To judge by the reception and vocal encouragement afforded our youngsters during this Quarter-Final a poor attendance of 1,453 appeared to include about a thousand Hammers' fans. Unfortunately this did not have the desired effect, and the Gunners eventually gained a victory that was certainly deserved if not particularly well-earned.
The thinly-populated Highbury terraces had a bleak look (although playing conditions were very good), and the game had much the same aspect with neither team reaching the heights. A goalless first half was followed by an equally ineffective twenty minutes of unexciting exchanges that usually fizzled out near goal. Then left-back Terry Tapping did what no forward had looked like achieving - he scored; Dick Griffin (deputising for 'flu-stricken Alan Dickie) had no chance to stop the 25-yard drive, and a similar goal came from the same player eleven minutes later after he had beaten four opponents in a solo run. A counter by centre-forward O'Rourke between these goals made the final score 3-0, but the heated protests by the Hammers after this appeared most justified, as the scorer seemed to be yards offside when the ball was passed through to him.
We certainly did not reach the standard of skill that senior experience should have brought out, and it would be quite fair to say that on this form the Young Gunners also do not appear to have much chance against Chelsea in the Semi-Final.