January 28 – Law of Nature
YOU’VE got to feel for poor old Denis Law. Not only does he normally get his name spelt wrong and has he had to live with the myth that he relegated his beloved Manchester United with his cheeky backheel for City, but today in 1961 he had the game of life, scoring six goals, only for the match to be abandoned, and his feat erased from the record books.
Law was turning out for City as they took on Luton Town in an FA Cup fourth-round tie at a damp Kenilworth Road. Determined to beat the elements, City began to put Luton to the sword, with Law splashing around to bag his double hat-trick as City cruised to a 6-2 lead and it looked like they had secured their place in the last 16.
The weather had other ideas though. According to a report at the time, the playing surface “first resembled a beach with the tide just out, then deep mud, then a shallow lake.”
After 69 minutes the game had to be abandoned, leaving Law’s six-goal haul in some sort of footballing purgatory.
He would later recall: “It’s not everyday you score six goals. I never did it again – the most I managed in a game that counted was four. But then the heavens opened. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be.”
The tie was rescheduled for the following Wednesday and Law claims that “the pitch was in a worse state than it ever was on Saturday”, but Luton had obviously learned a thing or two from the abandoned match as they turned the tables with a 3-1 win. And guess who got the ’1′? Yup, despite personally out scoring his opponents 7-5 over the almost-two games, Law was unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup, at a time when it still meant something to managers, players and fans alike.
We’ve no footage of the Luton mudbath, so instead here’s one for all you City fans and United-haters. Join us again tomorrow for more of the same, but until then check out what else was going on today by clicking here.
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