FA Cup 1971, Colchester United  FA Cup 1971, Colchester United

F A Cup fifth round 1971

Colchester United 3 Leeds United 2

Colchester United were languishing in the old English fourth division back in 1971 when they found themselves in the fifth round of the English F A Cup in a tie that matched Colchester United v Leeds United. To that point in 1971 Colchester United had enjoyed a successful FA Cup campaign, the first two rounds saw Colchester United dispose of non-league opposition with consecutive 3-0 home wins against Ringmer and Cambridge respectively. The third round saw Colchester United drawn away at fourth division Barnet where a 1-0 win saw them progress into round four and a tie against third division Rochdale. The match against Rochdale ended in a 3-3 draw and led to a replay at Layer Road where Colchester United made no mistake thrashing the northern side 5-0. Colchester United were then given no chance of progressing beyond the fifith round as at the time their opponents Leeds United were top of the old First Division and, while they fielded their strongest side, Colchester United, by contrast, had a team of largely ageing players who were in the twilght of their careers. The 16,000 fans packed into Colchester United's ground were unaware they were about to witness a match that would go down in FA Cup folklore.

Although Colchester United were affectionately referred to as 'Grandad's army', one of their older players was Ray Crawford who had won the English Division One title in the early 60's with Ipswich and won a couple of England caps in his career too. Crawford became one of the heroes of the day scoring two of Colchester United's goals as they raced into a 3-0 lead, Dave Simmons scored the other. Leeds United fought back but could only manage two goals of their own and the classic cup tie finished Colchester United 3 Leeds United 2. In the quarter final Colchester United faced Everton at Goodison Park where they lost 5-0, but, by this time it didn't matter as they had already firmly written themselves into FA Cup history. 

Colchester United team: Graham Smith, Brian Hall, Bobby Cram, John Gilchrist, Brian Garvey, John Kurila, Brian Lewis, Dave Simmons, Mick Mahon, Ray Crawford, Brian Gibbs.

Leeds United team: Gary Sprake, Terry Cooper, Jack Charlton, Paul Madeley, Norman Hunter, Paul Reaney, Mick Bates, John Giles, Allan Clarke, Mick Jones, Peter Lorimer.