22 years agio this week. The crush at Upton Park

[Chico Hamilton III]

The Independent
January 19 1989, Thursday

Football: Ince and Kelly scythe down Villa

BYLINE: JOE LOVEJOY



West Ham United ....2
Aston Villa ........1

THE HAMMERS may have rubber heads in the League, but in knock-out competition the sickle comes into play, and Villa went the way of Derby and Liverpool - scythed down and bundled out of the Littlewoods Cup before an ecstatic audience at Upton Park.


West Ham had scored 14 times in three previous rounds. They were in splendid form again last night, claiming their place in today's semi-final draw with two goals from the top drawer by Paul Ince and David Kelly. David Platt's 89th-minute response took the form of a dextrous overhead kick, but came too late to be anything other than an irrelevance.



Their goals apart, West Ham spurned a penalty and struck a post. With better luck, or more precise finishing, they would have had another thumping win to set alongside their emphatic successes against Sunderland, Derby and Liverpool in previous rounds.
The tension of the occasion was too much for Upton Park's second 30,000 crowd of the season, who spilled over a perimeter wall during the first half. It also had its effect on the players, whose nervousness was betrayed after only three minutes when Chris Price needlessly conceded a penalty by bowling over Leroy Rosenior, 15 yards out.

West Ham's regular penalty- taker Ray Stewart, is probably the best around, but the Scot was absent, injured, so the responsibility fell on Liam Brady. His kick was entirely in character, placed rather than driven, but he erred on the side of caution in keeping the ball inside Spink's left-hand upright, and the goalkeeper was able to reach it and save at the expense of a corner.

As if to show how such things should be done, Ince smacked West Ham into the lead after 15 minutes with the sort of goal which is becoming his stock in trade.

Brady had lost possession and was looking for assistance when it arrived in the form of a kind bounce to his midfield apprentice, who rifled the ball in, left- footed, from 20 yards.

Brady, Ince and Kelly all threatened to improve West Ham's advantage before the haven of half time gave the Villa the chance to regroup.

The fitness which is the hallmark of all Graham Taylor's teams served them well after the interval but John Lyall's side dug deep and put in the stronger finish, with Kelly shooting against an upright before removing Villa from contention five minutes from the end.

Receiving Tony Gale's flick-on with his back to goal seven yards out, the Republic of Ireland striker swivelled at blurring speed before shooting into the roof of the net.

West Ham United: McKnight; Potts, Dicks, Gale, Strodder, Devonshire, Brady, Kelly, Rosenior, Dickens (Ward, 53), Ince. Substitute not used: Keen.

Aston Villa: Spink; Price, S Gray, Gage, Mountfield, Keown, A Gray, Platt, McInally, Cowans, Daley (Olney, 45). Substitute not used: Evans.

Referee: J Martin (Alton).

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

That's not a bad Villa side - I remember the Platt overhead kick though.

I'm seem to remember Platt also managed to do an overhead kick clearance off the opposition's line  - possibly in the same season - possibly against Everton? 

[Kevin Dawson]

I remember paying £9 for a seat that night - think there were about 4 rows of us, with two empty rows in front with one steward sat there. When Platt scored I was up out of my seat and several large cockneys turned round and moved towards me. In the end we lost the game, but had there been fences it could have been so much worse.

[Olneythelonely]

I'm seem to remember Platt also managed to do an overhead kick clearance off the opposition's line  - possibly in the same season - possibly against Everton? 

I remember that, was it an Ormandroid header he cleared?

[garyshawsknee]

I use to go to West Ham fairly regulary in the early 90s with my West Ham supporting brother,and hatred tension,and fans spilling onto the pitch seemed a fortnightly occurance.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I use to go to West Ham fairly regulary in the early 90s with my West Ham supporting brother,and hatred tension,and fans spilling onto the pitch seemed a fortnightly occurance

This one was a full-on "lucky nobody was killed"crush

[peter w]

That's what I remember most about it. Having my back to the pitch for the entire first half and not being able to turn around I was that crushed. Knowing we'd scored but not seeing the goal because of the crush. If there had have been fences at West ham we could have been in touble because as a precursor to Hillsborough the warning was there. What was it? Something like 5000 Villa fans ina pen designed for about 2000? The excuxe given, as my shaky memory informs me, was that the MET Police were caught unaware by how many of us would be coming down. They must have got the info from West Mids Police/Villa I guess. I'm also assuming it was pay on the door.

[lovejoy]

I reckon that team would spank the current mob. Real honest footballing men.

[peter w]

Platt and Sid would be a problem but would rip that defence apart.

[Nev]

I remember paying £9 for a seat that night - think there were about 4 rows of us, with two empty rows in front with one steward sat there. When Platt scored I was up out of my seat and several large cockneys turned round and moved towards me. In the end we lost the game, but had there been fences it could have been so much worse.

I was up there as well, assumed we had a "block" of seats until they scored, then found out how few of us there were.

I remember watching the terrace get more and more full as the kick off approached. You could see that there was something wrong, all you could see were peoples faces, many facing upwards as the terrace got more and more compact. Then, a few minutes into the game a solitary fan stepped over the hoarding and sat down. The stewards and police approached him but he just pointed at the terrace and only then did it appear to dawn on the officials that there was a problem. They then cordened off a section of the adjoining terrace and moved a load of fans into this bit, next to the home fans.

To those of us there, and at the crush to get into Ipswich on the first day of the season in '87, Hillsborough was no surprise. The police blamed the failure of a turnstile counter I seem to remember, but one look at the crowd would have indicated that there was a serious problem, but as we know now, the Police were more concerned with the fans causing trouble than their safety.

[Rico]

I was at that match. Well scary! It was like being on a rubber cross. You had absolutely no control over where you ended up. West Ham got a pen early on and the resulting crowd surge ended with the perimeter fence collapsing and several hundred villa on the pitch. It was so nearly a hillsborough type disaster, that every villa fan I know who went to that game can have some empathy with what happened at sheffield. Then to rub salt into the wounds tens of thousands of donkeys invaded the pitch at the end and wanted
to kick it off. Crazy night. Glad to get away alive!

[dave.woodhall]

That was the night Clough thumped the two lads who went on the pitch. I can't help thinking that if he hadn't, the problems at West Ham might have got a bit more coverage and someone in authority at Hillsborough a few weeks later might have behaved just a bit differently.

[usav]

That was the night Clough thumped the two lads who went on the pitch. I can't help thinking that if he hadn't, the problems at West Ham might have got a bit more coverage and someone in authority at Hillsborough a few weeks later might have behaved just a bit differently.

I doubt it Dave, it was par for the course around then.  I remember a situation at Mould Trafford as well a couple of years later - when the capacities on the terraces were supposedly reduced.

[AV82EC]

That was the night Clough thumped the two lads who went on the pitch. I can't help thinking that if he hadn't, the problems at West Ham might have got a bit more coverage and someone in authority at Hillsborough a few weeks later might have behaved just a bit differently.

I doubt it Dave, it was par for the course around then.  I remember a situation at Mould Trafford as well a couple of years later - when the capacities on the terraces were supposedly reduced.

I got caught in that one at Old Trafford in 91-92.  The coaches were late arriving and they didn't delay the kick offs, I got caught on a crush barrier just after coming through that tunnel under the stand and was seriosuly panciking for a few minutes that this might be it. Scary.

[Dave Cooper please]

Yes it was pay on the door.
I went and got to the ground about 20 minutes before kick off. I spotted a mate walking away from the queue who told me to forget it and "Someone's going to get killed in there, it's fucking heaving." (Or words to that effect). He'd paid, tried to force his way into the pen and gave up.

We went to the pub.