Silent Blade
Well-Known Member
I remember seeing us playing in gale force conditions in our 2-1 win at West Ham in Sept 1974. Woody's equaliser is what I would describe as "the goal that defied science". My dad had driven down to my boarding school in Newbury for that day and took me and my three schoolmates to Upton Park to watch the match. Just before we got in the ground the gale-force wind blew a match ticket out of my dad's hand and he had to chase after it for about thirty yards. West Ham were leading 1-0 at half time and United faced playing against the strong wind for the second half and even if we had won a penalty it would be an almighty struggle to have enough power to shoot past the goalkeeper. Even now my Norwich-supporting mate would still recall the goal Woody scored in the match.
Here is what Benny Hill (not the comedian!) wrote in the Morning Telegraph two days later: “Long after Alan Woodward has finished his playing career, the fans will be talking about the goals he scored for Sheffield United; the spectacular, the face saving, the dramatic. Rarely it seems, is he involved in the run-of-the-mill goal. Invariably there are moments of drama when his power and skill combine to smash the ball into the net. At Upton Park he pulled one out of the hat to celebrate his birthday and put United level in the 78th minute; it was a wonderful example of his ability to read an opportunity and to do something positive as it comes. Intercepting a short pass from Holland just inside the West Ham half, Woodward streaked through the centre to slam the ball from 25 yards past a startled Day. John Lyall, the new West Ham manager, put the incident in a nutshell when he told me; “You can't give Woodward chances like that: he's too good a player.”
Here is what Benny Hill (not the comedian!) wrote in the Morning Telegraph two days later: “Long after Alan Woodward has finished his playing career, the fans will be talking about the goals he scored for Sheffield United; the spectacular, the face saving, the dramatic. Rarely it seems, is he involved in the run-of-the-mill goal. Invariably there are moments of drama when his power and skill combine to smash the ball into the net. At Upton Park he pulled one out of the hat to celebrate his birthday and put United level in the 78th minute; it was a wonderful example of his ability to read an opportunity and to do something positive as it comes. Intercepting a short pass from Holland just inside the West Ham half, Woodward streaked through the centre to slam the ball from 25 yards past a startled Day. John Lyall, the new West Ham manager, put the incident in a nutshell when he told me; “You can't give Woodward chances like that: he's too good a player.”
