Sporting Bygones: Tangerines survivor Robinson vividly recalls when Matthews and Mortensen took centre stage in dramatic Cup final fightback

Sixty years have passed since the most celebrated of all FA Cup finals but for Cyril Robinson the memories remain as vivid as ever.
Harry Johnston and Stanley Matthews hold the FA cup aloft.Harry Johnston and Stanley Matthews hold the FA cup aloft.
Harry Johnston and Stanley Matthews hold the FA cup aloft.

Robinson was a member of the Blackpool team that famously fought back from 3-1 down with just 22 minutes remaining to beat Bolton 4-3 at Wembley.

Stanley Matthews, at the age of 38, grabbed the headlines with an extraordinary display on the wing while Stan Mortensen plundered a hat-trick and Bill Perry hit a last-gasp winner.

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No fixture can boast the combined history, tradition, prestige and glamour of an FA Cup final and the 1953 showcase encapsulated all the magic for which the game is famed.

Bolton were ahead after just 75 seconds as Nat Lofthouse fired through George Farm’s grasp and Wanderers’ England centre-forward hit the post soon afterwards.

Mortensen equalised with the aid of a deflection off Harold Hassall but Bolton were back ahead at the break as captain Willie Moir outjumped Farm to head in.

Robinson, the last surviving member of the victorious Tangerines side, recalls how events then unfolded with clarity.

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The 84-year-old, who played at left-half, recalled: “We went 2-1 down. George Farm was usually quite a good keeper but he made two mistakes for their goals.

“Then we came out for the second half and a player who was injured (Eric Bell) scored for Bolton.

“There were no substitutes in those days. Nobody thought he was going to jump up and head the ball.

“But he got up and got a goal – 3-1. I was just thinking, ‘Well, I’ve played at Wembley’.

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“We had it all to do but the second half was a real revival.

“Stan Matthews – it was the best game I saw him play. It was all Stanley Matthews, and Ernie Taylor supplying the ball.

“We got on top. Morty, who’d got a goal first half, got us another one as the goalkeeper made a mistake.

“It put us back in the game and then one of his goals was a free-kick from outside the box.

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“The ball in those days was made of leather, not plastic, but I have never seen a better-taken free-kick.

“I don’t think the goalkeeper knew it was in the net. It was terrific, quick.

“There wasn’t long to go and we were drawing. Had we enough time to score? We were doing most of the attacking, mainly down the right-hand side.

“Matthews got the ball and went to the touchline. He always went to the touchline, so if he cuts the ball back you couldn’t be offside. He was great at that.

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“He looked for Morty, but Morty kept saying afterwards he knew Bill Perry was behind him and let it go.

“Bill drove it in, it was a good goal. That was it. The whistle went a few minutes after.

“And then it was forward to meet the Queen to receive our medals.’’

The match was soon christened the ‘Matthews Final’ by journalists who felt the great winger had written a stunning final chapter to his career.

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Beaten in two previous finals and ignored by the England selectors for a squad named prior to the match, Matthews – who further defied expectations by playing on until the age of 50 – had neutrals on his side.

An FA Cup winners’ medal was regarded by many as the pinnacle of achievement and there was widespread delight and celebration when Matthews finally won one.

But the man himself, despite tormenting Bolton down the right in those latter stages, was always embarrassed by the praise lavished almost solely upon him for the victory.

He felt others were overlooked and when he came to write his autobiography years later, he entitled the relevant chapter ‘The Mortensen Final’.

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Robinson said: “Morty scored three goals and it will be a long time before another fellow scores three goals in a final.

“But Stan made the goals, including the winning goal. Morty played very well but Stan had a bigger name than Morty even, and that’s why I think it went that way.

“There were people who had left the stadium when Blackpool were losing, 20 minutes from time. They missed it! That was their fault.

“Somebody said ‘Matthews Final’ and it just caught on.”