Memories of Cup drama

LATE drama worked in Athletic’s favour in last season’s FA Cup campaign, but it was a very

different tale when Wolves came to visit in the same competition in front of a bumper Boundary Park crowd in 1967.

Keith Bebbington doubled his career tally for Athletic by

netting twice for Jimmy McIlroy’s side, much to the delight of the majority of the 24,969 spectators packed in for an exciting third-round tie.

As the clock hit 87 minutes, it had seemed that Athletic had it all sewn up.

But the Molineux outfit thought differently. Mike Bailey’s goal already had nerves jangling and as the visitors laid siege to Athletic’s goal area, Bobby Thompson fired a shot in off the underside of the crossbar to leave the home fans stunned.

“You don’t get two chances like that,” said McIlroy afterwards, and his words were to prove prophetic.

In a replay five days later on Wednesday, February 1, Wolves’ biggest crowd of the season were treated to a 4-1 demolition job on Athletic.

Bebbington’s third goal of the tie brought the score back to 2-1 early in the second half.

But thanks to strikes from Ernie Hunt, Woodfield, Wharton and McIlmoyle Wolves progressed to face Everton in the fourth round in front of 39,099.

Such vast crowds are a thing of the past — last term’s 10,295 for the Liverpool triumph was a sell-out — but Wolves’ slip-up at Carlisle this week indicates that those who do show up this weekend should see another closely-fought contest.

Kenny Jackett’s men would have pulled level with League One leaders Leyton Orient with a

victory at Brunton Park.

Instead, despite goals from Bakary Sako and Leigh Griffiths, the latter being his 10th of the season, Wolves were twice pegged back and had to settle for a point from a 2-2 draw.

“The second-half performance was that poor, I don’t think we deserved anything out of the game, so we did well to get a point,” said Jackett, after seeing his side’s run of six successive away victories brought to an end.

Athletic’s last meeting with Wolves in the FA Cup was in the 2006-07 season.

After a 2-2 draw at Molineux, in which Paul Warne and Chris Hall scored for Athletic, Craig Davies netted his second goal of the tie to help Wolves get through in the replay, 2-0.