolves Wignall(56 & 73)
Ref Vincent James
City Mulhearn, Kennedy, Pardoe, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Lee, Bell, Summerbee, Owen, Young – unused sub Coleman
Wolves Parkes, Parkin, Thompson, Bailey, Woodfield, Holsgrove, Kenning, Wignall, Dougan, Knowles, Wagstaffe – sub McAlle
A GOAL FOR FRANCIS LEE (OUT OF PICTURE)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
Wolves, taught last season that the First Division is a hard school, showed the League champions at Maine Road last night that they have paid close attention to their lessons.
Floundering three goals behind City shortly after half-time, Wolves pulled themselves together and came within inches of leaving with what would have been a notable away point.
Frank Wignall, who scored twice for Wolves in the second half, made the woodwork of the City goal shudder with a crashing, shoulder high volley ten minutes from the end.
Certainly City, for whom England centre forward Mike Summerbee scored twice and Francis Lee once, looked relieved to hear the final whistle.
Wolves revival did not come about accidentally. By exhaultation and personal example right half and captain Mike Baileydemanded defiance from his players.
Showing again the speed and skill and sense of purpose which seemed to desert him for a time last season. Bailey ceated Wignall’s second goal with a breath-taking run down the right wing.
Once City had settled into their stride, the game developed into a stectacle of the Wolves defence rocking like a ship in the heavy seas of their opponents ceaseless attacks.
Many mistakes were made and the blame for two of City’s goals could be laid at goalkeeper Phil Parkes’ door, but the Wolves defence never cracked completely.
David Woodfield making no allowance for his broken nose, had a rare duel with Summerbee and had his name taken for showing dissent.
Bell twice was wide with scoring attempts, the second from a free kick awarded against Woodfield for bringing Summerbee down in a heap,
As the two rose from the ground, Summerbee kicked Woodfield, but, amazingly was asked by the referee, Mr V James (Yorks) to do nothing more than shake hands with the Wolves centre half.
After a series of shots had cannoned off the Wolves defence, Lee threaded a 25 yard drive through the bodies and legs, and under Parkes’ dive.
Mulhearn turned away for a corner a header by his own full back Kennedy and Holsgrove headed the kick against the bar before City went further ahead two minutes before half-time.
Summerbee confronted by Woodfield in the penalty area sold him a perfect dummy before racing round him and shooting past Parkes from an acute angle.
When Owen crossed low from the right, Parkes pounced on the ball but let it shoot out of his hands like a piece of wet soap, Summerbee had only to prod his shot over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Wolves were not done with yet, however, and Wignall, bursting through a tackle by Heslop, picked himself off the ground to shoot past Mulhearn in the 56th minute.
City continued to engulf Wolves’ goal with their attacking, but Parkes saved Owen’s header, Bell’s shot was deflected for a corner and Parkin kicked Doyle’s header off the line.
Then after 73 minutes, City’s preoccupation with attack proved their undoing. Bailey outflanked their defence on the right with a run of great speed and enormous stamina, and Wignall sidefooted the cross in off a post.
COLIN MALAM WRITING IN THE BIRMINGHAM POST 15TH AUGUST 1968