Coventry’s recent FA Cup exploits might have revived memories of the Sky Blues’ epic 1987 Wembley triumph over Spurs for some fans; but it’s also an opportunity to look back at a little unfinished business from that monumental success which took place over three decades ago.
Along with the Simod Cup, the Screen Sports Super Cup and the brilliantly named Watney Cup, the Anglo-Scottish Challenge was up there when it came to the most pointless and farcical tournaments in the history of the game.
Back in 1987 English football was reeling from a ban on domestic teams competing in European competitions following the tragic scenes prior to the 1985 European Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels where 39 people were killed when trouble flared between Liverpool and Juventus fans.
As well as being a huge blow to top-flight clubs and their players, who were robbed of the opportunity to pit their wits against the best sides on the continent, the exclusion also left a huge void in the fixture list which would have been filled with glamorous ties against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
To be fair, this wasn’t a new innovation it was simply a revival of a competition first staged in 1959 – which pit the Scottish and English FA Cup winners against each other in the ultimate battle of Britain and was won by St Mirren.
Subsequent years saw something of a metamorphosis into the now defunct Texaco Cup, which was played between sides from north and south of the border during the summer weeks in a group format and during its six-year existence was only ever lifted by one Scottish side, coincidentally – St Mirren.
So when the powers that be, for reasons known only to them, thought it deserved a second chance St Mirren, perhaps not surprisingly, were more than happy to get involved. For Coventry it was a slightly different story. Unable to play in the then UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup because of the ban their consolation would be a two-legged final with Scottish Cup winners to decide who was the “best” side in the land.
When the Saints first lifted the trophy some 30 years before almost 20,000 people turned up for the return leg against Nottingham Forest to see the home side seal a dramatic 5-4 victory, but it was evident from the outset that history wouldn’t repeat itself on this occasion.
Just over 5,000 people braved the cold at Highfield Road the week before Christmas to see the hometown heroes and current FA Cup holders face off against their opponents from Paisley who had triumphed against Dundee United at Hampden Park the previous May – to say the initial signs weren’t good would be something of an understatement.
Incredibly, both sides fielded many of their cup winning stars from the previous season, even at one of the busiest times of the season with the likes of Campbell Money, Dave Bennett, Trevor Peake and David Speedie featuring from the start.
The Sky Blues took the lead after 28 minutes when David Phillips pounced on a rebound after Dave Bennett’s effort was saved but just after the hour Saints equalised through Kenny McDowell, who hammered home to score what was the final goal, not just of the night, but the competition as a whole.
With the final delicately poised at 1-1 and the second leg due to be played at St Mirren’s Love Street that March the competition was inexplicably shelved, never to be completed or heard of again.
Everything from a lack of sponsorship to a lack of interest was blamed for the premature death of the competition which had promised so little from the start; but what’s sure is, few people in Coventry or Paisley took to the streets demanding its return.
Some Saints fans have confidently claimed that their goal at Highfield Road in the first-leg means that they should be awarded the cup on the away goals rule, but until the matter is resolved, which is highly unlikely, the Anglo-Scottish Challenge trophy will remain in a dusty cupboard somewhere as a lasting monument to the many maligned tournaments that have come and gone over the years.
