Gordon Sharrock looks back at a meeting between Fulham and Wanderers, which ended in controversy and blotted the copybook of one of England’s all-time greats . . .
BURNDEN Park was the setting for one of the rarest sights in football when Bobby Moore – England’s World Cup winning captain and one of the most respected figures in the game – was sent off for dissent.
Moore was captaining Fulham and saw red when Mike Walsh grabbed a League Cup lifeline for Wanderers with a last-gasp equaliser.
The clock showed 96 minutes, yet there had been hardly any stoppages, prompting a furious Moore to rip into referee Kevin McNally.
Suddenly and sensationally McNally sent him off – a decision that sparked amazing scenes at the end of normal time when the rest of the Fulham team followed their captain to the dressing room.
Initially they refused to come out for extra-time, but after pleas from the referee and two policemen, they re-emerged to play out a scoreless extra half-hour a man down.
Wanderers, who had drawn 2-2 at Craven Cottage, could count themselves lucky to survive on the night, trailing twice to goals from John Mitchell and Ernie Howe. Steve Taylor got the first equaliser and it was Walsh’s lob over Fulham keeper Peter Mellor that took the tie to a second replay, which Wanderers won 2-1 at St Andrew’s.
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