Mighty Gunners were rescued by a late, late, Tommy Baldwin strike at foggy Priestfield
Just a few weeks following England’s 1966 World Cup victory the new domestic football league season started and Third Division Gills had a League Cup 2-0 win against Fourth Division Southend after a replay. This first round victory had given Gills a plum draw in the second round against the Arsenal at Highbury.
The game was played on Saturday 13th September and Gills shocked Bertie Mee’s Arsenal by taking the lead in a pulsating match through a Charlie Crickmore special. The ball thundered into the net from fully twenty-five yards past a startled Jim Furnell in the Gunner’s goal.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Tommy Baldwin (pictured left), who went on to play for Chelsea and Manchester United in an illustrious career, saved Arsenal minutes from time and his close in strike brought about a replay at Priestfield.
As darkness fell on Tuesday 21st of September 1966, the misty conditions which had lingered all day was reinforced by a dense bank of fog rolling in from the Medway Estuary along Redfern Avenue that engulfed Priestfield.
Gills against the mighty Arsenal in a League Cup replay had attracted a 20,000 plus attendance that were either inside the Stadium or queuing outside as weather conditions quickly deteriorated.
Inside Priestfield the four floodlight pylons seemingly reared up like giants with gleaming eyes but even their powerful beams could not entirely dispel the evening gloom.
The referee was reluctant to call the game off with so many eager and noisy spectators present.
As the match got underway, with the Gills defending the Rainham End, it was almost impossible to see beyond the halfway line from the middle and back terrace of the opposite Town End.
The Gills team that took the field in those bizarre conditions were: Derek Bellotti, Tony Weston, Dennis Hunt, Ralph Miller, Ray Bailey, Mel Machin, Charlie Rackstraw, Brian Gibbs, Bill Brown, Charlie Crickmore and the highly skillful and talented John Meredith.
Manager Basil Hayward had looked to non-league for Gills players and brought goalkeeper Derek Bellotti, defender Ray Bailey and striker Bill Brown from his previous club Bedford (team sheet right).
Midfielder and penalty expert, Charlie Rackstraw plus winger John Meredith had been signed in separate deals from Chesterfield for £5,000 and £4,000 respectively.
The Gills team also included the consistent goal scorer Brian Gibbs and Mel Machin, a quality player obtained on a free from Port Vale.
Left back Dennis Hunt, a powerful defender who liked to get forward in support of his forwards, and ex-Charlton defender, Ralph Miller, together with sturdy right back Tony Weston, completed the team.
The foggy conditions meant it really was a game of two halves for spectators in the ground at both ends. Behind the Rainham End goal, during the first half, they were only able to see sporadic Gills attacks on the Arsenal goal.
Then in the second half quite a lot of the play was lost to the Town End crowd due to the Gills applying long periods of pressure on the Arsenal goal with strong and inventive attacking play.
Twenty minutes into the second period a huge roar rent the foggy night air. Not a Gills goal but it was the next best thing. Goalkeeper Derek Bellotti turned to the spectators behind his net with the news that it was a penalty.
The Rainham End crowd, who witnessed the drama, confirmed afterwards that fans hero Charlie Rackstraw (pictured left) dispatched the ball into the Gunners net with his usual aplomb and complete lack of any histrionics.
A one-goal lead is never enough unfortunately and that Gills penalty was not the final act. Urged on by manager Bertie Mee and coach Dave Sexton, Arsenal completely dominated the closing stages.
Scottish International Frank McClintock was particularly prominent, but Gills seemed likely to hold on for the final whistle. Then almost out of the blue, and with a strike similar to that of the first game at Highbury, Tommy Baldwin again saved Arsenal's blushes with a late goal.
Following 30 minutes of extra time, and no further score, the two managers agreed to toss a coin with the winner taking home advantage. Bertie Mee was successful and so Gills faced another visit to Highbury.
The Arsenal programme notes for the second reply said that the two clubs had endured a positive marathon way back in 1899. It had then taken five games before Gills (then New Brompton) eventually beat Woolwich Arsenal 1-0 in an F.A. Cup Third Round match.
However in this instance Gills were put firmly in their place, with the Gunners showing their class and recording a 5-0 win to move into the next round.
