Looking back at the 1985-86 FA Cup run
It’s now been 36 years since the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup. Then known as Leyton-Wingate, the 1985-86 season was one to remember, as our best FA Cup run in living memory. It took seven games to get there, eventually losing to Football League side Swansea City.
The Leyton-Wingate side was led by long-serving manager George Wakeling (pictured below), and there was certainly a buzz around the place. Division Two (North) of the Isthmian League had been won the season before, and the vast majority of that team stuck around for the 1985-86 season.
Leyton’s run could have been a lot more short-lived though. In the Preliminary Round, Leyton made the trip to Kingsbury Town and escaped with a 1-1 draw, winning the replay 3-0.
Another away trip to West London was in store in the next round, this time to Hellenic League side Hounslow. It was going to be another tough game, against a team who would finish third in their league that season. Delroy Rhoden, Steve Goodwin and Steve Hamberger, all key parts of Wakeling’s squad were missing, but three goals in four minutes just before half time set the game alight.
Joe Harley headed in Steve Lane’s cross to open the scoring, and Micky Hazeldean volleyed home to put Leyton back on top after Hounslow had hit back immediately.
After the game, Wakeling said “I am so pleased. And when you consider that sitting along-side me in the dug-out were three of our best players, to go away and get such a great result at Hounslow is a bonus”.
There was a pattern emerging with the cup draws, as for the third time, Leyton would go up against a West London side. It would be Leyton-Wingate v Harrow Borough in the second qualifying round, but at least this time the draw had the decency to give Leyton a home game.
The blues couldn’t make the most of it though, squandering a two-goal lead to force a replay. Steve Lane and Elijah Bee put Leyton in front twice in the first half, but some resolute goalkeeping from the man between the Harrow sticks denied them both at the death.
For the replay, Steve Hamberger was missing again - this time after suffering a broken scull away at Hornchurch - but Elijah Bee inspired Leyton to a 3-2 victory.
Bee set up John Baxter for the Leyton first, and hit two of his own in the second half, in a game where not even a partial floodlight failure could stop him.
The 3-2 win against Harrow Borough was mirrored by a 3-2 win in the third qualifying round against Crawley Town, who were in the Southern League Premier Division at the time.
Despite the close scoreline, Leyton were never in any danger of losing the game. Lane put his side 1-0 up with superb 20 yard lob after just a quarter of an hour, but that was soon cancelled out by Crawley’s Dave Brigg. But with the slope on their side in the second half, Leyton ran away with it. The man of the cup run Bee made it 2-1, and Mick Heseldean made it three seven minutes from time.
By now, Leyton’s league calendar was really starting to struggle. Wakeling’s men had only played four games (W2 D1 L1), while most other clubs had played at least ten games. Leatherhead had played three times as many games as Leyton with 12.
Gresley Rovers of the West Midlands (Regional) League were the opponents in the fourth and final qualifying round. Despite being a couple of levels lower in the non-league pyramid as it was then, Gresley were no mugs, and in the seven years following the 1985 cup tie, they would finish in the top four of their league every time, winning it twice.
As a player, Wakeling had reached the first round of the FA Cup, but was an unused substitute, and it had always been one his goals in management to reach the promised land again.
Gresley failed to impress on their trip to the Hare & Hounds, and were totally outplayed in a 2-0 victory for Leyton - Hazeldean (picture right) and Rhoden the scorers.
So, Leyton’s reward for reaching the first round proper for the first time since 1955 was a trip across the border to play Football League Division Three side Swansea City.
Going into the Swansea game, George Wakeling had just been named Isthmian League Division One manager of the month.
The players headed down the night before, and seven supporters’ coaches made their way from East London, setting off at nine AM. But both journeys were beset with difficulty. The players’ journey took almost seven hours because of traffic, and the supporters were given a less than cordial welcome. Half-way to Swansea, the Leyton supporters’ coaches were intercepted and told to hide club scarves and rosettes, and upon arrival at the ground, were forced into a cage, like hooligans.
There was a chance that Swansea wouldn’t even play the game. Press reports at the time suggested that they could go into liquidation at any time. An FA Cup tie against a football league team should usually be a bit of a money-spinner for non-league clubs. But in the Daily Mirror, chairman George Gross said “We are genuinely concerned there will be no money for us. Swansea are £1 million in debt, and I suspect we will be bottom of a long line of creditors.
The FA said “We are aware of Leyton-Wingate’s problem and we will do everything we can to protect them - but there’s no way we can give any guarantee.” But Swansea manager John Bond was far less sympathetic: “The situation is bad enough already without talk like this. The position is simple. If we survive, they will get their money - if we go under, they are in the next round anyway.”
Well, Swansea survived, and Leyton-Wingate still got bugger all.
The Leyton boys all stepped up to the occasion, and it was far from the walkover some would have expected. Swansea started on top, but after defending a series of corners, Leyton’s Steve Lane headed through to Delroy Rhoden, but his effort was well saved.
Swansea’s Colin Pascoe was stretchered off with a suspected broken leg after a collision with Craig Tucker in the Leyton goal, but it did little to stop the league side who took the lead through Alan Waddle with a quarter of an hour played.
On an awful pitch, and in the driving rain Swansea were clearly trying to turn the game into a scrap, and Andy Mavin was given a yellow card for a robust challenge on Waddle. Despite ending the half on top, Leyton were still behind at the break and continued to press in the second half; Tony Warwick and Elijah Bee both going close.
But Gary Williams doubled Swansea’s lead, and the game was all but over as a contest. That didn’t stop Leyton giving it their all though, and Steve Hamberger - who was somehow already back playing despite fracturing his scull a few weeks prior - was booked for a foul on the goalscorer, who played much of the second half with a dislocated shoulder. Within a minute of being shown a yellow, Hamberger was given another one, seemingly for dissent.
Leyton could have nicked a deserved consolation in the last minute when Bee was denied with a shot cleared off the line by that man Williams again.
Without doubt, Wakeling’s men went for victory, and in a game of fine margins came up just short. After the game, Leyton captain Steve Hamberger said “Their professionalism showed in the way they won themselves free kicks. Waddle was throwing himself all over the place.
“We’re a footballing side and not used to these tactics and the rain too blunted our skills, I expected a higher standard of refereeing which would take these conditions into account, but I was disappointed.”
George Gross’ programme notes the following week are well worth reproducing in full. He wrote “Our own thoughts today are centred on the 1st round FA Cup tie at Swansea City where in terrible weather we lost a hard game by 2-0. Certainly it seemed that at Vetch Field, we were beaten by the better actors on the day. I understand that the loose change thrown at our lads, had it not vanished in the mud, would have helped pay for the coach fare. The golf ball has been claimed by a player who is working on his handicap.
“We must accept that the standards of a professional club with all the responsibilities of crowd control must be different from the game at our level. However, the complete lack of elementary courtesy in the reception of both our players and supporters must make us grateful that we compete in a much more civilised Vauxhall-Opel League.
“Writing on behalf of your committee, some of us who watched from the comfort of the Directors’ Box, I would pay tribute to the dedication of the 200 plus supporters who made the long journey to Wales, only to be copped up in a wire cage to watch the game. Full marks to our lads for acknowledging our supporters after the game.
The hospitality (or lack thereof) extended to the Leyton players, who were given nothing else than a cup of tea at half and full time. Secretary Derek Dignum remarked “It only costs a fiver to give a team a plate of sandwiches. The League could learn something about standards of hospitality from Vauxhall Opel [Isthmian] clubs”.
To round the weekend off, the players’ coach suffered a flat battery at a service station and had to be given a push start. One of the supporters’ coaches also broke down, so the players’ coach, now some way behind everyone else, stopped to pick them up. According to someone on the coach “it made the last stage of the trip somewhat crowded, but the resulting conversations about the game and the day in general highlighted that ‘mateyness’ between players and fans that is such a pleasant feature of non-league clubs”.
Swansea avoided bankruptcy, but were relegated the end of the season, finishing rock bottom of division three. Leyton-Wingate would finish a respectable sixth, and with much of the team still together the next season, would win promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division.
