1972 FA Amateur Cup: How Hendon made it to Wembley final

In the second part of a special series to acknowledge that achievement, manager John Evans - who played in Hendon's 1965 final success - looks back on their route to the Wembley final and that particular chapter in the club's history.

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Having secured the services of a group of the most respected players in the amateur game, it was then the moment to bring together the individual skills of each to form a cohesive unit capable of unsettling the best of any opposing rearguard, but also a collective defence strategy which would deny scoring opportunities.

In those days it was my firm belief that, as a coach, although it was acknowledged that every individual player possesses a recognisable or specific talent, it was essential that each understood the principle that the collective force of the whole bears greater potential than that of the sum of those individual players.

What is required is a clear objective. To achieve overall efficiency takes time and patience but even then, progress in this respect can become unclear.

With increasing successes in the league, we thought we were ready for the FA Amateur Cup second round encounter away from home at Highgate.

With high expectation at the start of the game, some say we were fortunate to travel home with a 1-1 draw courtesy of a goal by Peter Deadman but having survived we were able to win the home replay 2-1.

Even more nervously we played at home in the third round tie against Maidenhead and failed to score, an even more disappointing result but managed to scrape a 1-0 win at Maidenhead in the replay.

At this point it was crucial to trust that our preparation was sound, our playing strategy was correct, that the assessment of any opposition was accurate and the performance level of each player was at its highest.

Finally, however, Hendon began to show the results of our hard work when, in the quarter-final against Hitchin Town, we gained a convincing 3-0 win, a scoreline which most would applaud but I was far more interested in the manner in which that result came about.

With all due respect to Hitchin, a good footballing side, what I recognised was our fluidity of movement and player response which controlled all areas of the pitch. Of course I was relieved but also felt pleasingly reassured that our objectives were materialising slowly.

In total we had, in five games, conceded two goals and scored seven which earned for Hendon a semi-final tie against Wycombe Wanderers at Griffin Park, Brentford, on Saturday March 18, 1972.

If ever there was a test of one’s conviction, this game was going to be it as Wycombe was at the time a very organised team with a widely respected playing staff, a club performing smoothly at the top of the Isthmian League table with a massive following.

For this encounter, the work carried out on the training ground had to be very evident. Psychologically the players had to believe that we were capable of taking opportunities in these tight games as there would be few chances on offer. Therefore, on the training ground we worked hard on our shape, regarded hesitation as our enemy and, most importantly, a methodology which assured control at all times, even when under pressure.

Having lunched before the game at Brentford, the mindset of the players in the dressing room was very positive.

John Swannell had a moment of nostalgia when he told me recently that he experienced a comforting feeling when it was announced that we were to play Wycombe Wanderers at Griffin Park.

“That was the very first league ground I went to as a boy,” he laughed, adding, “I’ve got to play well there!”

He really looked forward to the game, regarding it as just another ground where he could carry out his well-known pre-match ritual, a strange but essential requirement held in the minds of most players.

Bad luck or a mischievous gremlin apart, at no time did we consider the possibility of a mistake happening on our part but were eager to exploit a mistake on their part.

John Baker, now emerging as a feared striker, simply felt it was not a case of ‘will I score?’ more ‘when will I score?’ and his expectation to score presented itself after 14 minutes.

Although at times under pressure, our strategy was firmly in place and with that 1-0 lead, the half-time break reinforced our resolve to continue playing to our strengths.

Then came the disaster, Wycombe equalised midway into the second half. It is a difficult phase of a game when the opposition scores an equaliser, it creates mental war-games which, in this case gave Wycombe that added drive.

It also enthused the 9,000-plus crowd, most of whom were behind Wycombe.

Such a setback is one of those defining moments in which a team’s character is put to the test, the difference between winning and losing. In the latter part of the second half, Peter Deadman’s well documented long-range strike took place to win the game.

Peter Deadman (right) fires home Hendon's semi-final winner against Wycombe in the 1972 FA Amateur Cup (Image: c/o John Evans)

With the game over, the atmosphere in the dressing room was ecstatic as having removed the favourites from the competition we could now regard a once ‘possible’ Wembley final as being a reality.

It was time to reflect on the general performance of the team, an exercise which may sound easy because of the result but we had conceded a goal.

“I was furious when they got the equaliser,” reflected Deadman, adding, “but I never thought we would ever lose.”

However, on that day against Wycombe we had come very close to that menacing success-failure differential. Without holding any player responsible, it was back to the training ground to discuss that goal.

There are those who say that luck plays a part in winning a major competition and many would support that. But as in most sports there are others who believe in the adage: ‘the harder we practise, the luckier we get.’

John Swannell and I reflected upon past Hendon semi-finals as the Wycombe tie was his third.

Back in 1965, we played together in the semi-final at Highbury against Finchley winning 3-1. Then, the following year, in 1966 we travelled north to Sunderland’s Roker Park where we beat Bishop Auckland 2-1.

“They were bruising games,” we agreed. “But that win against Wycombe was different,” remarked Swannell.

I asked him why the Wycombe win was so special. “Because it meant that we would play against Enfield. I mean no disrespect to all the other clubs but Enfield were our rivals. They were the team that I wanted to beat at Wembley.”